by Cheri Marie
“You have no idea how big they are, do you?”
“Is there something you know that I don’t, Cam?”
“You really don’t know. Take me home, Owen.”
“I have to finish up here with my statement, but if you wait, I can drive you home in a bit.”
“No. I can’t stay here. I need to think. I need to figure this out.” I can see she’s getting anxious, almost agitated, and I have no idea why.
“Camryn, stop. What’s going on?” I reach out and hold her by her shoulders, stopping her movement and looking her in the eyes.
“I’ll meet you at your place in an hour. Will you be there by then?”
“Yes, I can be done here and home by then.”
“An hour, Owen.” She pulls free from me and runs out the door of Skylines.
Chapter 19
Camryn
Pulling up in front of my apartment complex, I look around to make sure no one has followed me. How could he be so naive to think that Donnely’s Gang was small time? Surely the Sunnyville PD knows how big this gang is?
I take the steps as fast as I can until I’m in front of my apartment. I try the doorknob to see if it’s locked. I told MacKenzie to keep it locked if Remington or I weren’t with her. Using my key, I open the door and I’m relieved to see MacKenzie sitting on the couch with the TV on.
“For fuck’s sake, Cam! You scared the hell out of me!”
“Get up and get your shoes on.” I pick up her jacket and toss it over to her.
“What’s going on? Where are we going?” She slips her sneakers on and picks up her jacket, slipping it on as she walks past me towards the door.
“We’re going to Owen’s.”
“Owen’s?” She stops suddenly and turns back to look at me.
“Yes, Owen’s. Now move.” I push her out the door.
The ride over to his place was quiet except for the radio blaring. I didn’t want to talk, not yet. I need to know everything that MacKenzie and Owen think they know. Someone isn’t being forthright with all of the information, or maybe they really were clueless.
We pull up to Owen’s apartment building and his car is parked where it always is, telling me he’s home. I quickly climb out of the car and wait for MacKenzie to round the front and I follow along behind her.
Owen must have been watching for us, because his door swings open before I even get a chance to knock. He ushers us both inside, checks the hall, and then locks the door behind us.
“Okay, you two need to tell me what the hell is going on because you’re freaking me out. What happened tonight?” MacKenzie asks, glancing between me and Owen.
“What happened tonight is your sister almost got herself killed!” Owen growls.
I roll my eyes at him, trying to act unphased when he really knows the truth. “Oh please, Murphy would have never actually shot me.”
“I don’t know, that gun to your head looked pretty fucking convincing to me.”
“Wait, what? Murphy pulled a gun on you?” MacKenzie asks, stepping between me and Owen.
“I needed to find out what his next move was going to be! I needed to know if he was calling in reinforcements from another area. But it’s clear that he’s terrified. I always thought Murphy was the top dog, that he was the one that ran shit, but he isn’t. There’s someone above him, someone he has to answer to, and I have a feeling one, or both of you, are fully aware of this so you need to start talking.”
Owen and MacKenzie exchange a knowing look and it’s clear that they haven’t been forthcoming about everything that has happened the last two and a half years that they’ve been working together.
“I, uh, you might want to sit down for this.”
“For what, Mac? Just tell me what it is!” Owen grabs my arm and tries to pull me to the couch, but I attempt to fight him off.
“For fucks sake, Camryn, please just come sit with me and let Mac tell you everything she knows.”
Giving in, I allow him to lead me over to the couch and we both sit as MacKenzie starts to pace the floor, clearly torn up about whatever it is she has to tell me.
She takes a deep breath and then begins. “So, I told you about lunch with Micky and how when I woke up, I was handcuffed and blindfolded and about the man behind the mirror, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. So… God how am I even going to tell you this…” she mumbles to herself more so than to me.
“Mac! Just tell me. We’ve gotten this far; we can get through anything. I just need to know the truth…All of it.”
She stops pacing and shakes her head. “So, the man behind the mirror wanted me to do some unmentionable things. I will save you the details. Anyway, after what felt like months in this little room, being served meals through a small window in the door, they finally let me out. They took me to another room that looked like an office, or maybe a library I'm not sure, but it had a desk in it. I take a seat in one of the chairs and the guy that escorted me told me to wait right there, that he would be with me shortly, though at that point I wasn’t sure who “he” was.”
“Okay,” I say, glancing between Owen and MacKenzie. Owen nods at Mackenzie to continue as he takes my hands in his.
She takes another deep breath before blowing it out as she runs her hands through her long brown hair. “It was about twenty minutes or so before I heard a little bit of a commotion outside of the room and then a man I had never seen before, or so I thought, enters the room. Walking over, he takes a seat in the chair across from me, and it isn’t until he looks up at me that I realize I have seen him before. Actually, not only have I seen him, but I know this man.”
MacKenzie stops pacing and it's then that I realize she’s crying. I want to go to her, hug her and tell her she doesn’t have to tell me anymore, but I can’t. I need to know everything.
“I’m so sorry, Cammie.” She sobs and my heart drops into my stomach. MacKenzie has always called me Cam. The only time she’s ever called me Cammie is when she’s done something wrong or broken some of my things.
