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"Damn. What happened after that?" Maddox was fighting off a smile, and I knew that shit would give us away if Connor heard it in his voice.
"That's where shit goes off the rails. So, the second team is down in the basement. There's a weird bookshelf down there, and one of the guys notices it's not lined up with the wall like it should be, so they pull it away, and there's a room behind it."
My eyes widened, and my heart was absolutely humming in my chest. I didn't even know my heart could beat that fast. "They found a girl tied up, gagged and drugged but thankfully still fully clothed. Turns out these two guys who rent the house are low-level in a human trafficking ring. They were the bait, the ones who snagged girls from bars, drugged them, and turned them over. Made thousands a head."
Holy fuck. Here I'd been feeling at least a little guilty for setting those douches up and they'd deserved it all along. Fucking karma.
Maddox looked just as shocked as I felt but composed himself, his voice sounding surprisingly calm and almost bored. "Not a word of this to anyone, Connor, but what's going to happen to those guys now?"
"They're in jail, going to see a judge probably today. I doubt they'll be allowed bail because they're a flight risk, but if they are, it'll be a fuck ton of money. From what Ronin said, they're looking at a solid ten years each. Minimum."
I exhaled a little louder than I meant to, and Maddox shot me a warning glare. My shoulders relaxed, though. At least one nightmare was coming to an end, and they'd have no idea who set them up. Not only that, but any guilt I'd been feeling was long gone.
"Okay. I appreciate the help, Connor. Let me know when you're up for a night at the range."
"Will do." The line clicked.
I stood up. "You golf?"
Maddox smirked. "Fuck, no. Shooting range."
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say, but I wasn't surprised.
"I've gotta say, when all that went down, I had no idea those fuckers were even worse than we thought. I almost feel good about what we did, like a superhero." He grinned, and I had to laugh.
"Let's quit while we're ahead, though. I'm good with this being my good deed of the century."
"Yeah. Fuck, I can't have word getting out that I'm actually a good guy." Maddox's smile was genuine as he glanced at the bowl next to me. "Are you ever going to fucking cook those? I was promised waffles, and I'm wasting away." He ran his hand over the thick muscles that made up his torso as I rolled my eyes.
I heard Amara's sleepy form shuffling our way before I saw her, and a slow smile spread across my face. Today was the first day she wouldn't have to worry about being harassed by those fuckers. She was free. Everything Maddox and I had done was more than worth it to know she'd be safe.
I poured the batter into the waffle maker, closed the lid, and held my arms open as she crashed into me like she did most mornings. This was becoming our new routine. I always woke up first, but the first thing she did when she woke up was to seek me out as if she couldn't wait to find me and missed me even as she slept.
She buried her face in my chest, breathing in, and I chuckled like I did every morning because she was so damn cute. I kissed the top of her head and squeezed her a little tighter. Our hugs weren't quite as close anymore because her belly was growing, and it fit right between us but neither one of us minded. I loved having our daughter so close. I knew it wouldn't be this way forever.
"Your waffle's almost ready, mama. Go sit by Mad, and he'll get you some juice." I eyed him over her head, and he jumped up, moving towards the fridge.
She reluctantly let me go and jumped up onto the stool, accepting her glass from Maddox as I pulled her golden brown waffle off the iron. Sliding her plate across the island, I grabbed a fork and handed it over. As she stuffed the first bite into her mouth, her eyes rolled back. She moaned in a way that had blood rushing south and me wondering how quickly I could get her to finish eating so I could make her moan like that using a few different parts of my body.
I cleared my throat, trying to concentrate on the fact that I was about to tell her something that may piss her right the fuck off at me. But I'd promised her honesty, and that was what she was going to get. But first, she needed to finish breakfast.
Once we'd all eaten our fill, I quickly cleaned up and then turned around and met Maddox's eyes. He nodded, but the movement was so small I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't paying attention. I moved around the island, tugging her off the stool and sliding myself onto it before pulling her into my arms.
"Honey, I've gotta tell you something." She stiffened a little. "Maddox and I do."
His eyes widened a little, almost like he was afraid of what she might do to him for dragging me into this whole thing. It would have been funny if I wasn't just as scared.
She glanced between the two of us and sighed. "What'd you do?"
"It's a good thing, I promise." I hoped she'd see it that way at least.
"We'll see. Out with it." For now, she was still letting me hold onto her.
I took a deep breath. "You know those guys from your work?"
She nodded. "Kent and Miles?"
"Right, them."
