by Imogen Wells
I jump from the car the instant it stops outside the safe house, storming past Rick as he opens the door and heading straight for the garden out back. I burst through the back door, flinging the door open so hard it bounces off the wall.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Rick’s voice asks behind me as I stand, hands on hips and breath like I just ran the London marathon but normally smoke twenty a day.
Spinning on my heels, I say, “Me? What’s the fuck wrong with me he asks. Did you not hear what happened in there?”
“Of course I did. From what I understand, you now have a witness and evidence of what we suspected all along. This is good, Seb.”
“Good? This is not fucking go—” I stop as Jamie steps outside, walking with purpose towards me. “Do not come any closer,” I warn her, but of course she fucking ignores me.
Stepping into my space, she reaches out a hand and touches my cheek, but I tilt my head away, not looking at her.
“Seb, look at me.” I don’t, instead I look at Rick, who just shakes his head. “Seb,” Jamie says again, sterner this time.
My eyes flick to hers, and that split second of contact breaks my restraint. Clutching her arms, pulling her tight to me, I say, “What you did was stupid and fucking beyond reckless, Jamie. What the hell were you thinking?” I watch as Rick slips back inside, leaving us alone to fight.
“Maybe that you needed Natalia, and I know you were worried about her and felt guilty for not helping before. I was trying to help. I did help, and I don’t care what you say or what you think or even how mad you are at me. All I know is Natalia is not in the hands of some perverted arsehole tonight but safe here with us. If that makes you angry, then tough fucking shit, Seb. I’ll put a fucking stamp on it and own that shit. If I thought I could have got away with it, I would have bought every single fucking one of those poor girls tonight,” she says, her voice breaking.
“Fuck!” is all I say because I’m so pissed at her, but I’m so fucking in love with her. Now is not the time for blurting that shit out, so instead I crush my mouth to hers and hope she feels it.
She melts in my arms, and my anger slowly dissolves with every sweep of her tongue, bite of her lip and beat of her heart, which I can feel thumping against my chest.
Drawing my lips away from hers, I rest my head on hers. “I’m mad at you. So fucking mad, Firefly. You took a huge risk tonight. One that could have got us killed. Got you killed, Jamie. Don’t ever do that again.”
She frowns, then says, “This is me. This is who I am, Seb. Take me or leave me, but I’ll never be anything other than myself.”
“I’ll take you anyway I can.” Jamie lets out a snort of laughter, and in a second I catch on to what I said. “Hey, now. I was being serious. But that way is true too,” I tell her before I drop my lips back to hers.
She pulls away too quickly, and before things go too far. It’s a good job one of us is thinking straight.
“Come on, we should get back inside. I want to check on Natalia,” she says, grabbing my hand and turning towards the house.
I get why she did what she did, but I’m still pissed at her for putting herself at risk like that. I don’t give a shit about myself, but Jamie? I’ll destroy the world to protect her.
Thirty-Six
Jamie
Back in the house, Jay and Rick have managed to find some clothes for Natalia to wear, and Rick is on the phone. I approach her slowly so as not to startle her.
“Natalia?” She looks up at me, and I can still see she’s terrified. But she has a strength and fieriness about her too. One I’m pleased to see hasn’t been completely stamped out. “Do you mind if I sit?” I ask, pointing to the empty seat beside her. She gives a small, concerned shake of her head.
I take a seat, making sure to not touch her, but facing her so she can see I’m no threat.
“Who are you?” she asks, flicking her eyes between us all. I can imagine that being surrounded by three large males hasn’t been a good experience for her in the past.
“I’m Jamie. This is Jay, Seb, and the man on the phone is Rick. We are here to help.”
“What’s in it for you, huh? Nobody in this world does anything for free,” she snaps.
There’s that fieriness I was talking about, and it brings a smile to my face.
