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“But you bring her to dinner parties,” I found myself saying. “Why bring her to those if you don’t want her to be seen?”
“She doesn’t go to many. Only the ones that I really, really guilt her into. And those are the ones that I know are safe. That I know that they won’t come to, because they’re scared of you. They won’t come anywhere near you,” he said softly.
I blinked at his words. “They’re scared of me?”
“They’re terrified of you,” he confirmed. “The only ones she ever attends are the ones where you’re there, and they’re not. She gets ‘seen’ but she can’t be ‘touched.’”
“Do they know where she lives?” I found myself asking.
“They don’t.” He shook his head. “Six won’t touch her inheritance because she hates me and hates what that money represents. For all intents and purposes, they leave Six alone because they have ‘Ines.’”
“That makes no sense. Two kids, whether they be fictional or not, would be better leverage,” I said.
“True,” he confirmed. “But I told them that if they touched Six, I would kill myself. I would take myself out of the game. And they don’t want that.”
“Was that why you attempted to kill yourself this time? They’re targeting Six?” I asked, heart pounding.
“They won’t touch her now. They know she’s with you,” he said. “And again, I don’t know what you are that they’re so scared of you, but they will never touch Six again because apparently you were seen with her doing… things.”
The parking lot of the gas station.
That’s the only way that this would’ve been known.
“They had another man at the last party that works in Kilgore. They saw you holding her in the gas station as you checked out. He knew who you were. Who she was. Relayed it to whoever needed to know.” He swallowed. “As for why I did it now… she’s protected now. I don’t need to do that anymore.”
I tilted my head slightly sideways. “You don’t think she’d suffer if you succeeded?”
He wiped his tired eyes. “I think that I’d rather her hate me and suffer a little bit than have her wind up like one of the girls that I’m helping get sex trafficked through my county.”
And there it was. Confirmation.
“You weren’t the only one,” I said softly. “There are more girls. They’re doing it through quite a few counties. That’s why I ran for mayor of Kilgore. I didn’t want them doing it in my area anymore. Hell, I don’t want them doing it at all, but I’m only one man. As soon as I found out about it, I started maneuvering myself into a position to take over.”
“I know,” he said. “We’re all very much aware. You are hell bent on making them pay. I commend you. Just know that you now have something to lose.”
My stomach clenched at his words.
He was right.
By having Six, I became vulnerable.
“You got names?” I wondered.
“No,” he said. “Just Larry Dumas and whoever his boss is.”
I knew that Bruno was already tracking his stepfather down.
The only problem is, Larry Dumas was a little weasel, and knew how to hide really, really well.
“I think that you need to appoint someone for the time being while you heal,” I said. “I don’t want you to leave. I might need you later as we start to fix the things that you broke.”
Ivan swallowed hard and nodded.
“I’ll let you know who you can appoint. After I do a background check on them all. Make sure to find the one that’s the steadiest.”
“That’s not how it works. There’s a chain of command,” he said. “If I’m out, then someone else that’s under me gets automatically appointed.”
I grinned. “How about you let me worry about that.”
Ivan sighed. “I’m tired of worrying. I think that I’ll let you.”
Good.
Turning on my heels, I made eye contact with Bruno.
He was fuckin’ pissed.
He didn’t say anything until we were outside.
Six, who was standing next to Laric holding his goddamn kitten, turned to me.
She looked at me with worry in her eyes.
“It was my fault,” Bruno said. “I’m glad I stayed away.”
I looked over at Bruno.
“Don’t stay away now,” I suggested. “Because Six isn’t going anywhere. She loves you. Even despite you staying away from her. She might very well need you by the time this is all over.”
Bruno didn’t say a word.
“Find your stepfather,” I proposed.
His eyes caught mine. They were lit with fire.
“I will.”
“I know you will.”
CHAPTER 17
Why go to work when you can light yourself on fire and feel the same way?
-Text from Six to Lynn
LYNN
Six weeks later
“Now that you’re all here,” I said as I glanced around the group. My new team. The one that would help me defeat the child-trafficking ring that was decimating our area. “I want to discuss jobs.”
Patrick grimaced.
“For all intents and purposes, you’re going to appear to be normal men. I don’t want you to get a hard job, or one that you’ll be at twenty-four seven. But I do want you to appear as if you’re just a normal guy. Go to work. Go out with your friends. Date. Whatever you want to do. But I want you to be ready in case you’re needed. And I want you to realize that there may be things that I need you to do outside of those hours.”
