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I saw a few of the guys hanging around when I went for the interview, which wasn’t with Kelvin but his right-hand man, Robert, who’s sitting at the table with a welcoming smile on his face.
Kelvin introduces me to everyone. It’s going to take a while for me to remember their names, but so far, they’re all welcoming.
“Two weeks ago, chatter started up about a shipment that was coming in,” Robert says as he gets to his feet and starts to hand out files. “From the intel we have, there’s forty-eight women in the shipment.”
He hands me the file and I open it up. My stomach twists when I see Marco’s face looking at me from the image.
“Marco Scaffidi is heading up the organization?” I ask, wondering why the hell it wasn’t mentioned before today.
“He’s been on our watchlist for years, Portia. The man has grown in the trafficking world over the past four years,” Robert tells me. “He and his men are stealing women and then selling them or putting them in whore houses. They’re profiting off the girls they steal.”
I take a deep breath. This should have been divulged to me before I walked into this room. Christ. Kelvin is an ass.
“Okay, so any idea as to where the shipment will be arriving?”
They shake their heads. “It’s moving from Chicago and coming west. We’re trying to figure out where else Scaffidi has connections. But so far, we’re coming up blank.”
“Which is where you come in, Portia,” Kelvin says.
I watch as the men share a look of surprise and the women smirk.
“I need you to hit the streets. You’re good at assimilating to your surroundings. You’ll be able to get us information quickly.
I nod. “I’m on it. Do you know anyone from the streets who could help me get the ground running?”
Robert and Kelvin share a grin. “We do. Jamie here has been living on the streets for the past three years. She’s going to be your partner for this case.”
“Cool. Once we’re finished here, I’ll go home and get ready.”
Kelvin nods. “From the little intel we do have, there are at least twenty girls who are underage.”
Fucking animal. God, I hope we’re able to find Marco. Then I might get the chance to cut off his balls. He’s a fucking bastard, and the sooner karma comes for his ass, the better.
Robert continues to talk about the case. This one is going to be a hell of a case, one that’s close to home, but I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure those girls are found.
Being back on the streets is weird. It feels as though it was a lifetime ago that I was here myself. It’s a different type of edge you need when you’re living the homeless life. You have to keep your eyes open at all times and be wary of everyone around you; not just your fellow homeless people but those who are walking the streets too. Drunken nights out have always been the worst.
“New girl?” an older man asks. His gray hair and matching beard remind me of when I was a child and I’d go to the mall with Mama and meet Santa. “What’s your story?”
I shrug. “Nothin’ much,” I tell him. “Been on the streets for years. Wanted a different vibe so I moved out here after meeting Jay here.”
Jamie is sweet and quiet but very astute, and I know that her years on the streets have hardened her too. She told me a little about her story. Her family perished in a house fire, and she was the only survivor. She was bounced around foster homes until one ass got handsy and tried to take her innocence. Jamie made the decision to run and hasn’t looked back since. I’m not sure how she met Kelvin, but from what I have gathered, they’re close.
The old man nods, seemingly happy with my answer. “Jay is one of the best. We tend to take care of each other on this side of town,” he tells me, and I get the feeling that it’s some sort of threat. “If you’re wanting trouble, head downtown.”
I glance at Jamie and see she’s trying to stifle a smile. “No trouble,” I assure him.
His shoulders slump forward, and he gives me a wan smile. “That’s good, girl, ‘cause I ain’t got a lot of fight left in me.”
I smile at him. “Neither do I,” I sigh. “I lost mine a while back.”
Everything I tried to build, it crumbled. Those I was supposed to protect, I failed. Then there’s Dario. God, I miss him. But leaving him behind was the only option I had. I needed to put some distance between us. The anger I had was too much for me to deal with, and I’d lost the trust he’d built in me. Rebuilding that trust isn’t easy. I don’t trust people, and with Dario, he put a lot of work into getting past my walls, but he fucked up.
“That, girlie, is okay. As I said, we protect each other here.”
I smile as I take a seat on the thin sleeping bag I have. It’s worn but clean. It belongs to Robert, who’s ex-military and goes on a lot of camping trips.
“You hear the buzz, Eli?” Jamie says as she sits beside me. “The guys are coming back with another shipment. Everyone’s talking about it.”