“I get why you might think that, but there are actually still some good people left in the world. Not everyone is out to take what they can and use you.” She humphs under her breath, and I look over to Jay, who shrugs. “I think perhaps we should all get some sleep and tomorrow we can talk more. Is there anything I can get you? Call someone, maybe?” She doesn’t answer just goes back to staring at her hands as she twiddles with the hem of the t-shirt she’s now wearing. Realising she’s not just going to open up and tell me everything I want to know, I go to get up, but her hand on my arm stops me.
“Don’t go,” she says, voice quiet and strained as if it hurt her to show her vulnerability. I look to Seb, and he just shrugs. For fuck’s sake. Men are useless sometimes.
“Okay. I can stay a bit longer.” I settle back on the sofa, getting comfortable and putting my legs underneath me. Jay and Seb sit too, and when Rick gets off the phone he looks around before doing the same.
I don’t know how long we sit in silence for, but suddenly out of the blue, Natalia begins to talk.
“I don’t know who took me. I don’t even know how I got here. I just woke up in some house with lots of other women. Some of them weren’t even woman, but girls. At first, they helped us, got us clothes and a job at Tempest. Then…they wanted us to sleep with the men that come to the club. Many of us refused, but one of the girls, they took her one night, and she never came back. I’m not stupid. If someone disappears, there’s a good chance they are dead.” I watch as the guys all share a look, but I keep my eyes on Natalia. “One of the…” She hesitates as if she’s not sure she should say whatever she was going to say.
“It’s okay, Natalia.” I nod my head to reassure her it’s safe for her to say it.
“Tank, you know him, yes?” she asks, directing her question to Seb. He nods, and she carries on, “Well, he helped me one night after a man… You get the picture. He’s not like the rest there. He was nice to me. After the night you two stopped that man, I managed to run, and even though Tank tried to help me, they found me two days ago. That’s how I ended up at the auction tonight. As punishment for running, and because the man I ran from wanted what I owed him.”
“He was the man who I was bidding against, right?” I ask, and she nods. “Well fuck him.”
Natalia laughs at that. “I saw what you did when you won the bid, but he will not be happy. He is good friends with the man that owns Tempest.”
“Mark?” Seb questions.
“No.” She shakes her head. “He isn’t the owner, just runs the club and manages the girls.”
“So, who does own it then?” Rick asks.
Natalia shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never met him. At least I don’t think I have. He comes to the club, but nobody knows who he really is.”
“Well, that explains a lot,” Seb says.
“What are you going to do with me now?” Natalia asks hesitantly. I’m certain she still believes we aren’t allies.
“We are going to look after you and make sure those men can never hurt you or any other girls again,” I state determinedly.
“Yeah, right,” she scoffs. “You have no idea what you are getting involved in. This is much bigger than just Tempest. The owner has huge connections to the cartel, and these people will kill anyone that gets in their way without a second thought. If that man hadn’t wanted me, I’m sure I’d be dead already.”
I feel the truth of her words bone deep and finally realise just how dangerous the whole situation is. I look to Seb, who is already watching me, and now I understand why he was so pissed at me.
“I’m sorry,” I say to him, even though we have an audience. I need to
say it and for him to hear I mean it. His eyes close briefly before he opens them again, winking at me.
There’s a knock at the door that makes me and Natalia jump, but the guys are all relaxed, so I assume they were expecting whoever it is.
Seb’s the closest and gets up to let them in and comes back a few seconds later with a guy I’ve never seen before. Seb introduces him as Dean, the guy who gave us the recording devices for tonight.
Natalia inches further back into the sofa as his dominating frame fills the doorway. I haven’t been through what she has, and even I’m intimidated.
He steps forward to shake my hand, and says, “Good to meet you, Jamie. Nice beat down on Vicki tonight.” If I’m surprised by his words, that’s nothing compared to the looks the other three are giving me. “Oh shit. He doesn’t know, does he?” I shake my head, while he laughs.
“What don’t I know?” Seb asks confused, looking between me and Dean.
“It was nothing,” I tell him, but it seems Jay has other ideas. I have no fucking clue how he knows.
