Just like the last fixer had been when he failed to find and exterminate an asset. He had given him time to locate the asset, and when he hadn’t, Vance hired a new fixer, and he exterminated the one who’d become obsolete, and he’d been working exclusively for Vance ever since. No one crossed Vance Duprey. No one.
20
Apparently, sleep be damned, Quinn thought as she lie staring at the ceiling. Her body was feeling much better, and her wrist was downgraded to a constant throb. She’d been waiting longer in between painkillers, but the dull throbbing pain wasn’t what was keeping her up. The wheels in her head, trying to figure out what the hell was going on was what had her staring wide-eyed at the ceiling nearly all night long. Now the sun was starting to rise, and she was fed up with lying in that bed, as comfortable as it was, and pretending nothing was wrong. There was a hell of a lot that was wrong, and she needed to help figure it out.
With renewed resolve, she got ready and marched into the living room. Ethan was already in the kitchen. Two plates heaping with food and two glasses were set on the table. He was carrying milk and juice toward the table when she came bounding in, hell bent on telling him that he wasn’t keeping her locked up in that apartment one more day, but the smell and appearance of the food had her stopping in her tracks and moaning out loud.
“Where did all this food come from?” she asked.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the store a little bit ago and filled the fridge and cupboards with food. Sit down and fill up. I know you have something on your mind, but I want you to eat first.”
A grumbling sound emanated from her stomach. She was usually not one to turn away food. Especially food that smelled that good. Telling Ethan what she needed to could wait until after she’d eaten copious amounts of scrambled eggs, American fries, and bacon. Only then would she be ready to talk. She looked up when she heard Ethan laughing. He was staring at her with his fork midway to his mouth.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing, I just love how much you enjoy food.”
“That’s good because I’m not going to apologize for it. I like food.”
There were reasons for eating like she did and years of seeing a therapist hadn’t assuaged the feeling that she needed to take advantage of food when it was around, but when you were starved at one point in your life, you know how to never undervalue food. Ethan nodded once as if he somehow knew what she meant and proceeded to eat his own food. A few more moments passed as they ate in companionable silence. Finally full, she set her fork down next to her plate and took a breath, expecting a fight.
“I want to go to the center today. I need to be doing something. I can discreetly talk to some of the kids about Paulie. I know how to ask them without looking like I’m too interested, and I have a martial arts class I was going to instruct today.” She paused to take a breath. The words were tumbling out so fast that she was short of breath.
“I know.”
“Don’t get all uber-protective—wait, what?”
“I said, I know. If I hadn’t figured as much out last night when I could hear you pacing in the bedroom and then tossing and turning in my bed, I knew the second you came stomping in here with a mission clearly in place.”
“And you aren’t going to yell at me and go all cop mode?”
“No, I’m not going to yell at you. Yes, I’m going to go all cop mode. That is, if by cop mode, you mean that I’m going to insist on dropping you off and picking you up and that I’m also going to insist you stay at the center at all times, and if anything seems off that you will let me know right away.”
“That’s definitely what I mean by cop mode.”
“If you agree to those things, then I won’t argue about you going in to work. I understand what it’s like to feel like you aren’t contributing, and if I were to be honest, which I try to be as much as possible, I would admit we need answers—and fast. I think the kids at the center might be the way to get some answers.”
“I agree with everything you just said.”
“Good. Now that we have that settled, we can head out as soon as I get the dishes put in the dishwasher.”
“Let me. It’s the least I can do after that great meal.” She stood and carried the dishes to the sink, rinsing off the food remnants before placing them in the dishwasher. “I appreciate you trusting me enough to take care of myself. I’m not a weak woman who needs someone to hold her hand.”
“Trust me when I say I would never underestimate you or any woman for that matter. Women aren’t inferior because of their gender.” His voice was like silk, and she jumped slightly when he spoke, not expecting him to be so close. “I forgot to mention that I like your new haircut; it suits you.”
Bracing herself to face him, she was surprised, once again, when she discovered he was no longer standing behind her. He liked her haircut? Was his comment just a compliment or was it his way of letting her know that his cop eyes missed nothing? She was known for changing her hairstyle frequently, but she really liked the short pixie cut with the highlights and thought it suited her and hoped that she could keep it longer than usual. For the first time ever, she felt like her personality was showing through. Of course, cutting her hair short meant that it would be harder to change the style, and maybe when she did it, she’d been challenging herself. After all, it was an old habit, and she couldn’t break herself of it. Even though it had been fourteen years, and she had no reason to believe she was anything but safe from her past, cutting and coloring one’s hair was such an easy way to change a person’s appearance. That and glasses. Even though Quinn had no need for glasses, she had several pairs at her disposal that had clear lenses. Every once in a while, she would add them to her routine, telling people her contacts were irritating her eyes.
