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After all that, it’s almost anti-climactic how small the distance actually is. It looked worse from above. My knees and ankles ache a bit, but nothing is broken.
Now it’s time to run.
I’m glad it’s early enough that the club is closed, and the streets are free of potential clients. It’s not busy, but it isn’t empty either. A city this large never has empty streets. I resist the urge to run, because I know that’ll just draw attention.
But I realize I’ve got a problem. I have no money. I can’t hail a cab. I’ve got no phone. No friends.
Nothing.
I slow my breathing, trying to center myself, then start to walk slowly, calmly, down the street. It isn’t long before I see a sign pointing to the subway, and for the first time, I really let myself hope that I’m going to get away with this. I don’t have the money for the fare, but if I’m careful, I can hop over one of the turnstiles to get past it. That’s what people do in the movies, right?
I just have to stay calm.
I don’t know my way around New Bristol, and I end up having to ask for directions to a police station. The man I ask eyes me askance at the question, but he tells me what stop to get off on and a general idea of where I’m going.
It’s hard to navigate without a smartphone, harder than I thought it would be. I don’t know how all the people in this city get around so easily. At the very least, I’m lost in the crowd. I’m untraceable unless I’m being followed, which is the only good thing about not having a phone. It’s a blessing and a curse.
It takes forever to travel two stops. A few people bump into me as I walk up the stairs, and every time I panic, thinking it’s one of them. Yet once I’m finally outside, I see the police building right across the street. Sweat drips down my face as I try to keep walkingslowly. I fling the door open, though, so relieved to see the building that I have trouble catching my breath for a moment.
The receptionist at the entrance turns to look at me. He’s a small man, lean with unremarkable features that look completely unbothered by anything. “Can I help you?”
“I need help,” I blurt out before I even think about what’s best to say. “I have important information about Giulio Pavone, who’s involved with human trafficking. He kidnapped me and took other women, too. I don’t even know how long I’ve been there, but I was able to run away this morning, and…” Tears start to fall again, damn it. “I don’t know what to do now.”
“Whoa, slow down there.” The guy picks up the phone. “Okay, you said it’s about human trafficking?”
I nod quickly.
The guy punches in a number into the phone, and after a few seconds says, “Hey, is Graham there? I’ve got somebody who claims to have info on some brothel.”
He makes it sound so minimal, and I fidget. Is he even taking this seriously?
I strain to hear the other side of the conversation, but it’s too muffled. It doesn’t take long for the receptionist to finish up and hang up the phone. He gets up and walks around to the other side of the counter.
“Okay, follow me. Detective Graham will want to hear what you have to say.”
I’m flooded with relief when he leads me toward a private room. There’s a couch, a chair, and a table, and it almost looks cozy. An interview room, then, and not the scary sort of interrogation rooms I’ve always seen on TV.
“Go ahead and have a seat. He’ll be here shortly. Do you need anything to drink?” the receptionist asks. “Do I need to call for an ambulance?”
“N-no, not yet,” I say. “It’s really important that someone gets there quickly. Some things… happened, and one of the girls is in danger right now.”
“Detective Graham will be able to help you,” he tries to reassure me, but all I can think about is the possibility of Stef being sold off into the underworld into an even worse situation than she’s in at Ntimacy.
I nod, sitting anxiously at the edge of the couch as he leaves.
There’s nothing to do here but listen to my own thoughts, my own fears that what Cat said will be true and that I’ll have done nothing but make things worse for everyone else.
The door opens, and I look up in desperate relief as a large man enters the room.
“Detective, I—”
My heart stops.
It can’t be.
Slayer closes the door… and locks it behind him. “Fancy meeting you here,” he says with a wide grin.
For a moment, I can’t even comprehend what I’m seeing. I stare dumbly at him, my lips parting but no words coming out.