“Nah, it wasn’t nothing,” Jay pipes up “I wish I’d been a fly on the wall of that toilet and seen Vicki’s face. I bet her lips were puckered up like a cat’s arsehole.” I can’t help laughing, even though I’m pissed with Jay for opening his bloody mouth.
Once the laughter stops, Rick suggests we head off and get some rest. Natalia seems to have relaxed somewhat, and I tell her I’ll talk to her soon. I also give her my number, and Dean gives her a burner phone for emergencies.
Jay decides he’s going to stay with Dean and Natalia, but the rest of us leave.
As soon as we are in Rick’s car, Seb turns to me in the backseat demanding to know what happened with Vicki. Rick eyes me in the rearview mirror, humour in his eyes. Now I know how Jay found out.
I tell him a short, watered down version because… Well, I don’t really know why. He seems happy with my version, although it’s clear he’s not happy with Vicki. The conversation turns toward Natalia and everything she told us tonight.
I apologise to Rick for screwing everything up and putting everyone at risk, but to my surprise, he thanks me for my help. He even jokes about joining them, to which he receives a vicious looking scowl from Seb and a firm ‘no fucking way’.
I don’t have the energy to argue with him about making decisions for me. All I want to do is go home to bed and sleep for at least a week.
I lay my head on the back of the seat, closing my eyes as Seb and Rick’s voices, combined with the gentle movement of the car, ease my chaotic thoughts.
I listen as they talk more about Natalia and her revelation about the cartel. Although, I am surprised when Rick mentions it’s not their first involvement with the cartels. They must think I’m a sleep when Seb speaks again.
“What if we’ve just put an even bigger target on her back, Rick?”
“I know you’re worried, but Jamie isn’t stupid Seb, she knew what she was doing tonight. She knew by making that bid for Natalia she would be noticed. And I know you’re pissed at her, and me, but I stand by my decision to let her go with you tonight. Look what she did.”
“Yeah, I know, but—”
“I do, Seb. I do know how you feel about her, and you make sure you hang on to that because it is everything, and you deserve it.” There’s a wistfulness in Rick’s voice I’ve not heard from him before and like he doesn’t believe he’ll ever have love again.
“Sam wasn’t it for you, man. I know you don’t like to talk about her much, but there’s someone else out there for you.”
“Nah, I don’t think so. There’ll never be another Sam.”
“Come on, Rick. We know you can never replace her, and you’re not meant to. But you are meant to move on, find love again and be happy. It’s what she would have wanted for you, and especially Max.”
“Maybe,” is all Rick says, and after that the car is silent.
Rick drops us off at Seb’s as it’s closer to Rick’s than mine is. After a quick shower to get the invisible film of filth that clings to my skin off, I fall into Seb’s bed. He comes into the room after making a quick call, pulling his tie from his neck and unbuttoning his shirt. Once they are removed, he pulls out the burner phone from his pocket. A piece of paper flutters to the floor as he does, and he bends down to pick it up.
“What’s that?” I ask as he begins to unfold it.
“Tank slipped it to me when he gave me my phone back.” His eyes scan the paper, widening as he reads.
“What does it say,” I ask, scrambling to the end of the bed so Seb can pass it to me.
Thank you. Meet me Sunday 6am on the green bridge at Clayton Vale. Trust no one.
“Well, he said trust no one, so what makes him think we trust him?”
Seb has finished undressing and climbs into bed as I move back to lay beside him, and he wraps an arm around me.
“I guess we don’t have a lot of choice. Besides, Natalia trusts him, so we’ll go and see what he has to say.” He slides down, taking me with him as I rest my head on his chest and trace a finger over the tattoos there.
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Nothing. Actually, I was thinking about your tattoos. Does it hurt?”
Seb’s head jerks back, and I look up at him, surprise in his eyes. “Depends on where you have it, but it’s not so bad. Why, you thinking of getting some ink, Firefly?” There’s a slight mocking to his tone almost as though he doesn’t think I would.
