CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Sniper
WATCHING AGENT FINLEY all afternoon just pissed me off. Knowing that he had worked with this sex trafficking ring and I couldn’t just go beat the shit out of him really pissed me off. I was tired of waiting. Now was the time for action.
“Cap,” I barked into my phone. “Let’s just grab this asshole. We need information and we’re not getting it by watching him go get coffee and flirt with women.”
“Chance, we need to watch and-”
“Yeah, I fucking know. We watch and learn, but we already know this asshole is involved. Let’s take him and get what we need. We have an innocent girl out there waiting to come home.”
I heard him sigh into the phone. I knew this wasn’t what he wanted, but dammit, I was tired of waiting.
“If we snatch him, you know that whoever’s behind this is gonna follow and they’ll take him out as soon as they get the chance. You’re gonna have to be quick and get what you can before they attack.”
“I know, Cap.”
“And they’ll probably try to take you out.” He sighed into the phone again and spoke to someone in the room. “Let’s meet up. Before we do this, we need a plan in place. I’ll send Knight and Lola to take over watch for you. As soon as they relieve you, get your asses back here and we’ll come up with something solid.”
“10-4, Cap.”
“What’s the plan?” Gabe asked.
“We’re meeting back at Reed Security. Knight and Lola are taking over watch while we put together a plan.”
“Shit,” Jackson swore. “This is gonna be a fucking mess.”
“I’m guessing everyone will be called in for safety measures,” Gabe said.
“I’m sure. We’ll see what Cap says.”
Twenty minutes later, we were back at Reed Security in the conference room. Everyone had gathered around and the tension in the room was so tight that it wouldn’t take long for any one of us to snap.
“Alright, let’s get down to it,” Cap said, his expression stern as he stood at the head of the table. “I think we all know that we’re about to head into another shit storm. If we take on this trafficking ring, we’ll be putting our families at risk. So, our first order of business is protecting our families. I want everyone in the panic room before we put our plan in motion. I’m guessing once The Broker gets wind of what we’re doing, he’s going to pass that information along to the right people. That means Reed Security will no longer be safe. I’ve already contacted Cash Owens about getting some guys out here. The panic room will be enough to keep everyone safe and then Cash will have his men take everyone to Knight’s property in Colorado. You all have ten minutes to get ahold of your families and make the necessary arrangements to bring them all in. I want everyone here within the hour. Pack only what’s necessary. They’ll need to move fast once Cash gets here.”
“Cap, what about extended family?” Sinner asked. “I know we don’t have all the resources in the world, but I can’t just leave Cara’s brother and his wife behind. They have kids and then there’s Kate’s family, Cole and Alex-”
“I know what you’re saying, Sinner. No one gets left behind. If the men choose to stay behind, that’s their decision. I’ll get on the horn with Sean and make sure he’s aware of what’s about to go down so the police department can prepare for what’s coming.”
“You’re not worried about blowback from the department?” Hunter asked.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, our only focus is getting these kids back to their families and saving any of the women we can before they’re sold off.”
“Does Cash still have his contacts at the bureau from the ring we took down in California?” Ice asked.
“I don’t want to make any calls until we interrogate Agent Finley. We need to know how deep this goes so we don’t alert any more people than we have to. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Irish said. “Am I gonna have to build another house after this? Cuz I just built that deck off the back porch and I’m not really looking forward to having to redo that.”
Cap smirked in amusement. “We’ll try to keep it away from our homes, but to be on the safe side, if there’s anything you don’t want destroyed, have your wives hide it in your panic rooms. Chance.”
I glanced over to Cap with a chin lift.
“Make sure those hypoallergenic pillows are stashed. I don’t want to hear any bitching this time about your creature comforts.”
“Already taken care of,” I shot back.
“Alright, you have ten minutes to call your families and then get your asses back here. Oh, and Sinner, you’re responsible for making sure Maggie doesn’t try to slip out of the panic room once she gets here.”
“Dammit! She’s not my fucking wife.”
“No, but for some fucked up reason, she’ll listen to you more than she will me.”
“This fucking sucks,” Sinner muttered.
The guys started dispersing and I pulled out my phone to call Florrie. It rang, but she didn’t pick up. I didn’t always have good reception at my house, so I was going to have to go get them all and bring them back.
“Shit. Cap, I’ve gotta go get Morgan. Florrie’s not picking up.”
“Be quick. I’ll give you twenty minutes.”
I gave a quick nod and headed down to my truck. As long as Morgan was safe, I could take on these assholes and focus on getting her daughter back.
“Hey, Chance!” I was just about to get into my truck when Craig called me. He was jogging toward me, his body more rigid than I would have expected from him. “I’m coming with you.”
“You need to stop by your place?”
He shook his head as he climbed in the passenger side. “Nah, I’m just tagging along.”
“Any particular reason?”
He shrugged again and stared out the window. Something about the way he was acting was sending my head into survival mode. I kept glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He was acting all nervous, scratching at his beard and his knee was bouncing out of control.
