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“Partner?” Of course. Blake wouldn’t bring anyone close he didn’t trust. And with what he did for a living, he’d have to find someone almost just like him. I let go, watching him move back on the seat. “This was supposed to be just me and you. It’s bad enough taking one person in, but two? You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into and I’m the one who’ll be responsible when one of you dies.”
A snort came from the back and I glared at Preston.
“No one’s going to die,” he said, shaking his head.
“You don’t know that. I’ve been raised with these people. I’ve trained with them. They’re deadly and to dismiss that will be your biggest mistake.”
Blake turned over the engine and pulled out of the parking space. “No one is going to die, Zain. Just buckle up and listen to Preston.”
The dimness of the garage gave way as we pulled onto the road. I kept myself turned in my seat, watching as Preston pulled a laptop from the floor and opened it. The clicking had me curious. What had they found that made them think we’d get in and out without a problem? I knew my father. Knew the security system he’d had installed inside and out. After all, I’d helped build the thing.
“Saul, that’s one of your uncles, correct?”
My adrenaline spiked at hearing his name and rage left my hands flexing into fists. “Yeah.”
Preston peered up from the monitor. “He’s pretty much taken over for, I’m assuming, your father. He just left a meeting with a man we’ve been watching for a while. Reynaldo Pena. Ever heard of him?”
The name had my stomach turning. “He’s in charge of shipping the girls out of Cuba. It’s one of many stops and he’s one of the men I know in the business.”
“Men you’ll be handing over to me,” Blake said, glancing over. “You already provided a few names, but I want them all. Every single one.”
“You and Gaige, both,” I breathed out. The information was a ticket to a new life. To a no strings attached free pass and I planned on taking it.
Blake glanced over. “Feel free to give them to him, too, but I won’t be waiting around until they get their evidence to make any arrests. Preston and I will do just fine taking care of these shitbags and making sure they get what they deserve.”
I had no doubt he meant that. Preston turned the screen and I watched a slideshow of pictures begin. All of Saul standing outside of Reynaldo’s home. One I’d only been to at my father’s request. The man may have made a lot of money selling off girls, but he had a hell of a hard time paying his debts.
“Saul won’t be there for you to kill, Zain. Figuring out if or when he plans to return just might be impossible.”
Frustration had me almost slamming my fist into the dashboard. Somehow, Saul always seemed to slip under my radar and I couldn’t stand knowing I was headed there when he might not be going back anytime soon. He’d disappeared a handful of times over my life and sometimes it lasted months, even years.
“What about Adul?”
Preston glanced down at the screen “Your other uncle is there, but I can’t say we’ve really picked up on him doing anything. Hell, we really can’t find a damn thing on him.”
“Nor will you. He’s guilty of shit, though. Just nothing in the trafficking world except keeping and killing slaves. He dies. Eye for an eye.”
I left it at that and it didn’t take long for us to near the airport. We all kept quiet until we loaded onto Blake’s private jet. The luxurious set up of leather coaches and screens were hard to appreciate once my attention was stolen by the multiple pictures and corkboards covering the walls. My mouth separated as I walked forward, taking them all in. Some had a red mark over the faces and I could only imagine that those were the ones they’d already killed off.
“Holy shit,” I breathed out.
“Indeed.” Blake took a seat on one of the recliners, staring at me instead of around the room. While Preston sat closer to the door, I relaxed on the sofa. But I didn’t stay so for long. The double-take I did had my heart dropping. Each face on the wall represented a wanted man. A dead man, either now or in the future. So, why, resting above Blake, was my picture on the wall?
Chapter 37
Lily
I held my purse close to my side while I sat and waited for my brother’s rant to end. For an hour, he’d vented his frustration over me trying to convince Zain to run away and get married. I knew he was just about finished. The rage was dissipating and true concern had him shaking his head at me.
“What did we talk about not hours before you asked him, Lilian? I told you to trust me. To let me prove to you that Zain was the one. You agreed. Why go out and try to get him to elope after our talk?”
My gaze lifted to his. “I told you, I love him. Maybe we should wait. Maybe it was stupid to try to get him to marry me, but I didn’t think so in the moment. I still don’t. What are you planning to prove? Whether he’s stable? He is. He’ll adjust to society. Everything between us will work out just fine and if we have problems, we’ll handle them like adults. There’s nothing either of us are going to do to jeopardize each other’s future.”
“That’s what you may think now. But you don’t know that, Lily. No one does.”
“Exactly. Including you.” I pushed up from the chair. “What does it matter anyway? We didn’t get married, nor will be probably for quite some time. My Master—” Nausea swept over me at my mistake and I took a step back from my brother as his eyes flared, only to narrow. If I’d ever seen Slade’s temper spark, apparently I hadn’t witnessed it to this degree.
“Your…what?”
