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"We stopped him," Cora told them firmly, hoping they would draw comfort from her next words. "We realized he was hiding out on the grounds. We set a trap and lured him to us. He walked into it. He didn't walk out again," Cora said, her voice hard as Gabe nodded firmly. The wire had left a deep cut around his neck. She saw their gazes flicker to it. She guessed they were putting two and two together and realizing how he'd gotten hurt. How dangerous this had been.
"Heidi didn't deserve to die like that," Stefan's sister said, her voice trembling. "None of them did."
"Psychopaths are cunning, dangerous people, and they won't stop killing unless they are stopped. I'm so sorry that Heidi had to be one of his targets," Gabe said, his voice rough and hoarse. "I'm sorry for you, sorry for Heidi's parents, sorry for the families of the others who died."
"But at least her father can have closure now," Cora said, knowing the words were not enough but hoping they brought some comfort.
They all looked at each other and nodded somberly.
"I am grateful to you," Stefan said in a heavy voice. "If it was not for you, we would never have known. Never have gotten answers."
"I need answers also," Cora said. "I've helped you. Now, you can help me. Please. Tell me where this place was. Where were you taken?" Now she turned to the blond woman, looking her straight in the eyes. "Please, I know this is very difficult for you," she said again.
The woman hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "I'll tell you everything I know."
***
The crossroads were easy to find on the map. This was a part of Paris where the tourists never went. Stark industrial buildings stood shoulder to shoulder with dilapidated and overcrowded tenements. At seven p.m., the place was strangely deserted.
Cora drove slowly, scanning the buildings on either side of the road. She was looking for the door painted gray that the blond woman had described. As she turned onto Lafayette Road, she could see they were all the way on the wrong side of the tracks. The area looked like a warzone, with broken windows, boarded-up doors, and graffiti scrawled across the walls. This was definitely a place that didn’t deal with the public. That was very clear. There was no way a tourist would come here or willingly walk into one of these places. Most likely, even the locals stayed away.
And that meant it was just a hub, a storage place for the women, out of the way and off the radar. It was where women were brought in and where they were sent out to the brothels. It was where they were broken in and where they were disciplined.
There was the door. Tall, solid, painted gray. She couldn't see anyone outside, but she knew that didn't mean there was nobody there. They had people watching for sure. And the fact they weren't obvious only increased the threat.
She kept driving. She wasn't going to stop, not this time.
She parked the car around the corner and two streets down. Hopefully, far enough away to avoid their scrutiny.
Turning to Gabe, she spoke her mind.
"Listen, I need to go in alone. I can't risk you again. You stay here."
She stared at the mark on his throat. A mark that would leave a lasting scar. It had almost killed Gabe. He’d almost choked to death. If he hadn't gotten his hand in the way, he would have choked, and his hand also had a sharp, deep slice into the flesh from his ordeal.
What she'd felt when he'd been hanging by that wire was not something she ever wanted to feel again. Her love for him was like a huge, protective fire. Blazing, consuming.
But Gabe shook his head.
"Cora," he said. His voice was calm. He wasn't scared. "Listen here. You don't understand. I'm doing this because I got into it, and I can handle it, and I feel motivated by it. I'm doing this with you because I love you, and I know the risks. But I'm doing this particular job because I want to make up for what my father did." His voice trembled. "I never want to know what happened between you up there on the mountain. I'll never ask. But I know that he was an evil man and that every single day of my life, I should be making up for his crimes."
Cora nodded, her heart heavy. She got him. It wasn't his responsibility to do it, but Buddy Finch sure had created a lot of wrongs to atone for.
"Come with me," she said. "We do it together. You keep watch outside, and I’ll go in."
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Cora and Gabe sneaked back on foot and made sure to keep clear of the front of the building. Cora wasn't going to make the mistake of getting into their sights. She couldn't make a single error in her hunt for Rose because this was the only chance she might get. This was the trafficking ring's hub, even though its location and its tumbledown appearance surprised her.
Now to find a way in.
It felt as if Rose's memories were surging in her head with every step. The fun they'd had when they were young. The fights they'd had – when they’d been younger, slapping and hair pulling had been involved. Later on, they’d bitched at each other, flinging insults. The ice creams they’d shared. The adventures they’d been on that their parents had never known about. They’d been really close in their early teens, but they'd grown apart as they got older. Cora had always wanted to fix that, but by the time she'd made a firm decision, Rose had already been taken and it was too late.
As they circled around the back of the ramshackle building, being careful to stay out of sight of the two neighboring buildings, Cora spotted a window that was slightly ajar. That could provide a way in. She and Gabe approached it carefully, noting that all the windows in the building had tinted glass installed, although it was dusty, and some of the panes were cracked.
What was behind here? A bathroom, a window on the stairway?
It was too high to see through, but that didn't bother her. She just clambered up onto the drainpipe, hoisted herself up, and she was there. A yard up, and now able to peer in through this narrow gap. Now, her heart was thudding hard, and she was feeling as if everything rode on this. Everything.