“Sorry for what, Mac? You have nothing to be sorry for.”
She sniffles and continues on. “When his eyes met mine, I threw up everywhere. The things that he made me do in that room, knowing he watched everything, knowing who he was just made everything so much worse. He cackled when I ran for the trash can to throw up the contents of my stomach. There was so much evil in his eyes, they were so empty. Then he proceeded to tell me why he chose me. He said he chose me because he knew I’d be an easy target. He said I was pathetic at how easy it was for Micky to lure me in because I craved love and attention living in the shadow of a golden child. That I was just a mistake and would never live up to his little princess.” MacKenzie collapses to the floor, sobbing again and Owen moves to comfort her as everything she just said starts to process in my mind.
I’m flooded with emotions. Heartbreak, sadness, and anger. But not at her, at the sorry, no good, piece of shit, sperm donor that took her— our father, John. I jump from the couch and sit on the floor next to my sister, pulling her into my lap as I cry with her.
“I’m so sorry, Mac. I’m so, so sorry.” I keep repeating my words over and over again as I cradle her against my chest and run my hand through her hair like mom used to do to comfort us.
“It’s not your fault, Cam,” she says through sniffles as she leans back to look at me. “He was right, I was an easy target. I was looking for love, but not because you and mom neglected me. I wanted a love like you and Owen have. I thought I had that with Micky, but boy was I wrong about that. I know you’re angry with us for keeping all of this from you. You don’t know how bad we both struggled with wanting to tell you, but we needed to keep you safe. Please, don’t throw away the love that you two still clearly have with each other over me.”
I sigh, glancing over at Owen, who is staring back at me with those deep, ocean blue eyes that I’ve never been able to resist. I wink at him and turn my attention back to MacKenzie.
&
nbsp; “Don’t worry about us, we’ll work our shit out. But if it’s not too much, can I ask you to tell me the rest of what happened?”
She nods her head and I stand, helping her back to her feet as we all move to sit back on the couch. MacKenzie continues on telling me everything that happened. How John did everything in his power to break her down mentally and physically, but she just kept thinking about what I would do in her situation. Though, I’m pretty sure MacKenzie believes I’m much stronger than I actually am. There are moments I feel like I’m going to vomit as she tells us details of the things she went through, but I do my best to hold it in. Then she gets to the night she and Owen found each other.
“So, it started out like any other day. I was just sitting in the room they had given me to stay in planning how the hell I could escape that place, when there was a tap on my door. When I answered it, there was a man there that I hadn’t met before. Very good looking, dark, messy hair, piercing eyes. To be honest, had I not known he was probably just another gangster, I could have easily fallen for him. Anyway, so when I looked up at him, he was clearly just as shocked to see me as I was to see him. He asked me who I was and what I was doing there. I checked the hall to make sure it was all clear and pulled him into the room. I wasn’t sure who he was, but I felt like he was my only possible chance at an escape.”
Her description of the man has me curious as to who that might have been, but I stay quiet as she continues on.
“So, I told him everything...from Micky kidnapping me, to the awful things that John had been making me do. Suddenly, he became enraged, like seriously pissed off. I was scared and confused by his reaction and he ordered me to stay put, so I did, for a little while. I could hear him yelling in the hallway barking orders. Soon after that everything was eerily silent. So, I took that opportunity, and I ran, I ran as fast as I could. But shortly after, some of the guys found me. I took off, trying to get away from them and that's when I ran into Owen and we hatched our plan. Eventually, I surrendered to the guys that were chasing me, but whoever that man was, he told them I wasn’t to be harmed, just that I was to be brought back and locked in my room.”
My curiosity peaked, I ask, “Did you ever find out who the man was?”
She shakes her head no and I drop the subject with the mental note to ask her again later when Owen isn’t around. “So, we still haven’t gotten to where John is…” I say, urging her on.
“That night when they brought me back to my room, I sat on my bed, waiting for John to bust in with his usual tirade, degrading me and telling me how worthless I am... but he never came. Just as I was about to fall asleep, there was a knock at the door. When I answered it, it was that same man from earlier. He came in and closed the door behind him and told me I no longer had to worry about John, that he was dead and he’d never be able to hurt me again. But he couldn’t allow me to leave because he couldn’t have me running to the police, so in exchange for my safety, he offered me a job in the gang, and knowing the plan I made with Owen, I took it.”
“So, John is dead?” I ask, not really sure if the answer would make me feel better or worse.
“Yeah…I found out later on that the guy that came to my room ordered his men to kill him and feed him to the hogs. Then he warned the rest of the guys that if they so much as laid a hand on me without my permission, they would meet the same fate.”
I sit back against the couch and blow out a breath. “Wow.”
“I know, it’s a lot to take in.”
“Anyone want a beer?” Owen asks, standing from the couch.
“Yes, please.” MacKenzie and I say in unison.
“Coming right up.”
Owen disappears into the kitchen and I quickly grab my phone and pull up the gallery to show MacKenzie a picture of Murphy.
“Is this the guy that came to your room?” I ask in a whisper.