Quinn hoped that he’d meant it as a compliment. Mostly because she wanted him to be attracted to her. She knew that now, but also because it wasn’t good if he was questioning her constant change of appearance. Up until now, people had accepted it as part of her personality. They assumed she liked to keep her look fresh. Had he figured out there was more to it than that? Shaking off the disturbing thought that Ethan was more attuned to her than she had realized, she wandered into the living room to find him standing in the center of the room, deep in thought.
“Ethan?”
“What? Sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
“What’s that?” she asked apprehensively.
“Just how much I hate letting you go to the center. I do believe you can take care of yourself, but it’s just against every moral fiber in my being to let you be out of my safety zone.”
“But even if you leave me here, I’m not safe. Anyone can get through that door or the window. You know that. I need to feel useful, and right now, I don’t feel useful. What’s more, I need to go to work and see my clients. They rely on me. I’m the one constant in a lot of their lives.”
He turned to study her and took a step toward her; then, as if he thought better of it, he took a step back. But for some reason, she countered his backward move with a forward move of her own…and another…until she was standing only half a foot in front of him. Not knowing what was controlling her when she reached her hand up and brushed it across his cheek, she heard him swallow, but her eyes were locked on his bright blue ones.
“I’ll be fine. You need to go to work, kick some ass, and take names later. I need to go to work and do what I can to stop this monster from taking any more of my kids. Trust me to take care of myself, like I trust you to take care of yourself. I’ll do my part, and you do yours. I need to know you’re focused on this case and not worrying about me. Promise me.”
“That’s impossible for me to guarantee, but I will promise if you promise not to leave that building and to not take any unnecessary risks.”
“Deal.” Before she pulled her hand away, he turned his face into it and kissed her palm. A blush crept up her neck and burned her cheeks.
“Ah
, I like that,” he said, his voice husky.
“What?” His statement confused her.
“If you only knew what it does to me to see you blush.” She took a hasty step back. “Relax, I’m not going to attack you, but I think tonight we have some things we need to talk about.”
After Ethan dropped off Quinn at the center, with further instructions that he knew annoyed her, he left and went to the station. When he walked into the bull pen, there was a hive of activity unlike any he’d seen in a while. He made a beeline for Caleb who had his cell phone to his ear, but when he saw Ethan, he ended the call abruptly.
“What’s going on?” he asked without formality.
“They just raided a Green Bay massage parlor off an anonymous tip. It was one that they were watching for the last few weeks after reports that more than massages were happening inside.”
“I assume they found something?”
“You could say that. Not only did they find half a dozen underage and undocumented immigrants, but they found none other than Manuel and Luis Hernandez.”
“And those names should mean something to me?” Ethan asked, hedging his bets that Caleb didn’t know the anonymous tip had come from him and hoping to hell those were the two men that Black had seen in the woods.
“Because they’re the owner and operator of that massage parlor and many others. They’re also slippery as hell, and Chicago PD has been looking for them for months.”
Score one for Black. Good thing he’d texted a description of the two men to Ethan so when he called it in to Bob, it was easy to know who they were looking for. With the best performance of his life to date, he kept a straight face and let Caleb tell him how it all had gone down.
“Why the hell am I just hearing about all this right now?” he asked, only mildly irritated. He was a little mad he didn’t know the takedown was happening, but since he had helped orchestrate it, he wasn’t all that upset. After all, he’d been busy having breakfast with Quinn, and currently, he was trying really hard not to think of her caramel eyes.
“It all just went down a few minutes ago. GBPD was keeping everything really close to the vest, and Cap just came out and told us what went down. I was calling you when you walked in a few minutes ago.”
“Oh.” He tried to look chagrined and hoped he pulled it off. “Sorry about that, man; I should have known better.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know you have your head on other things right now.” Caleb clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“What other things?” Ethan knew his voice sounded a bit belligerent, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“Don’t be like that, dude. I just meant keeping Quinn safe—and don’t bullshit me. We’ve all noticed how you look at that woman.”
“And how’s that?” This time his voice was full-on belligerent.
“Don’t give me attitude. You are head over heels for that woman. I know, because I have given that same dopey look to your sister, and you’ve called me on it or rolled your eyes at me countless times.” He started to make his way to the meeting room, then turned to look at him. “For what it’s worth, it’s about damn time. You have Kara’s blessing, too. You coming?”
Caleb walked away before Ethan could respond, so he just followed him with his tail between his legs. Was he really that transparent? Apparently, the answer to that question was yes. He slid into a chair next to Caleb and sat brooding a little bit. If Caleb could see it so easily, how was Quinn so oblivious? Unless she wasn’t oblivious. Which would mean, what? It meant she wasn’t interested. No, he didn’t believe that—not for one second. He felt how she responded. There was absolutely interested, but there was something holding her back.
“All right, settle down. I know there’s a lot of energy right now, but we need to go over what I know right now,” Captain Bob Wickman said from the front of the room. “Acting on an anonymous tip we received several hours ago, we contacted the GBPD with credible evidence that a massage parlor in Green Bay was currently in operation with underage persons involved. Acting on said tip, the GBPD choreographed a sting operation in which they infiltrated the building where they found an illegal sex business with underage girls and boys was operating. Some of which were undocumented citizens, some that were not. During the raid, the Green Bay police, with the help of the human trafficking division, brought in two men, at first believed to be clients. However, after they were brought in and booked into the system, it was discovered that they were actually Manuel and Luis Hernandez.” There were some whispers in the room, and Bob held up his hand to silence them.
