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We slip into my old GTO. Everything is quiet when we pull out of the drive and start down the road. The sun is finally setting, so everything has a dusty hue to it, but in a way it’s nice. Relaxing.
I shift into fourth gear when we hit the highway and try to start a conversation with Julius. I’ve been itching to dive deeper into everything with Lucas, and now is the perfect time to bring it up. “So, Lucas does this often?”
He looks to me, then away before throwing his long leg on the dash, stretching out as much as he can. “Not often, just when he gets too wrapped up in his own mind. One of the traits he inherited from good old dad, I guess.”
I wring my hands around the steering wheel, trying to alleviate some of the sweat building on my palms.
“You wouldn’t think it, but he cares about things a lot. Sometimes too much. He takes other people’s problems and makes them his own until he’s to the point of madness.”
“So, it was me, then?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
He flashes me a sad smile. “Everything Lucas does is on him. He’s a big boy and can make his own decisions, so don’t think you drove him into a bender. Were you a factor on his mind? I’m sure, but there’s more to it than that.”
“More to it how?”
He stares out the windshield as he talks. “When we were younger, it was always us cleaning up the messes my dad made. Taking care of mom when he beat her, lying to the cops and people at school about the bruises all over us… Basically, from the moment we were old enough to make our own decisions, Lucas deemed himself a fixer. He hasn’t said it, and he probably doesn’t even realize it, but his actions speak volumes.
“It doesn’t matter who it is or what they’ve done, if Lucas feels indebted to them because they give him something, he makes it his mission to fix whatever they fuck up. My dad kept a roof over our heads somehow until…” He trails off for a moment. “He fed us, you know, all the shit a parent should do, and because of that no matter how badly he treated us, Lucas always stuck up for him in a sense. When he was finally out of the picture and Teddy took us in, he did the same thing.”
I nod in understanding. “Then why do you do it?”
He looks at me with a smile. “I do it because I love my brother. It’s always going to be him and I. He’s the one person I know will never leave me no matter what bad things I do. I don’t always agree with him, but that doesn’t matter. If he needs me, I’ll be there. Love is a powerful fucking motivator.”
I mull his words over in my mind, and boy is he right. After all, everything I’m doing now is because I love my dad. I haven’t left the house because I know the boys need me. I love each and every one of them in different ways.
“I get that.”
“I know you do, Flower. It’s one of the reasons I love you too.”
I give him a smile as we turn onto the road we need. Knowing Lucas has Julius makes me happy because until I work out my feelings, I think he needs that. Of course, it’s said that twins share a special bond, but I think what Julius and Lucas have is more than that.
I pull into the drive and watch the overgrown grass sway in the light breeze. It doesn’t look like anyone is here which makes me feel a little better about doing this. “Let’s go, Jules. Whatever we can find on big clients, finances, anything—we will make it work. The bigger the better.” He nods as we exit the car.
When we make it to the door of the shop, I pull the key Desi gave me from my bag and unlock it. We step inside and flip the switch by the door. Fluorescent lights buzz to life and beam down from the ceiling, illuminating everything we need to see.
I walk to the corner and check our supply, making sure everything I left is still there before I throw my bag onto a crate and start pulling open the filing cabinets closest to me.
For hours we go through numerous files containing nothing more than names, but nothing incriminating. I’m ready to give up hope—scratch my entire plan—but Julius finally finds something. “Look at this!” he exclaims, walking across the shop.
I take the file from his hands and start reading over it. Big names from our town are all over the first page, which isn’t much, but when I turn to the next page, my jaw drops. Screenshots of conversations, pictures of women and young girls bloody and naked, and contracts are all neatly in order.
“This can’t be right.” I look to Julius and see the anger growing in his eyes.
“Well, there’s no mistake. It’s legit. Look at the usernames and signatures on the contracts.” He points to the printed text bubbles from an online chat room, then to Emil Garcia below it, etched in perfect cursive.
“Teddy said all of his girls were willing. That he takes good care of them…” I meet his eyes again and plead with them for him to tell me this isn’t true.
“You and I both know sometimes people lie and aren’t who they say.”
My heart sinks because I know he’s talking about Teddy. I knew who Teddy was when I agreed to help him, but I didn’t know the extent, I guess. I never thought he could be so terrible to me of all people—someone he swore to love.
“We have to find them, Jules. We have to get them out. I fucking knew something was up with Emil.”
He nods, then takes the file back. His eyes land on a picture of a woman with blonde hair. She can’t be more than my age. Her arms and legs are bound to a dirty bed, her mouth gagged with a dirty cloth. Shivers run down my spine seeing it and knowing she isn’t there of her own will.
I step beside him and flip the page back to the chat room screenshots, needing something to look at other than the haunting blue eyes of the blonde woman. It’s a site I’ve never seen, but it’s clear from how they’re speaking that the anonymous user is purchasing the girl.
Diablo: I promise she’ll put up a good fight. She broke my man’s nose when we took her, so be prepared. Payment is due upfront.