“Oh my god, yes. How did you know, and why are we whispering?”
“We’ll talk about it later, just don’t say anything in front of Owen.”
Closing out of my phone, I stuff it back in my pocket just as Owen rounds the corner back into the living room and hands us both an open beer.
Waking up early the next morning, I shower and get dressed so I can slip out before MacKenzie wakes up. If Owen caught wind of what I’m up to, he would never allow it. Sliding into the driver's seat of my car, I make my way towards the hospital where Murphy is recovering. When I arrive, the walk inside seems to take forever as my nerves start to get the best of me. The elevator dings at the floor he's on and I take a left off the elevator to make my way to his room.
“Excuse me, you can’t go in there,” the officer at the door says, as he holds out his arm to stop me from entering.
I show him my badge. “I’m Agent Barrett with the FBI. I just need to ask Mr. O’Hare a few questions.”
“Okay, yeah, sure. But make it quick.”
I nod then slip into the room, closing the door behind me. When I turn around Murphy slowly blinks his eyes open.
“Anya, what are you doing here?”
I grab a chair and pull it up a few feet away from the edge of his bed and take a seat. “Well, for starters, my name isn’t Anya. It’s Camryn, and I’m an agent with the FBI.”
“What?” Disbelief fills his eyes as he pulls himself up more in the bed.
“I was undercover in the gang because I was trying to find my sister. She was kidnapped nine years ago in Las Vegas. Evidence led me to Donnely’s gang but that’s where it ended. So, I decided to go undercover and get you to trust me so I could try to find out what happened to Mac, which is her name, by the way.”
“I never fucking worked in human trafficking!” He growls.
“I know you didn’t, but someone within the gang did without your knowledge.”
“John.”
I nod my head. “Yes. John Barrett. Did I mention my last name is also Barrett?”
“The girl…The girl John was holding captive and forcing to do sick shit, that’s your sister? I knew your face looked familiar when I first met you, but I couldn’t place it.”
“Yes.”
“So that means he…”
“Right again.”
“That sick, twisted son of a bitch. I’m definitely glad I had him taken care of, hell, now I wish I would have done it myself.”
“I have to ask, why did you choose to save my sister?”
He blows out a breath, letting his head fall back against the pillow and closes his eyes as if he’s in pain, which he probably is.
“Shortly after I joined the gang, my fifteen-year-old sister went missing. The police were able to track her to an underground sex trafficking ring, but they lost the trail from there. I used all of my resources through the underground networking to find out what happened to her…” His voice drifts off for a minute and I hear him sniffle before he begins again. “By the time I was able to track her down, some piece of shit pimp had beaten her to death because she refused to be some rich fucks pet for the night.”
“That’s awful. I’m so, so sorry to hear about your sister.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve done a lot of fucked up shit in my life, but it was then that I decided I would never work in any of that human trafficking shit, especially where women and children are concerned.”
“Well, thank you, for saving my sister, but you have to know that there’s trafficking still going on inside the gang.”
“There can’t be. I’ve made sure that all of that ended with John. Can you prove your accusations?”
“I can. I have videos and pictures. At first, I thought you were behind it, but as I got to know you, I realized that the nights that everything was happening you were usually with me, at Skylines.”
“And?” he asks, wanting me to continue.
“You were always transparent with me, Murphy, which had me worried at first. I thought that you found out I was undercover and was waiting for the right time to out me.”
“W
ho is it, Anya?” he says in a low menacing tone.
“Camryn.”
“Sorry… Camryn.” He corrects himself.
“It’s Richy. He’s behind all of it. That night the El Diablos took out four of your men…that was Richy. He and the El Diablos are working together…he brings them the girls and they take them across the border.”
After a minute or two of silence, I stand so I can leave.
“I’ll take care of it.” Murphy O’Hare said matter-of-factly.
“Listen, I will do whatever I can to make the case against you not seem so bad. I’ll tell them that you were working with me in some capacity. I can tell you’re a decent guy, you just got wrapped up with the wrong people.”
“I don’t know about that but thank you.”
“Take care of yourself, O’Hare.”
“You too, Camryn.”
I take his hand, giving it a squeeze before releasing it, and leave before anyone catches on to me being here. Making my way down the hall, I catch the elevator just before it closes. I need to get out of here as quickly as possible before anyone knows I’ve been here. The elevator dings as we pass each floor until we reach the bottom and the doors slowly slide open and I’m met with those damn, pools of blue.
Fuck.
Chapter 20
Owen
“Why the fuck am I not surprised?” I say as the elevator doors open and there stands Camryn. Why can’t she just be happy with having MacKenzie back and let it go?
“Let it go, Owen,” Cam says as she walks out of the elevator and past me.
“What are you doing here, Cam? Do you realize that if you get caught questioning, or should I say fraternizing with the perp, we could lose this case entirely?”
Cam stops in mid-stride and turns back to look at me. I can’t read her emotions.
“I’m going to ask for leniency on his behalf.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.” I throw my hands up in the air and turn my back to her for a second, long enough to take a long deep breath before I turn back to her.