“Judging by the whispering, some of you are familiar with those two names. For those who aren’t, the two men are brothers and rising stars in the human trafficking world. Chicago PD has been looking for them for quite some time. As a matter of fact, rumor is that while they are grateful, they’re also steamed that they weren’t told of the operation. Never mind that we had no idea the two brothers would be there.”
“Screw ‘em,” someone mumbled, and a bunch of officers nodded their agreement.
“Can it. You know as well as I do, Stuart, that if it was flipped around, we’d feel the same way. Although, we weren’t really included in the takedown, either, but that’s beside the point. There’s a lot of red tape to go through to be in on an operation out of our jurisdiction. Anyway, the hope is that the two Hernandez boys will sing. As of now, all intel has supported that they’re more the middlemen between buyers and sellers. What we know from the Cook County report from the data they collected from 2011 to 2016 is that, more often than not, buyers are Caucasian males, aged thirty-one to forty. Keep in mind that this is not always the case.”
Bob pointed to a pie chart that came up on the projector. It showed the breakdown of ethnicity and age of buyers. Caucasian and Hispanic men made up sixty-nine percent of the chart. Fifty-three percent were aged thirty-one to fifty. Other slides showed that almost half had a high school diploma or GED, almost half were married, and ninety-one percent were employed. The next slides dealt with the victims.
“As you can see, African Americans are more likely to become the victim with an alarming sixty percent compared to twenty-nine percent being Caucasian. Nearly half of these people were under eighteen when the prostitution began. Even more disturbing is that nearly ninety percent reported some kind of abuse in their life. This is just a small smattering of what we’re up against, and I thank Cook County for giving us this report. This is a growing problem, and it’s touching every corner of this world. We’re fighting a battle, and we’re losing badly. We need to stop the SOB who was nearly able to sell those ten children last night. This operation has been officially given top priority. These are no longer faceless victims. They have families, they have friends, and we need to do what we can to stop the putrid evil that has been invading and spreading.”
No one said a word as they let the charts sink in. It was more real when you actually saw it in black and white or on a colorful chart. Guaranteed, there were a lot of people in that room at that moment who wanted to kill the buyer and seller. Ethan was really surprised there weren’t more vigilantes taking out these oxygen stealers.
“What do you need from us, Cap?” Stuart asked.
“Unfortunately, right now, we’re in a holding pattern. We wait for word from Green Bay. Hopefully, they’ll call with good news that the two Hernandez boys have told us how to find either the buyer or seller. Until then, we need to pound the pavement and see what we can find out…if we can find anything. Prostitution has changed a bit. They don’t just hang out on the corner anymore. With the advent of technology, they now use websites like Backpage to find their Johns. Let’s use that against them. Stuart and Sanchez, get on Backpage and the web and see what you can come up with. Set up some meet and greets, and see if you can find out any information. Tell them you won’t bring them in if they can tell you anything useful. Montgomery, Vanderbilt, hit the streets. See if you can track down Kimora or Becky’s friend.”
<
br /> Ethan didn’t know if he would rather surf the web, but he really didn’t want to drive around town chasing his tail. He hoped that Quinn was having better luck than he was. It was going to be a long day, and he wanted to be able to pick her up and bring her home sooner rather than later. She seemed much better this morning, but she was still recovering, after all. However, after the Captain’s stirring speech, he knew it was going to be a while before he got to pick her up. He just hoped she held to the promise she made and didn’t take any risks.
Black was busy trying to get close to Vance, but the man had shored up his walls and was making it really hard to get anywhere near him. Now that word had trickled down the line that two men had been arrested and that those two men were Vance’s biggest clients, the man had gotten even more difficult to see than before. It didn’t mean that he wouldn’t keep trying. Eventually, Vance was going to need someone to trust. Even if the man was beyond paranoid, he wasn’t going to be able to maintain his business on his own, since so many bodies were falling around Vance. Black hoped that his days were numbered.
His burner phone buzzed, and he found a secluded area where he knew there were no cameras to check it. The message was short and sweet:
Hernandez x 2 @ GB raid
Holy shit, if that message meant what he thought it did, they had taken down two of the biggest names in the area. Black had heard Vance mention their names several times, but he had never let on that those were the buyers. In fact, he regularly talked about how they were major competition and trying to step in on his business. Had Black inadvertently gotten rid of his competition and not just the buyer? For some reason, he didn’t think Vance would be all that upset since the man said more than once how he tolerated his buyers even when they became difficult. Even though these two were his best customers, if they were stepping in on his territory, the man would brutally cut ties and had only been biding his time. Black typed a fast response.
Breaking Shadows (Darkness Falls Book 2) Page 20
