Page 27 of Dark Sold Mate

“Don’t you want to help?” Javi asked in a deceitfully soft voice. “Help save the women who are in the position you once were?”

Silas rounded on his brother. “That’s a low blow, even for you.”

“It’s the truth,” Javi shot back. “Elle is aware of what those women are going through. If she has something that may be of use to us—”

“She doesn’t owe us anything!”

“Maybe not. But she does for the women stuck there.” Javi turned back to Elle. “We are not asking you to do anything dangerous. Only to answer some questions. To share what you remember.”

Silas’ gaze zeroed in on Elle’s fingers, which were trembling.

“Stop,” Silas demanded. “You’re scaring her.”

“I am just giving her a choice. Something you never gave her when you forced her into marrying and getting bonded to you.”

The accusation hit the spot. “This is different,” Silas gritted out.

“I don’t think so. You’re clearly making another decision on her behalf. You have decided that she’s too weak and fragile to answer a few questions.”

“I’m not weak.” They all turned to look at Elle.

“I’m not fragile,” she continued. “I survived being kidnapped. I managed to come out alive. What questions do you have for me?”

“Elle, you don’t have to prove anything,” August said.

“I’m not. I’m just trying to put a stop to this. To stop more women from being trafficked. They are worth more than being used and disposed of.” Elle lifted her chin. “I’ll answer your questions and tell you what I remember. “

“Elle.”

“I said I’ll do it.”

Javi looked triumphant. August and Rael looked worried.

And Silas felt that he had failed her one more time.

“Fine,” he said. “But we do this on Elle’s terms. When she wants to stop, we abort. No pushing, no pressure. Understood?”

Javi nodded. “Understood.”

Silas pulled out a chair for Elle. She walked forward and took a seat at the table, her hands clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Rael pulled out a notebook. “We will begin from where they kept you. Can you describe the facility?”

Elle drew in a shaky breath. “It was a warehouse. Old, abandoned. The walls were concrete, and there were….” Her voice cracked. “There were cages. Metal cages full of about ten women each.”

“How many cages?” Rael asked gently.

“Four. Maybe five. I couldn’t see them all from where I was.”

Silas watched Elle’s face as she spoke, noting the way her eyes got distant.

“The handlers,” Javi prompted. “Can you describe them?”

“There were three. All men. Two were wolves, I think. The third was…” Elle’s breath hitched. “The third was the one who grabbed me from the street. He reeked of cigarettes and sweat. There’s a scar in the shape of a crescent on his left cheek.”

Rael wrote it down quickly. “Hair color? Eye color?”

“Brown hair. I don’t remember his eyes. I tried not to look at them.”