“What is it, man?”
“I just have a bad feeling about this,” he mumbled as he continued to stare out the window. I slapped his arm, getting him to finally look at me.
“What’s going on?”
“You ever get these really bad feelings, like shit’s about to blow up and your whole world is gonna implode?”
“I’ve had bad feelings before, but I wouldn’t say it’s ever been that bad. Why? Is that what you’re feeling about this?”
He nodded, biting his lip. “There was only one other time I felt like this.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “When was that?”
“I was a kid, just barely in high school.” His voice drifted off, like he was getting caught up in memories. I waited, knowing that sometimes, you had to allow yourself a minute to pull your shit together before you could deal with the demons in your head. “There were so many people that died that day. A lot of people were burned alive. Others were severely injured….I can still smell the burning flesh.”
He drifted off again and it was killing me not to push and find out what the hell was going on. Police sirens sounded in the distance and my stomach churned. I glanced over at Craig to see him looking out the windshield, looking for where the sirens we’re going.
“It’s just like that night,” he whispered. “I’m telling you. I felt it that night. I just knew that something was wrong.”
He was starting to freak me the fuck out, but when another police car went flying past me, I knew whatever he was feeling was legitimate.
“Craig, what the fuck is going on?”
“Put your fucking foot down. We have to get to your house.”
He pulled out his phone and I slammed my foot down on the gas. I didn’t know how the hell he knew there was a problem, but the urgency in his voice convinced me.
“Cap, we need guys out at Chance’s house…..I
don’t fucking know. Just trust me. Something’s going down…..Fuck, Cap. I’m asking you to trust me right now. There are sirens headed out of town, right toward his house. I’m fucking telling you- oh fuck!”
And in that moment, I saw what he did. A huge plume of smoke was filling the darkened sky in the distance, so thick that it could only be something big. If I could have driven faster, I would have. I tore down my driveway just minutes later and practically crashed into a tree at the scene before me. My house was engulfed in flames. The first police car was here and I could hear more sirens on their way, but none of that mattered. Morgan was inside there.
I jumped out of my truck and ran forward, ignoring the officer’s instructions to stay back. Alec and Florrie were lying on the ground by the officer and neither of them looked alive, but I couldn’t stop and check. The officer was looking them over and that would have to do while Morgan was inside. The heat was scorching and small explosions rocked the integrity of what was left of the house. I got close enough to the front door for my heart to sink into my stomach when I saw the boards nailed over the door. Glancing at the windows, I could see the same was done there. Someone had fucking trapped her inside there and left her to burn to death. I ran around to the back side of the house to see if the back door was the same.
“No!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I saw there was no escape from the house. “Morgan!” I ran for the door, convinced that I could break down the door and get to her. She could still be alive inside. Steel bands of arms wrapped around me, dragging me back from the fire.
“What the fuck? Morgan’s in there!” I struggled to break from his grasp, kicking and punching until I finally broke free from his arms. I stumbled to the ground as I jerked away from him, but was back on my feet, dirt flying from under my feet and I pushed forward again. The heat was terrifyingly hot, but I pushed on anyway, needing to get to Morgan.
I was tackled to the ground, slamming harshly into the leaves and sticks around the yard. Now I was being dragged backward by multiple men, but I still struggled. I could see the window to my bedroom, the room that I had just shared with her this morning. The room where I had finally admitted to my biggest fear of being used again by another woman. Something happened between us this morning, something that was the start of what I knew would be the best thing in my life if I just allowed it to happen.
“Morgan!” I shouted until my throat was raw. My skin was slick with sweat and it made it hard for the men to hold me back. I broke their hold again, but this time, someone wrapped an arm around my chest, whispering in my ear.
“There’s nothing you can do, man. She couldn’t have survived that.”
“I can’t-”
“I know, but you can’t go in there. There’s no one to save.”
My knees buckled and I collapsed to the ground, the man behind me still holding on, keeping me tight to his body. I didn’t know who it was and I didn’t care. All I could do was stare at my house and watch it burn to the ground as tears slipped down my cheeks. I had let her down and I never let anyone down. I hadn’t protected her. I should have done more to help her. I should have taken her with me, knowing The Broker was after her.
I dropped my head into my hands, falling forward to the ground as agony tore through me. I had failed her. I had failed everyone. The pain of losing my wife was nothing compared to this. I felt like I had just lost the one woman that I had ever really connected with, had ever really… I could feel it inside now. While I was struggling to keep her at a distance, I had been slowly falling for her; falling for her strength and her tenacity, and the woman that made me finally admit my fears. I didn’t know if it was love, but it was something that could have been amazing. I hadn’t fucking seen it and now she was gone. She had died a horrible death, never knowing if her daughter was alive or dead. But I wouldn’t let it go at that. I would find her daughter and make sure she had the life Morgan should have had.
