Eddie coughed blood against his sleeve.
“Not a place,” he rasped painfully. “An operation.”
Wolf frowned. “What kind of operation?”
Eddie looked toward Flick.
Like he hated what he was about to say.
“Your father tried to stop it.”
Her fingers tightened around mine instantly.
“What did he do?”
Eddie swallowed hard.
“Senator Mercer and the others…” His breathing hitched. “They used the ranches. The land. Old transport tunnels under the mountains.”
Trigger’s expression darkened instantly.
“Transporting what?”
Eddie’s eyes flicked toward the floor.
“Girls.”
Silence crashed through the barn.
Flick made a soft broken sound beside me.
No.
No damn way.
Rage hit my bloodstream so fast it burned.
Rook’s jaw flexed once.
Deadly calm.
“How long?” he asked quietly.
“Years,” Eddie whispered. “Runaways. Foster kids. Girls nobody would look for.” His voice cracked. “Sometimes boys too.”
Jesus Christ.
Wolf looked like he was seconds away from punching through the wall.
Trigger muttered a vicious curse under his breath.
Flick stared at Eddie like the world had just split open beneath her feet.
“My father knew?”
Eddie nodded weakly.
“At first… no. Mercer hid everything behind land development deals and private security contracts.” He winced hard from the pain. “When your father discovered the truth… he tried gathering evidence quietly.”
