“Someone broke ranks. Didn’t they? The Privileged have a snitch.” I could tell I was right.
Maverick turned his head. “Yes, and before you ask, I have no clue who I’m talking to. That was the first rule or the man would disappear. Our conversations are handled through secure phones and he disguises his voice.”
“That means he’s still active in the organization,” I mused.
“For now.”
“But he hasn’t provided you with anything concrete they could be arrested on.” Chase lifted an eyebrow.
“Not enough.” Maverick had the same look on his face I’d had earlier. Pissed off enough that crossing the line wouldn’t be a question. For some reason, I was angrier than before.
I glanced from one buddy to another. “Interesting. The girl who was brought to me, trusting me to help both her and maybe dozens of other women, will never live a normal life. Does that bastard feel guilty? Is this just about selling your next book, Mav? I mean, my God. Did you think about turning this man in?” Huffing, I left the table, ready to leave his house.
Maverick was the best of all of us, a man with absolute integrity.
“Jesus, Kendrick. Why don’t you calm down?” Gabriel hissed. “Why is this so personal?”
With an ache in my gut, I whipped out my phone, holding it so everyone could see Reese’s picture. “This girl is a teacher. A fucking junior high schoolteacher who’s taken it upon herself to try and find her seventeen-year-old sister because the goddamn system failed her. We failed her. All of us in this room. Two different police departments refused to try and help this girl.Two. And now, I have a better understanding of why. Because there’s a strong possibility some high-ranking law enforcement officers are proud club members. If this group is as dangerous as they appear to be, this woman won’t stand a chance. None of them will. Lamb to the slaughter. I can’t… No, I won’t allow that to happen.”
The four men stared at me. Why? Because I’d never gotten this hot over a single case before in my life.
The quiet in the room was unnerving. I usually wasn’t the hothead of the group, but this time, I was pissed. And I was disappointed. Suddenly, I felt Maverick’s presence beside me. We stood together staring out the window at his perfect view of the Atlantic Ocean, from his perfectly huge house.
“This isn’t about writing a bestseller, at least not any longer, Kendrick. I assure you I’d like nothing more than to crucify this organization, but my informant hasn’t told me enough, at least not to incriminate anyone. No names. No location of this club or any others. And you know how huge Miami is. Just enough details for a dark story and more than a few nightmares.”
I laughed. “You’re hoping your book will be a bestseller and maybe draw these people out in the open.”
Maverick studied me. “Why the hell not? When powerful men are pushed, they do stupid things.”
Yes, they fucking did.
“That’s putting a target on your back,” Gabriel offered.
“So what?” Maverick finally smiled.
“From what the detective told me, these captors also keep the girls locked down for days, even weeks at a time in the samefacility. They’re kept in cages. When she was up for auction, the girl was bathed, dressed in provocative clothing, primped, then finally fed and told how to act.”
“Fucking assholes.” Gabriel threw back the rest of his drink.
“Plus, Reese’s father is Thomas Murphy from Global Universal.” I purposely shifted my gaze from one to the other in the room, noticing Hudson had narrowed his eyes.
“Interesting. You might not remember this case, but Global Universal developed a piece of software that enabled a combination of the CIA working with Interpol to track the most notorious sex slave trade operation in their history. They cracked it wide open. And if I’m remembering correctly, Thomas Murphy was the architect.”
“And a lot of people went to prison including dignitaries, corporate moguls.” Chase rubbed his jaw.
“Why should that matter?” Gabriel asked.
“Possibly revenge.” The reason for anyone acting on revenge was often very personal. But without knowing a single identity of the members, at this point the information was useless.
Chase whistled. “What are you thinking, Kendrick? That this case is a candidate for Raven Intel?” Even now, he had a smile on his face.
“The only way for that to work would be by getting someone inside, pretending to be one of them. Even going through an auction. And I assure you that given this girl escaped, their security will be extremely tight. Newcomers are tested and watched,” Maverick insisted. “And before you say a goddamn thing, my picture is on the cover of every book I’ve ever written.”
“So?” Gabriel teased.
The look Maverick flashed him was hot. “So, maybe none of you have read my books, but about a hundred million other people have. Plus, I’ve been on every major morning show more than once. What are the themes of my books? Catching the most heinous criminals in the world.”
“In other words, you capitalize on your former position with the FBI.” I knew where he was headed. Even if he’d wanted to, he certainly couldn’t gain the trust of anyone outside the snitch he’d been talking with.