Gathering all my anger, pain, and loss, I pushed up off the ground, swiping at the tears that stained my cheeks and shoved the arms off me that tried to calm me down. There was no calming down now. There was only revenge and the need to kill.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Sniper
“CHANCE!”
I didn’t stop when my name was called and I didn’t back down when Ice and Chris stood in my way. I shoved past them, yanked the SUV door open and jumped inside. Now was the time for action. I cranked the engine and kicked up gravel as I backed up out of my driveway. My tires squealed as I tore down the road, heading for Pittsburgh to get my hands on Agent Finley and find out everything he knew.
Headlights shown behind me, probably two or three different vehicles. Whether or not they followed me to Pittsburgh was up to them, but I had a plan in place and nothing would stop me right now. All that mattered was getting Payton back.
The vehicles kept up with me the whole way to Pittsburgh and when I reached his apartment, I didn’t bother knocking.
“Think about this, Chance.” Chris was right behind me, trying to grab at me to stop me, but I couldn’t. I planted my boot against the door and slammed the fucking thing against the wall. Storming into the apartment, I walked right up to Agent Finley and threw my fist into his face until he was bloodied and barely conscious.
Hauling him up by the neck of his shirt, I threw him into a chair and took tv cables to strap him down. Chris, Ice, Craig, Hunter, and Cazzo all stood watching me, waiting for me to completely flip out or tell them what I needed. But what I needed right now was to get information and I could accomplish that on my own.
When Finley didn’t come around right away, I slapped him hard on the cheek. He roused slightly, but still wasn’t awake enough for me. I grabbed a jug of milk from the refrigerator and held his head back as I poured the milk over his face. The thick liquid clogged his nose quickly, snapping him back to the present. He looked around the room in confusion, not knowing what the hell was going on.
“Tell me who’s running the trafficking ring.”
“What?”
I slugged him in the face. “Tell me who the fuck you’re working for,” I shouted.
“I don’t know what-”
I shoved my boot against his chest, kicking his chair over and slamming him into the ground. I stood on top of his chest, pushing all my weight into him until he was gasping for air. I probably cracked a few ribs too.
“You were working with Wick. You wanted him to think he was helping gather information and save those women, but that’s not what you were fucking doing! You trafficked those women and used him to fill your own pockets to pay off some fucking debts!”
“No,” he gasped. “I swear! I didn’t. I don’t work trafficking. I mean, not in that way.”
“Then in what way do you?”
“I’m a case manager, but I only oversee how the operations are going as far as resources, finances, assets-”
“Yeah, and Wick was a fucking asset!”
“No! I’ve never even heard that name before.”
“Don’t fuck with me, asshole. I know about the money that you’ve been putting away in your so-called hidden accounts. You’ve been getting ready to run.”
“No, I don’t-”
I picked up his head by the hair and slammed it back to the floor. Walking to the kitchen, I grabbed the largest knife I could find and headed back to the living room.
“Hey, Chance,” Cazzo stepped in front of me. “Think about this. There are ways we can get information out of him that won’t leave all this evidence behind.”
“All I want right now is Payton back and he’s going to tell me how to get to her.”
“I don’t know!” Finley shouted from the floor.
“Shut your fucking mouth!” I started toward him, but Chris cut me off, taking the knife from my hand.
“Let us take care of this. We know you need answers right now, but you’re gonna kill him before you get what you need.”
I was breathing so har
d that my nostrils were flaring with every breath. My chest was heaving with every shake of my body. I was losing control. I could feel it slipping away with every minute that passed. I took a step back and nodded to Chris.
“Just take a seat over there,” Chris pointed to the chair in the corner. I did as he said and watched as Ice walked over to Finley and righted the chair he was in. He motioned for Chris to hand over the knife and then held it up to Finley.
“Now, we’re going to ask you some questions and you’re going to answer them truthfully. If you don’t, I can make your death very painful.”
“I swear, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So, you don’t know the club Stripped To Nothing?”
“Yeah, I know that club. Everyone in Pittsburgh knows it. It just opened a few years back. It’s more of a gentleman’s club.”
“And you know the owner?”
“Sure. I’ve talked to him quite a few times. He’s ex-military.”
Ice looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. This was all coming a little too easy, like he was just handing over what we wanted to hear. Either that or he was telling the fucking truth.
“What can you tell me about the women that are being trafficked in the city?”
“Not much.”
Ice slammed the knife into Finley’s leg, just above the knee. Finley screamed in pain, his leg jerking around the knife, which only made the cut worse.
“That’s not the answer I want,” Ice growled. “There are missing women and children and I want to know who is in charge of everything!”
“The men running the investigation haven’t figured it out yet,” he sobbed. “Nobody can find this guy. He’s too good at hiding.”
“And you just sat on your ass while women were getting kidnapped and sold like cattle!” Ice yelled, his spit flying into the man’s face. “You didn’t think you should push the investigation harder or try to find out what the fuck your agents were actually accomplishing?”
“I have so many cases-”
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