“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. What’s it to do with you?” I snipe back.
He pushes up, rolling us so he’s on top. “’Cause you’d look hot as fuck with what I have in mind for you,” he says with a wink. Seeing the surprise on my face, he continues, “That’s right, Firefly, I’ve thought about it before. Thought about it a lot actually,” he says as he begins kissing down my neck.
I wish I could say my mind was on what he was doing but it’s not.
“I’m sorry I screwed up tonight,” I say quietly.
His head instantly lifts, looking me in the eyes. “Jamie, you didn’t screw up. Listen to me, I was mad at you, but not because you screwed up, absolutely not. Rick and I always knew there was a possibility this thing at Tempest was much further reaching than just some small-time prostitution ring, although that’s bad enough, and I never wanted this anywhere near you. Never wanted you in their sights.” He sighs, dropping his head for a minute and laying a kiss to my collarbone. When he looks at me again, there’s resolve in his eyes. “This isn’t how I imagined telling you this, but I need to say it.” Butterflies and nervous energy take flight in my stomach because whatever he says next will change everything one way or another. “I fucking love you, Jamie Morgan.” I gasp at his words, but he carries on, “I never thought love was meant for me, never wanted it, and I can’t deny I tried so fucking hard to fight it, to stay away from you. But you were in my head, in my heart, I’m fucking sure of it, and now, there is no way in hell I’m letting someone take you from me.”
For a moment I just stare at him, unable to form any response while my head and heart battle it out. But I know there is only one possible outcome. I can’t deny the truth anymore, and I know if I don’t say it now, I will regret it for the rest of my life.
“Fuck!” slips from my mouth before I quickly get it back under control. “I love you too, Sebastian Roberts. The man who lit an ember beneath my cold, stone heart and made it beat again, made it burn so hot the fires of hell are jealous.” I reach up and kiss him because if I talk any more, I know I won’t be able to contain the tears that are ready to fall.
Breaking the kiss, Seb says, “Now, I’m going to show you, and you’re going to feel just how true my words are.”
Thirty-Seven
Jamie
Seb dropped me back home early this morning, so I could tend to my neglected house. Then he rushed off somewhere, but he wouldn’t tell me where, not even when I tried to tempt him with sex.
&nbs
p; Having done everything that needed doing, I’m sitting on the sofa with my laptop and type in the name of the cartel Natalia mentioned last night, and the screen fills with news reports about the gun runners turned traffickers. Most of them are about murders they have committed, but one appears to be from an ex-member who turned informant and is now in hiding. He talks about their gun running operation between Mexico and America, but also their supply chain in Afghanistan, which collapsed back in 2015.
There’s nothing more than a few snippets speculating about their turn to trafficking, and how profitable the skin trade is. I close the window not wanting to see severed heads or read any more about how these poor girls are treated and sold like cattle. Watching it first-hand was more than enough for me.
I realise that with everything that happened last night, we didn’t see Jasper, and I wonder if he was there. Deciding to see what the wonderful internet has on him, I type his name in the search bar.
The screen fills with several images of him in his uniform, and I click a link for an article about the death of his wife. While I wait for it to load, I leave the laptop on the coffee table and nip to the kitchen to grab a drink. Walking back to the sofa, my eyes land on the screen, and the water I just drank sprays out everywhere. I cough and splutter as I drop down in front of my laptop, water still dripping from my mouth.
“Oh…my fucking…god,” I stutter out between coughing. The woman on the screen stares back at me, and it’s like looking in a mirror. Except for the colour of our hair, she’s a brunette, there is almost nothing different about us, and I suddenly feel very sick at the thought of Jasper imagining his wife—his dead wife at that—while we had sex.
“Oh shit!” comes a voice from behind me, and I spin to see Seb and Jay standing there.
“You knew about this? This is what the strange look was when I told you about the policewoman at the station.” He nods. “Why didn’t you say anything, Seb?”
