He was right. We needed help. We couldn’t barge in here with a small group and get all those women and children out. This place was too well locked down.
“Is the pho shop the only entrance and exit?” I looked to Milika.
Milika looked confused, and I realized she’d probably never left this place. “How many exits into the real world are there?”
She nodded in understanding then. “Three.”
“Can you draw me a map?” I grabbed the hotel notepad and pen.
“What are you thinking?” Luka asked.
“I’m thinking we need to go to the dinner with the king tonight, and get an invite to the Freedom Games. Us and a dozen of our vampires, a bonding of our two peoples.”
Luka grinned. “That’s genius. And then while the games are going on, our teams will attack, get all the women and children out.”
I bobbed my head in agreement.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Ruby said, “but if we really want to do this and bring it all down, we need to hit up the other five cities at the same time.”
She was right. A coordinated attack was best. “Okay, you are basically worthless here, no offense. Why don’t you and Liv go to Austin, send Demi and Sawyer to New Orleans, Vaz and Jason to NYC, Sage and Walsh to Chicago, and Marmal and Rab to Minneapolis. Do recon missions only, try not to be seen you have no idea if your race is even welcome in other cities.”
“It’s a good idea,” Ruby agreed.
“We all strike the same night, fight night,” I told them. “Dismantle the entire trafficking ring, andthenI take out Maz,” I growled.
“Have I mentioned how sexy vampire Aspen is?” Luka looked over at me with a half-lidded gaze.
Milika watched all of this with her hands covering her mouth in shock. She’d probably been enslaved so long that hearing a mere conversation about an uprising was a shock to her system.
Liv and Ruby looked at each other and nodded. “Well, this king isn’t going to want us here tonight anyway, so we might as well head out now, meet up tomorrow night in Idaho.”
Luka frowned. “Okay, but let me walk you out. I’m not sure if you’ll need an escort.”
It was all happening so fast, but I knew that’s how it needed to be. If one domino fell too early, it could ruin the entire plan. “You have the names of the leaders of the societies that are involved in this?” I asked Ruby. “The ones who buy the babies and are in on it?”
She nodded. “Yep, all you have to do is follow the money.”
“On takedown night,” I told her. “I want two teams in each city, a large team to free the women from the magical enclave, and a smaller team to bring me the leaders of each society.”
Luka raised an eyebrow. “What are you going to do with them?”
“Truth witch. Magic City Prison,” I explained. “But if they get killed in the process … oh well.”
Luka nodded. “Seems fair.”
But Maz would meet her death at my hand, that much was sure.
Liv and Ruby stood. I gave them a quick hug as Luka walked them out, leaving just Milika and I.
“Do you have a contract with the … brothel?” I couldn’t bring myself to say “whorehouse.”
She nodded. “Lifetime, or until I pay off my debt.”
Was that how they got them? “Let me guess, you are born with debt?”
She nodded. “And then it’s added to daily for meals and boarding fee.”
Bastards.
