Page 42 of Kiwi

"I don't believe you." My grip tightens on his scalp. I place my gun under his chin. "Look again," I tell him, and as if he already knows he won't be breathing by the time we finish with him, he stares at the phone screen. A sinister smirk appears on his face, and gone is his innocent act.

"You're too late," he confesses. Nova lowers his phone, just as Wick reappears.

"The house is empty, Prez, but I did find a stack of cards like the one Nova is holding, along with a shitload of drugs in the other room. Some of those pills are pretty strong sedatives," Wick quickly informs. The moment he mentions drugs, my mind goes to a dark place. Some shady shit took place here last night.

"You better get to talkin'," I growl at the piece of shit in front of me. My finger twitches wanting to pull the trigger.

"That pretty piece of ass, along with some other prime pussy are on their way to the auction block. You assholes are barking up the wrong tree. When my boss gets wind of a bunch of bikers walking in here, killing one of his men, there will be hell to pay." The prick dares to toss a threat at us. What does he think we'll do? Tuck tail and run? I shove him to the floor. His hands and knees hit hard against the tile. Then Nova kicks his ribcage with the toe of his boot. Before Riggs throws his hand up, motioning for him to stop.

"Who do you work for?" Riggs demands.

"Sorry, bro. I don't have a name, and if I did, I sure as shit wouldn't give it to you." Unsatisfied with his answer, Nova kicks him again, causing the asshole to cough and spittle to fly from his mouth. He laughs. "I'll tell you what. Since I'm going to die anyway, I'll throw you a bone." His laugh becomes manic. "I'll tell you what he looks like."

"Spit it out, you sorry son of a bitch," Nova rages.

The guy raises his head. Knelt before us, he points a finger directly at me. "He looks a lot like this ugly bastard." Before anyone gets a chance to process his words, I aim my gun at the fucker's head and put a bullet in it. His words cement my worries and bring my worst nightmares to life. Piper was taken, in a sex trafficking scheme, to be sold to the highest bidder. And Donovan, my birth father, is behind it.

Fender and Everest jog up just as we walk outside, and by the look on their faces, whatever they say isn't going to be good. "We found Piper's phone." Fender hand's it to Nova, who swipes the cracked screen in search of anything that may help us. "We found it on the ground near the back of the property, where the garage is located."

"Piper's last outgoing texts and phone calls were sent to Jia," Nova says.

"Get me a laptop, and I'll see if we can track her phone location," I tell him.

"I saw one inside," Wick tells me, and I rush back into the house. I follow Wick to an office in the home where a computer sits on a desk. Taking a seat in the leather chair, I get to work. Several minutes later, I have Jia's phone locations marked on the screen. "Jia was here last night," I confirm. "And her last location had her at this address." I move the cursor on the screen. Looking around, I search for something to write on. Everest leans in and takes a snapshot of the address on the screen.

"Got it," Everest says.

Riggs once again pulls out his phone, "Let's go." He barks while jogging through the home. Leaving the dead where they lay, we rush to the SUV. "Let's scope out Jia's last known location." Riggs slams the door closed.

The address takes us to what looks to be an abandoned warehouse in a seedy area. I circle the block a few times before driving onto the property. Getting out, we approach with caution. Peering through dirty windows, we notice no activity inside, it's just as barren as the outside. The five of us make our way around the building.

"There's a roll-up door back here, but it's padlocked," Wick points out.

A noise catches our attention. Riggs lifts a finger to his lips, telling us to be quiet as we move toward the sound. Rounding the corner, we find a homeless man digging through a dumpster. "Hey," Everest calls out, his gun aimed and the guy spins around.

"Shit, man. I'm sorry. Don't shoot." He drops what's in his hands.

"We're not gonna hurt you," Riggs says as we step closer. The guy twitches and mumbles something to himself. From the looks of his arms, he's a heavy needle user. "Have you seen any men around here? Maybe a big truck or anything?" Riggs is careful with how he speaks to the guy in hopes he doesn't freak him out. Everest lowers his weapon.

"I see a lot of shit in this neighborhood," the guy tells us. He turns and starts sifting through the trash again.

"Care to share what you know?" Acting casual, Riggs pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it.

"Sure, man. For a price." The man looks over his shoulder and flashes us a toothless grin.

Digging in his back pocket, Riggs retrieves his wallet and pulls out a few twenties. He waves them in the air. "Have you noticed anything going on around this building the past few days?" he asks, and the homeless man stops what he's doing. Wiping his dirty, leathered hands down the front of his shirt, he ventures toward us, pushing a beat-up shopping cart.

"Sure did. They had themselves a bunch of girls over here the other night. Pretty things, they were too." Riggs holds out a twenty, and the guy plucks it from his hand. "I didn't see no truck that night, but I did overhear a couple of men talking about making a trip south, maybe they mentioned Louisiana or Florida." The guy starts looking confused as if he's lost his train of thought. Riggs snaps his fingers, gaining the homeless man's attention again. Then hands him another twenty.

"Is that all?" Riggs asks, and the homeless man thinks for a minute, then looks around. Riggs' phone rings, so he pulls it from his pocket and listens as he keeps his eyes on the guy in front of us.

"Oh yeah, wait. I remember something else." He scratches his neck and shuffles his feet. "They said women were going to make them rich." Riggs tosses the last twenty, and it flutters to the ground. Having heard enough, we turn and walk away.

"Get back to the plane." Riggs shoves his phone into his cut. "Cowboy just confirmed his insiders contacted him less than an hour ago, informing him of cell movement within a sector here in Vegas, that is well known to be involved in the sex trade. I'll know more soon."

The vehicle's cab falls silent, and my rampant thoughts become so loud that it feels as if others can hear them.

Riggs shifts in his seat, and I feel his eyes on me. "Don't go there."