“It wasdarkback there, Andz,” I say softly. She narrows her eyes.
“You told me he never hurt—” she starts.
“No! I don’t mean Dario. Though, yeah…he’s messed up. But there was more. There’s some bad shit going on, Andy,” I say finally. There was more than one reason that conversation I heard scared me so badly. “When my father did the deal with Dario, there was someone else who wanted me first.”
Andy stares at me. “Say what?”
“Another guy…a…a human trafficker.”
Her mouth drops open. “Jesus Christ, Nikki!” she blurts. “You can’t be serious!”
I give a brief nod.
“And it didn’t occur to you to tell me about this from the start?” she asks.
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” I admit. “I only found out later…and by then, Dario seemed to have…to have things under control.”
She’s shaking her head, her eyes wide with horror. “You realize how serious this is, Niks?” she says. “Those people…they’re fucking animals, you know that, right?”
I nod grimly. “And yesterday, I heard Dario talking to Raoul…about some men who are planning to get hold of us – my sister and me.”
“Sophie?” she snaps. “Fuck, Nikki! Have you spoken to her? Does she know?”
I shake my head. If I’m honest with myself, I’d been too afraid to believe it might be true. And then felt certain that by leaving, it would all go away. Now, after several hours of good sleep, part of me is wondering if I’d imagined it all.I am in such a mess!
“Well fucking call her, dammit!” Andy insists. She’s already reaching for my phone. I’ve been too afraid to look at it since I got into her car. Half expecting Dario to be trying to reach me already.
I heave a breath and scroll for my sister’s number. I wait as the phone rings…and rings…and finally clicks through to voicemail. I frown. She always answers my calls. I try again. Still nothing.
“Maybe she’s turned in early,” I mutter. “I’ll send her a text. I’m sure she’ll get back to me.” I don’t know if I’m trying to reassure Andy or myself.
“Who else might know where she is?” Andy asks.
“Well, she lives in a dorm with a bunch of other girls,” I say, tapping a fingertip against my lip. “I’ll try one of them.” I dial through to the girl whose room is across the hall from Sophie’s; they’re close friends, and I’ve spent time with both of them on college vacations. She answers as if I’ve dragged her from sleep. Typical kid. They’re either out partying or catching up on their naps.
“Hey, Jen, it’s Nikki Love!” I say as brightly as I can. Her answer is muffled. “I’m just trying to reach Sophie. Do you know if she’s in her room?” Jen mumbles a reply, letting me know she’ll check and get back to me. My heart is beginning to thump at a sickening speed. I stare at the phone after she ends the call, then look over at my friend.
“I… I need to call my dad,” I say hoarsely. She cocks her head. He was the one who got me into this shitstorm. She’s clearly wondering why I think he might help now. But I’m not expecting him to help. I search my phone for his number that I’d blocked and let it dial through. I’m light-headed as I wait for him to answer the call. Half convinced that he won’t. But he does.
“Dad?” I snap down the line.
“Nikki! Babydoll,” his voice is rasping, slurring. Pissed, as usual. I’m not surprised. But if he’s drunk, that means he has cash. “I was just going to try to reach you. Are you…did she…? Have you heard from Sophie?” he goes on, without me even asking. And then he’s making some sort of choking sound. He’s crying…great gasping sobs.
Fuck!
“Dad?” Dread is unfurling. “Dad! What the fuck did you do?” I’m screaming the words down the line. Andy is on her feet, her hand on my shoulder.
“They’ll be good to her, baby. They promised… But I… Maybe if your man…Senor Caraldi…maybe if he could find out if… I—” He’s babbling, not making sense.
“Where?” My hoarse scream cuts him short. “Where did they take her?” I’m completely beside myself, my body shuddering as the words tumble out.
“I- I…don’t know. But she’ll be fine. I swear, I—”
I don’t bother listening to anymore. He’s done it again. He’s fucking gambled away another one of his children. And this time, it’s my baby sister. I’m breathing so hard, I’m light-headed, spots fluttering on the edges of my vision as I begin to hyperventilate. It’s only when I feel the jolt up my thighs that I realize that I’ve dropped to my knees. Andy is kneeling in front of me, her arms around my shoulders.
“It’s okay…it’s okay, honey. We’re going to fix this!”
How can she say that? She doesn’t know what these men are capable of. I’m sobbing hysterically at this point, so out of it that when my phone rings again, Andy’s the one who picks it up. I barely hear the brief exchange, but when she ends the call, her expression is grim.
