AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looks back at the door, lowers her voice a bit. “Human trafficking?”
“Money, is what I’m saying.”
“How much?”
“Thirty percent cut of each sale.”
“And what are they selling for?”
“With these kinds of contacts, about two hundred and fifty thousand each as a base. Depends on the night, the bidding, the atmosphere, and the girls. Cash.”
She whistles, a long, low whistle that goes on as long as my own thoughts on this dwell. Fuck knows why, but I’m confused about the whole fucking situation. I’d like to think it was morals, or a line I thought I’d drawn down about rights and wrongs, but I don’t have any of those. Not usually, anyway. Either way, something about this shit just sits out of place. Maybe it’s these Cortez brothers all over me, their manner in a Manor that is very much my own. I feel as belittled by them as I do by anyone who tries telling me what to do. The trouble is, I’m more threatened by them than I’ve ever been by anyone now I’m in the middle of it.
“So that’s what the remodel has been about?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus, I don’t know, Jackson. I know you’ve been in all sorts of crap in your time, but this is beyond all of that, even for you. Have you lost your fucking mind?”
I don’t need that kind of reaction from her.
“If you don’t want a slice of this, Jamie, leave for a while. Go on holiday. Whatever. I’m in it now to the end. No turning back. These are not the kind of men you piss off.”
She stands and looks at the board of dancers, scrutinises them as if she’s thinking about something. “Can’t you just get your money’s worth out of them in the normal way?”
“You think Dante and Elias are here for a fucking dance?”
“No, but … I don’t know, Jackson. This is just a surprise.”
I nod and look back at my screen, turning it until I can start filling in more names on the list. Invites need to go out in the next few days, and they only get done by hand. No paper trails, and certainly no email trails or phone conversations that can be recorded.
“This is underhanded shit, Jackson. I’m not down with it.”
I look up again. “So go, Jamie. I get it. It’s not stopping, though.”
She starts walking for the door, leaving me to my contacts. “Who looks after the girls?” she asks.
“Looks after them?”
“Feeds them, makes sure they’re okay?”
“The trainer, I guess. She knows how this works.”
“I better stay then. That woman is a bitch.”
Chapter Four
NAJA
This is a mistake. This is a mistake.
The mantra races through my head on a loop, but I can’t see a way out. This room is all we’ve seen so far, which may well be a blessing, but my gut tells me there’s more to come.
The two girls transported with us still don’t seem concerned, but the others we met on the boat look just as scared. Nobody has spoken in English except for the men on the docks, and I’ve not uttered a word, but I’m listening.
Constantly.
The base of music from somewhere else in the building thuds loudly, men talking, the other girls. Sleeping is impossible because I’m too scared to let my guard down. There’s a bunk for each of us, but I don’t let Miri out of my hold. I curl around her, using my body to block anyone peering in through the small window on the door.
