I’m grateful, the camera seems to have gone unnoticed by Livia’s crew. Luca paces back and forth after pounding on the door for the past several minutes. He’s locked up tight in that room, which at least isn’t a prison cell.
“I’m more concerned about the newcomers,” Liam says and glances up, pointing at the compound as two more vehicles head for the driveway.
He hands the tablet to Sophia.
“More patrols?” Sophia asks and returns her attention to the tablet, in case there’s anything of interest to report to us.
Rhys is busy cataloging the cameras and interior surveillance footage. He’s making it easy for him to swap feeds, while still having access to cameras that we may not need at the moment but that could become important later on for us.
Rhys zooms in on the exterior cameras housed right outside the main entrance of the compound. “I don’t know who these people are, but they’re not security. They’re dressed up like they’re attending a gala.”
“Given what we know about their previous business ventures, I’d presume it’s an auction,” Ashton says. “We know they’re in the business of abducting women and children. We’ve already seen several girls being held inside the compound.”
My mouth runs dry. “Human trafficking,” I rasp, feeling albeit a bit woozy. I don’t like that my best friend and brother are both locked up inside that place. I glance at the screen Sophia is holding. While I can’t see Luca’s face, he’s moving around, inspecting every inch of that room.
At least he’s alive.
My phone buzzes with a text alert, and I yank it from my back pocket, surprised to learn that my father is awake.
Relief floods through me. But it’s nowhere near over.
He still has a long road ahead of him for recovery, and then there are Harper and Luca, who aren’t out of danger yet.
Rhys clears his throat. “I think it’s safe to assume they’re here to buy the girls we saw who were locked in with Harper when Luca first arrived.”
I shove my phone away. “What are we going to do to stop them?” I ask.
Rescuing Harper and Luca may be our priority, but we can’t just walk away from knowing that countless girls are locked up inside, being held against their will.
“We can’t do anything until we know how to disable those collars,” Rhys says, his attention entirely on the screen in front of him.
“What about an EMP? If we were able to deliver a small pulse that would interfere with electronics, it should take out the collars on all the girls,” Ashton says.
“Do you know how to make one?” I raise an eyebrow, giving him my undivided attention. The idea is solid, but it’s not like we have an EMP how-to-guide with the weapons we’ve procured.
“I don’t think any of us know how or have the necessary tools,” Rhys says. “But Dante’s guy may have something we can rig up with the materials he’s provided us. I’m waiting for a call back.”
I huff under my breath. “Sure, because we have all the time in the world. It’s just Luca and Harper’s lives we’re talking about.” My moodiness knows no bounds, and Ashton reaches out, his hand caressing the small of my back, a soft yet intimate gesture, and I can feel his stare.
I should pull away from him, but I don’t.
I want to stay angry, but the truth of it is, he’s here now, willing to risk his life to save Luca and Harper. I can’t say the same about the other guys I’ve dated in the past.
Several more cars pull up, and I glance over Rhys’s shoulder at the footage from inside the house. “They’re moving Harper and the other girls,” I say. The camera feed has them moving farther inside the house. I grab the map that we’ve outlined from what we’ve seen and grab a pencil, continuing to fill it in with the location of where they’re taking Harper and the others.
They escort the girls to a small room, forcing them to change attire. It appears Livia is there, shouting out orders, but we don’t have audio from the surveillance feeds, only video.
The audio feed that we do have is tied to Luca’s microphone and he’s an entire floor away from Harper.
I study every movement, try to keep track of how many girls there are being held captive. In addition to Harper and the girls, there are also several older ladies who are stationed in small sections, doing hair and makeup.
It’s definitely an auction of some kind.
There’s no reason they’d be dolling up the girls for sport. In a matter of minutes, the girls are shucked from one room to the next.
“They’re on the move again,” I say, relaying the most up-to-date information to the team.
The girls are shuffled down the hallway, remaining on the first floor, and make a hard left as they head in the opposite direction of where we’re located. The guard opens the double wooden doors, shoving those inside who don’t move quickly enough. They’re locked in a room near the back of the compound.
