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A crack in her facade starts but she’s quick to regain her composure. Alec’s hand snakes out to grab her hand in his, gently squeezing it. Whatever the issue between the three of them is, it seems to stem between Rachel and Nicholis, not Alec. That’s the only reason I can think of why he’s stayed quiet this whole time. He was amused when I went toe to toe with his brother. Not so much anymore.
“That doesn't change the facts. They deserve your respect, give it or leave.” My eyes widen at the strength of her voice as she makes her demand. I don’t get to see this side of her very often. She’s much more relaxed with us. Almost even teasing when Alec is also there.
“You called me here,” he says through gritted teeth.
“For a job,” she snaps out. “Not to be a part of our team. As always, it’s your choice how you want to proceed. As a contact or as one of us. But you will play by our rules.”
He rubs his hand over his face. “The Alvarados don’t have any loyalty to Romano. They don’t have much loyalty for anyone. They won’t care who they are paying as long as they aren’t affected.”
It’s not exactly an agreement but I guess that’s something they can figure out between the three of them and update us later.
“Great,” I exclaim and clap my hands together to break up some of the tension in the room. “Now we just need to meet with them.”
He grinds his teeth together as he looks at me. “I can get you a time and place for drop off. They won’t be suspicious if they hear from me first. They’ll probably be amused by you pulling one over Romano.”
I grin calculatingly. “Perfect. Rachel, you let me know how much backup you need and when. I think at least Mikey and Ronan though.”
She nods, still glaring at Nicholis. I’d love to hear some of her thoughts right now. There’s murder in her eyes. Whatever effect he’d had on her earlier when she softened, is no longer working. Dark and Douchey better watch out if he’s gonna stick around.
“What do you mean Rachel? Where the fuck are you going?” he demands.
Why does he continue to belittle her strength by acting like she isn’t capable on her own? It infuriates me more than I thought I would care, but apparently I do. I guess I’m adopting Rachel too.
“It was Rachel’s mission,” I answer calmly. “She planned the hit, she led the run, she stored the shipment. The whole point was to make up for the drugs that were stolen from her. Why would I take point? Plus, I have a mayor to kill.”
“A mayor?” he splutters. I think I might have broken his brain. I can’t help but feel smug about that. He turns to Rachel. “What the fuck have you gotten yourselves involved in?”
She gives me an exasperated look and I might feel a tad guilty for poking at him again.
“When the mayor is allowing his own citizens to be kidnapped and sold into slavery, he deserves to die. No?” I push further, my own anger rising at his indifference. “My intel tells me he likes them young. He hasn’t bought any yet, but he has child pornography saved on his hard drive. It’s only a matter of time now that he’s in Romano’s pocket.”
He doesn’t respond to me, instead speaking directly to Rachel, a wariness in his voice. “It’s not your job to fight evil. Hell, half the world thinks we are the evil.”
“Then whose job is it, Nico?” she sighs.
“Not ours,” he growls.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I intervene, walking to stand by Rachel’s side. “It’s men like you that see what’s wrong with the world, have the power to do something and don’t, that are the reason why women like us have to rise up and steal that power for ourselves. So we aren’t targeted, so we aren’t hunted and sold like cattle. It’s men like you that do nothing that make us all the more determined to do something when we have that power.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he argues.
“Doesn’t mean she’s wrong,” she counters. “I’ve spent years working in the shadows trying to help victims of trafficking.”
I arch my brows at her. I didn't know that. I knew she never went to the auctions, never took part in it, but she never actively stood against it either.
“What?” She cocks her hip out. “You thought I spent all that time looking and never doing anything about the horrors I found?”
Hmph. I guess I never really thought about it before. I knew she was looking for Jade and I was more focused on that than what else she might have found on her search.
“That doesn’t mean you should try and save everyone.” Wow, he might actually be more stubborn than I am. For whatever reason, Rachel doesn’t want him to know about Jade. I know that if he knew the reason she went through all of this, he would shut up real quick. Well, Jade isn’t the only one who’s been hurt because of Romano.
“So we shouldn’t try?” I ask, my tone full of disdain now. It goes past annoyance and straight into losing respect for this man in front of me with every word out of his mouth. “Should I tell my daughter that? That the risks weren’t worth saving her? Would you like to see the scars that cover her tiny body that she would still be bleeding had we not saved her? Tell her yourself that it was just bad luck she ended up being raped at four but it wasn’t our problem so we just won’t do anything. It’s not our job after all.”
Rachel’s hand lands on my arm and gently squeezes. A silent apology. She knows about Roe, probably suspected her history, but this is the first it’s ever been confirmed for her.
Nicholis’ head hangs in defeat. “I apologize. I didn’t know it was so personal to you.”
“Next time, heed my warning that you have no fucking idea what you walked into.” I give Rachel’s hand a gentle squeeze before nodding to my men and heading out. All three of them have a mask of indifference on their faces but their bodies are tense from witnessing the interaction.
