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I grabbed both of her shoulders and gave her a small shake. “We can’t fucking save you if you get caught in that house, Sierra. We will figure this out, but nothing matters more than your safety. It’s over.”
I could see she wanted to continue fighting with me about this, but she fell silent, looking at the ground between us. She had no idea how serious I was about keeping her safe. She had no idea what I’d do to make sure nothing happened to her, and I prayed she never had to figure it out.
28
SIERRA
The last thing I wanted to do was go back into Virgil’s house and put myself at risk. I’d cemented that I’d never go back there when I saw the man in the foyer, waiting for Virgil. I couldn’t risk being seen by him again, but I couldn’t allow fear to drive my senses now—not when it’d been fear that’d driven me from that house in the first place. Fear had been controlling all of my emotions and feelings recently, and I couldn’t let it be the reason Carlo and his brothers were captured and killed.
Carlo slept soundly at my side after insisting he stay at my apartment. He’d been insistent, claiming that if Virgil was onto me and knew my address, it was only a matter of time until he struck. I could understand the sentiment, even as he lay in a deep sleep that no movement of mine could pull him from.
I rolled soundlessly out of bed and grabbed my work pants and shirt from the bedroom before striding toward the door, avoiding all the places I knew would creak. I looked over my shoulder at him, biting my lip at how innocent and peaceful he looked in rest. The brand on his chest was exposed to the dim light of the room, and a wisp of his hair fell over his forehead as his chest rose and fell in steady rhythms. He looked nothing like the protector I knew he was as he slept, and I smiled lightly at the sentiment of taking that weight from him this time. Just once more. I knew he’d be pissed, but I had to do this one last time.
I clicked the door closed and made my way toward my car, knowing that once I got home, he’d be livid.
* * *
It was early enoughthat I knew nobody else in the house would be awake or moving. Virgil usually got moving around nine, so I could count on at least an hour before I was intercepted. Not even the security detail outside the house had shifted from the night shift yet, so everyone looked around with red, exhausted eyes. One of the men on the exterior of the house gave me a wide smirk as I strode inside, but nobody questioned me.
Nobody even questioned me as I passed by the staircase that should’ve been finished yesterday. The painted footprints still sat through the foyer, though it looked like someone had tried to scrub the wood floor free of them after I’d left. It wasn’t my problem. I wouldn’t come back here after today, and if he tried to bash my business around the city, so be it. Completing this project wasn’t worth my life.
I made my way up the stairs and into the office, not hesitating as I began sifting through all the files I’d been forced to overlook before. I took pictures on all the pages relevant to human trafficking and the Bonanno brothers, though I didn’t find much on the latter. It was almost as if Virgil kept no record of his plans with them beyond what I’d retrieved the first time, which unsettled me. I was here to learn information but found nothing of substance. Even as I took and sent dozens of photos of the names and locations of the processing houses Virgil used for trafficking, I felt like this was useless if I couldn’t get information that would save Carlo’s life. At least I’d get information that could save the lives of hundreds of innocent men, women and children.
I found myself captivated by all the files, but I paid close attention to the sound of movement in the home. I assumed I’d be able to hear anyone coming long before they reached the office, especially when I took extra care to leave the door open and be aware. But when footfall came from the other side of the hallway, I realized I’d severely overestimated my sense of hearing. I sprung to my feet and looked around for anywhere to hide, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get out without being seen. But the room for the most part was open. Aside from under his desk where Virgil would sit, there wasn’t a single place to tuck myself to go unseen.
Except…
The room must’ve been used as a bedroom for past owners, as a closet sat on the far wall, and I rushed toward it. I twisted the knob, and relief filled my chest as the door opened. The small room had been packed full of storage shit, but I slid inside and on top of a box full of papers, sealing the door just in time for Virgil to come into the office, sighing and moving straight toward his desk. I wondered how long I’d have to stay like this. Aside from restroom and food breaks, he usually took his meetings in this room and spent most of the day in it. I glanced down at the box I sat on and huddled my knees to my chest. I knew that my legs would fall asleep within minutes, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t risk being caught here. Why the hell was he awake earlier than usual?
“You’re late,” Virgil said in a booming tone that had me flinching back into the closet.
Another unrecognizable voice followed. “We’re more on time than anticipated.”
“‘More on time than anticipated’ is still not the same thing as being on time.”
My breath caught as I closed my eyes and heard at least two more people stride into the room. They exchanged a few basic pleasantries before a voice I recognized spoke up. I was hoping he’d never be within a mile of me again, and I felt my body begin to involuntarily shake at the realization that he was mere feet away. “We have a lot of numbers to go through.”
“I have another meeting in twenty minutes, so give me the brief quickly,” Virgil said.
My kidnapper made a noise before diving into whatever information he needed to give. “Our numbers are up this quarter exponentially, and we still have five weeks left. We have over two hundred people in holding until this situation with the Bonannos is figured out. They’ve proven to be a nuisance in our sales, and if we try to move forward while they’re alive, we won’t get a quarter of the profit we’d make otherwise,” he said. “They have too many buyers afraid to move forward.”
“I’m handling that,” Virgil said cooly.
“It needs to be handled yesterday, sir. We have no more room for more people, and we need to keep them in constant flux if we want to avoid drawing law enforcement attention. We have the sale of seventy girls in three days, and we stand to lose a lot if our buyers are too scared to show.”
Seventy girls.My heart dropped and skipped a beat as I considered the conditions they’d endured. I’d never made it out of a basement, but I imagined they’d seen far worse. And once they were sold…
“You don’t think we’ll be able to make the sales if we don’t strike within the next three days?” Virgil clarified. “Your job is to ensure buyers for the demand we have. Have you failed to do so?”
My kidnapper chuckled deeply. “There’s more demand than we have merchandise. But fucking Frankie Bonanno has word out that anyone caught trading people will answer to him, and nobody wants to risk that shit. He has a brutal reputation, boss.”
“More brutal than mine?” Virgil asked, his tone darkening.
This time, my kidnapper had the sense to remain silent, and the silence of the room made me immediately conscious of the sound of my breathing. The other man spoke up. “We need that threat eliminated if we want to hit our goals with profit on this sale. We have buyers lined up—committed buyers who’ve done business with us before—but Frankie is…unnerving. If his brothers unleash him, the buyers who decided to risk it will back out, too. They all need to be taken care of.”
It felt odd hearing someone talk about Frankie in such a way when I trusted the man with my life. I could see the darkness beneath his surface, but I couldn’t fathom being that terrified of him. Maybe he’d become boss for a good reason.
“I’ll have it taken care of, then,” Virgil said. “We’re going to use Bella, and we’ll take them all to their knees.” Her name on his lips sent immediate chills through me. I couldn’t imagine allowing her to fall in this situation. She’d been the one to warn me of the dangers, and she’d been so adamant that I stay out of this life. She’d become a friend. But I understood what was at risk here. Bella was the one thing Frankie would protect above all else, and if they wanted to send him into a frenzy—to take him out because of that reckless abandon—Bella would certainly be the way to do that.
