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He was the complete opposite of Derek.
When I stopped on the bottom step, I saw five girls chained and bolted to the cement walls of the basement. The smell of urine and feces hung in the air but I held my breath as I searched the faces, and realized quickly none of them was Josie.
“Unlock them,” I said.
He cursed. “What do you want—,”
“Unlock them!” I screamed.
He dug a set of keys from his pocket and unchained each girl one at a time. They scurried away from him into a circle, crying and sniffling as I pointed the gun at him. “Sit down,” I said.
He did as I asked and I chained him to the wall, digging his cell phone from his pocket and shoving it into mine. I turned toward the girls, some looked older and some looked as young as thirteen.
“Is this man in charge?”
No one said anything.
“Please,” I pleaded. “I’m looking for my girlfriend.”
One of the older girls cleared her throat. “No. He is in charge of this location—,”
The man chuckled. “He is going to kill you for this.”
I snarled, ushering the girls toward the stairs before butt-stroking him in the nose with the gun. “Not if I kill him first.”
Chapter Thirty
Josie
The dark demeanor that hung over Derek followed him as he walked into the room. A fear I’d never experienced danced along the walls, down my spine and it seemed to consume the other girls. They knew what was coming—I didn’t.
It reminded me of the fear Maverick held for him.
It cemented me to the floor. I didn’t try to move or jolt as he neared me and squatted down to get a better look. “You have a little black eye. I’ll get some ice for it. We want you pretty for tomorrow.”
My gaze traveled toward the two girls cowering on the other side of the room. They looked feral like Melody who hadn’t said one word since Derek walked inside. I figured I needed to take the hint and not speak, but I couldn’t help it.
“Funny seeing you here,” I said. “I guess Maverick was right, you are a piece of shit.”
Derek chuckled, reaching out to pinch my cheek tightly between two fingers. “I’ve been looking for someone like you. We’ve had tons of interest in different ethnicities over the last year, and when I saw you—I knew. The cherry on top?” he asked, standing up. “That you’re with that prick Booker. I never liked him; I knew he’d be trouble when Sherri first introduced us all those years ago.”
Derek glanced around the room unmoved. “Too bad you showed.” He chuckled. “When you showed up in that alley, I almost took you out with him, but honestly, I didn’t think he’d make it. I kept up with the news and saw littleJosie Lee saved an unidentified boy's life.” He sighed. “Now here you are, about to make me money, funny how things work out, isn’t it?”
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, shaking my head. “You have a good job, you’re well respected, why would you risk it all for this?” I asked, gesturing toward the half-dead girls in the room.
Derek rolled his eyes. “You have no idea what it’s like to live off a teacher’s salary. Plus, no one expects it’s me. So why not?”
“He’ll come for you,” I whispered. “Maverick knows it’s you, and he’ll come for me. He loves me.”
Derektskedunder his breath. “It’s such a shame you believe that. That boy loves himself. Weren’t all your portraits about him bullying you? Now he has you on your back, and all you can think about is how he made you feel in the last month. I wouldn’t peg you for someone who would ignore bullying, but who asked me, right? Plus, Maverick doesn’t have long to find you. You know what they say; you only have an allotted amount of time to find them before they’re gone forever.”
Derek walked toward the door but stopped to look over his shoulder. “And I already have someone interested, looks like Maverick will be a past thought sooner rather than later.”
The metal door shut, breaking my heart along with it. All the things I wanted to say crawled down to my belly and left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. “Who is Maverick?” Melody asked.
I sniffled. “My boyfriend. Derek beat him near death when he was thirteen for asking too many questions about his mother. She was—a prostitute through Derek. Small world, huh?”
“Do you think Maverick will find you?” she asked.
