Stripes
“What intel did Wire send
us?” I asked.
Gator shrugged, which meant
he’d been as pissed as me and hadn’t paid close attention. We’d parked about a
block away and observed the place from a distance. I leaned against a building,
smoking a cigarette, in the hopes people wouldn’t be suspicious. So far, we’d
seen a few customers go in and come out not too long afterward. I highly
doubted they were getting their money’s worth.
“I wish Specter would show
the fuck up,” I grumbled.
“We’ll be lucky if he does.”
Gator scanned the area. “Can I ask you something?”
“If I say no, will it stop
you?”
He snorted and shook his
head. As I figured. I motioned for him to go ahead.
“Why did you agree to this?
Breaking the woman out of there, I understand. But letting them marry the two
of you? Why the fuck would you take a whore as your wife?”
I fought for control,
knowing he was genuinely curious and didn’t mean it the way it sounded.
Otherwise, I’d have already put my fist through his face. I took my time,
trying to figure out how I could word it.
“The woman in there didn’t
agree to become a whore. They beat her. Raped her. Forced her into that way of
life. If we don’t get her out, she’ll only suffer more. Grimm and the Dixie
Reapers are concerned the Bratva will try to take her back. Marriage is the
only way to protect her.”
Gator stared a moment before
giving a slight nod. “Fine. As long as they did not coerce you into this shit.
I know how big your heart is, Stripes, even if others don’t always realize it.”
I grinned and put out my
cigarette. “Let’s get this out of the way. If Specter shows, great. If not,
we’ll handle it.”
Breaking into a brothel
wasn’t exactly difficult. I’d expected security, but I hadn’t seen a single man
watching over the place. If they’d had electronic surveillance, I knew one of
the hackers would have disabled it by now. We walked through the front doors
and a woman, most likely the madam, smiled at us broadly.
“Gentlemen, what’s your pleasure
today? We can cater to any and all of your needs.”
I curled my fingers into a
fist, fighting to maintain control. I wanted to rip this place to pieces with
my bare hands. Instead, I took in my surroundings. At a quick glance, I saw the
frightened women nearby, a few who looked completely destroyed. They no longer
cared what happened to them, and the woman in front of me was the deadest of
them all. Despite her smile, her eyes were vacant. She was little more than a
puppet. I doubted she had any real control. The Bratva owned her, same as the
other women here. Her greeting us only meant she’d been here the longest.
They’d broken her long ago and had no reason to doubt she’d do exactly as they
commanded.
I didn’t think any of these
women came here voluntarily. Someone had possibly trafficked them. At the very
least, they were being disciplined like Melina. I didn’t want them to get hurt,
which meant I needed to be careful. And yet, I’d have to get my point across.
The thought of scaring them soured my stomach. But fear and pain would be the
only way to get their attention. At first, anyway.
“Do you want easy way or
hard way?” I folded my arms. I didn’t need them to know I was a pushover when
it came to a damsel in distress. With my accent, they might even think I had
Bratva ties. And I knew it was thicker than usual right now. Even I could hear
the difference. “I want Melina Romanov.”
The woman slightly flinched.
So, she at least knew who I’d come for. The question was whether she’d hand her
over, or if I’d have to destroy the place searching for her. I noticed Gator
eyeing the women huddled together in the corner. Something told me Gator would
prefer it if we took more than Melina with us. However, the Bratva was going to
be pissed as fuck if we did, but I knew how he felt. I didn’t want to leave
these women here, either. Hell, some of them didn’t look old enough to be
legal. But Melina was my priority.
Shit. She’d said they
catered to all needs. Did it mean those girls were underage? It made me
want to throw up, but I needed to keep my cool at least a little longer.
No one came forward or gave
up Melina’s location. Reaching for a vase on a table nearby, I threw it against
the wall, watching it shatter all over the floor. The madam flinched again, but
still didn’t give in. The others seemed frightened, and I hated being an
asshole to them. But there were times it couldn’t be helped.
Next, I picked up the table
itself and hurled it against the wall. The plaster cracked, and the table broke
before it fell to the ground. Someone nearby whimpered. The madam only pressed
her lips together and still refused to speak. This bitch wasn’t going to crack
easily. I really didn’t want to fucking hit her.
I took a step forward and
raised my hand, bracing myself to deliver a slap I knew I’d feel all the way to
my soul. A soft voice stopped me.
“She’s downstairs,” one of the women said. “There are rooms in the basement. That’s where she is.”
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