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With a gentle hand on her lower back, I usher her toward the tables because she obviously has no intention of going on her own.
I walk her all the way to the table and pull out her chair. She plops down in it without a word, and I flag the waiter over for her.
It only takes a moment for her attention to be back on the girls, and I let out a relieved sigh. Who knew the thing I was worried she would be upset about would end up being our saving grace here.
Jade isn’t anything like I thought she would be.
I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing yet. Though, if I’m being honest, it’s probably a little of both.
I turn my back to her and head back towards the guys who are waiting where I left them so we can head to Kratos together. I only make it a few steps before I hear her mutter “party pooper” under her breath. I decide to ignore it, acting as if I didn’t even hear her. I keep going, even though I can feel my lips twitching in a faint smile.
Yeah, definitely both.
When we make it to Kratos, I make sure to take a seat that allows me to keep an eye on Jade. Kratos tracks my eyes as I look from Jade back to him. If he has an issue, he would let me know and seeing as he says nothing, I assume we're good.
“Girl from the last trafficking?” He asks, not looking at anyone in particular. He just wants answers, and he doesn’t care who gives them.
“Yeah, Rick’s mom and dad gave her a place to stay at their house.” Zander pipes up. He’s always quick to try and get to the bottom of everything so he can be out of Kratos's line of sight.
“I heard that one of the girls was taken back to your parents' home Rick. According to her file, nobody knows much about her, including herself.” If he didn’t have our attention before, he sure as fuck does now.
“Jade is the only name she has listed, no last name. If she knows it, she’s never given it. She has no known family, no listed date of birth, and as far as we know, she is unaware of it herself. She couldn’t be placed with a foster family because it’s believed she is over eighteen though nobody can know for sure.” He lists everything off as if it’s just simple facts, and while I guess it is, it's also disturbing as fuck. How can someone not know their birthday or how old they are?
I look at Zander and then Spencer and see they are on the same train of thought as I am based on the gobsmacked looks on their faces. About a million questions are on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t seem to get my thoughts in order enough to actually form words.
“Regardless of all that, this actually makes your guy's job easier. Froggie wants her looked after, and this job seems to have decided who gets that honor all by itself.” That seems to loosen my tongue.
“Do you think she’s in danger?”
“Not exactly.” He says as he takes a step towards the table we sit at. For the first time since sitting down, I realize he has a file in his hand.
He tosses it onto the table and gives a nod to it. Spencer reaches forward and starts shuffling through the papers inside. He lays out different things, and Zander and I look on as he goes through all of it. Spencer has always been the brains in our group, so it only seems fitting to let him get the information, and he can just fill us in instead of us all trying to get our hands on it.
After a few minutes, he slams some of the papers back on the table and looks up at Kratos, anger apparent on his face. I have to bite my tongue to keep from demanding to know what he’s learned, but I know he will fill us in eventually.
“Are you sure this is all correct?” Whatever he found has him clearly upset. Which means it has to be pretty fucked up. He’s usually pretty good at keeping his cool.
“In the last year, Froggie has broken up five of the six major sex trafficking rings in the city, something that he wants handled asap.” Spencer says, but we know this already. Froggie hates the skin trade. Whether personal or just because it’s bad for business, we have been helping him go after them since the beginning. Though this is as close as we’ve come to the actual takedown of one, the others were all in parts of the city we don’t handle.
“Of those five, Jade is listed as having ties to all of them.”
“What!” Zander exclaims loudly before he seems to remember where he is. We all take a moment to look around and ensure we haven’t drawn the room's attention. Nobody seems to have noticed, the dancers still do their routines, and the audience is still thoroughly entranced by them.
My eyes go to Jade, she appears to be still watching the show, but something about her posture makes me think she could be listening. Considering we are talking about her, I let it go. It’s not like we're saying anything she doesn’t already know.
“What now? How is it possible she has ties to all of them?” Zander asks Spencer in a lower voice but with no less urgency behind it.
“According to this information, it looks like she's been in that lifestyle since she was a child. Based on the description given, I would say she was five or six when one of the rings got its hands on her, though it doesn’t say how she was picked up.” Spencer tells us through clenched teeth. I watch the color drain from Zander's face and know my own can’t be much better.
We thought this was bad for her before when we found her in that hole, but this has been her whole life.
“No wonder she doesn’t have basic life skills.” The words come out low, and I didn’t even mean to say them, but it makes sense. I know the guys hear me as they nod along.
“Since then, she’s changed hands as payment, or just because, over and over through the years. The guy we saved her from has only had her for maybe the last year.”
“Jade isn’t just used for sex, though.” Kratos tells us.
“No.” Spencer agrees. “She appears to be available for purchase for more than just that. She has a history of being an escort. It looks like many high rollers have used her for service at galas, business dinners, and things of that nature. In addition, she has worked jobs smuggling drugs and weapons. She even has a job listing where she was purchased as a nanny for a time, but every contract has a start and end date, and when it’s over, she’s returned.” Spencer shakes his head as he looks over the papers and gives us the facts.
