Devil in Disguise

by Heather Huffman

  Most sales of children happened online. Transactions like the one she’d initiated were the minority, yet they obviously happened enough to warrant a swank office in the upscale part of town. It put into perspective how many people exchanged hands via Internet transactions. Rick mentioned that local street gangs had been pulled into the mix to fill Rachel’s order, and that scared her. If they were able to actually capture Harmony, there was nothing to stop them from abusing her horrifically before delivering her to the larger conglomerate.

  Rachel wished Conrad were there. She understood why he wasn’t, and she knew she was an independent and strong woman, capable of pulling herself off the bathroom floor, but that didn’t stop her from wishing he was there to wrap his arms around her.

  Eventually, Rachel picked herself up and began the long process of transforming back into herself. She began to feel human again once she had removed all of the makeup, brushed her teeth a lot, and soaked in a hot bubble bath until her skin wrinkled. She wrapped herself in a robe and set about looking for some stationery so she could write to Julia. All Internet communication was traceable, but surely someone could deliver a letter for her.

  When her search turned up empty, she called down to the front desk to see if they could bring her something. After convincing the gentleman on the other end of the phone that she understood the room had WiFi and that she still wished for a pen and paper to write an actual letter, she was assured someone would deliver her request to the room.

  Fifteen minutes later, there was a tap at the door. When she checked the peephole to see who it was, it took all of her willpower not to fling the door open and throw herself into his arms right then and there.

  “Your stationery.” Conrad bowed slightly, holding the pen and paper set out to her.

  “Thank you.” Rachel bit back a smile, wondering just what he was up to and why he was dressed in all white.

  “I was on my way up for your massage and offered to save some poor gentleman the trip.”

  “Ah. You’re my masseuse. Please, do come in.”

  As soon as the door was closed behind them, he gathered her into his arms, his embrace sheltering her from all the dark emotions swirling around her since she’d stepped into that office. “Veronica said she remembered what it was like to be in your shoes. She thought you could probably use some company for a little while.”

  “God bless her.”

  “Rick said to tell you not to fall in love with the guy you’re supposed to be bringing down, but I think that was more intended to harass Ronnie, because she threw a shoe at him when he said it.”

  “Maybe we’ll just leave that one alone.” Rachel couldn’t fathom who would fall in love with a human trafficker.

  “I’m okay with that decision.”

  “I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you’re here. I kept telling myself that I’m a strong woman, and that I don’t need a man, but I just wanted to curl up in your arms and make it all go away.”

  “You are a strong woman, and you don’t need a man. But I’m not just any man – I’m your husband. And just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should have to.” Even as he spoke, he lifted her in his arms, carrying her over to the bed and placing her gently in the middle of it.

  He kicked off his shoes before climbing on the bed with her and pulling her to his side. He wrapped her in the protective cocoon of his embrace, stroking her hair and listening while she purged all of the feelings thrashing around inside her.

  “I just can’t get over how dark these people are. Can they be called people? They’re monsters, and you know I’ve seen a lot, babe. But the complete and total disregard for humanity… it’s like all of the world’s sociopaths decided to go into business together and this is what they came up with,” Rachel mused.

  “If you’re around it too long, it’ll start to eat away at your own soul. Even if you’re one of the good guys, I think you have to shut off that piece of you that wants to weep or you’ll never get anything accomplished.” There was such emotion in his voice; Rachel began to get a glimpse of the personal hell he’d been in over the last years.

  “It killed you to look the other way while there was injustice going on, didn’t it?”

  “I can’t help but wonder if I’d gone to the police with what I knew if maybe even one girl could have been spared. Maybe Julia could have been spared.”

  “Or it could have gotten you nowhere. It could have gotten you killed. You remember what Veronica said: most police departments don’t have a clue what to do with the slave trade. Unless you walked into a station that happened to have a human trafficking unit, they wouldn’t have had the experience or bandwidth to do anything about it.” Rachel sat up to look him in the eye. “At what point are you going to forgive yourself for the decisions you made and simply move forward from where we are now?”

  “But what about the girl I heard scream?” His voice was ragged, as if the words had been ripped from his throat.

  Rachel froze, afraid to ask the question that came next. “What girl?”

  “Christmas Eve, after I left your room, I’d almost reached the elevator when I heard what sounded like a muffled scream coming from one of our high rollers’ rooms. I told myself I heard wrong. I convinced myself it wasn’t what it seemed, but deep down, I knew. I knew what it was because I knew someone was running girls through that hotel. I heard talk later – some of the guys joking about what they’d done to her.” Conrad, the strongest man Rachel knew, let out a choked cry, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands before continuing. “I wanted to kill the man who raped Neena with my own two hands, but I just walked the other way while they did that and so much worse to this girl. She was someone’s sister, someone’s daughter. Her blood is on my hands because I did nothing.”

  Rachel’s heart shattered at his words – for his pain and for the unknown girl and what she’d endured. She sat up and kissed the corner of his mouth, wishing she could wipe away all of the sadness it contained. Then she pulled him to her, cradling him and stroking his hair as she used her own blend of English and broken French to soothe him.

  When at long last the storm of his emotions passed, she said, “No matter how badly we might want to, we can’t undo what’s been done. We can use it, though. We can let it guide our words and actions now. You can’t unseal her fate, but you can keep another from it. We’re going to stop them, and we’re going to take a story to the people that will make them watch their children online a little bit closer. People will call for police departments that are trained in trafficking. Hell, maybe we’ll even kick up such a maelstrom that the johns will be shamed out of buying little girls; their sins don’t get to be secret anymore.”

  “It’s good to see you’re setting reasonable expectations.” Conrad sat up, shaking his head with a rueful chuckle.

  “You know me. I always go for the easy win.”

  “And I guess you’ll want to get our lives back in our spare time, right? I bet if we take out a paltry seventy-five percent of the traffickers in this country, we’ll be able to come out of hiding and stop looking over our shoulders.” His words were teasing, but they made her stop and think.

  “We don’t get to go back to our lives, do we? Not you, me, Mom or Julia. There will always be another of them waiting to exact retribution, won’t there?”

  Conrad’s silence and his solemn expression were her answer.

  “I guess we all knew that all along. Nobody wanted to be the one to say it. Well, actually, I think Julia kind of toed up to it a few times. I think she was trying to tell me she was okay with it if she couldn’t go back to Jersey.”

  “I think you’re right. Last time I spoke to Neena, she alluded as much.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Rachel was horrified that no one had said anything to her before now. She was used to being the one everyone leaned on, not the one everyone tiptoed around.

  “You had the most to lose, chère. Rosemary and Julia both ha
ve aspects of their former life they’ll miss, but you – you’re Rachel Cooper, America’s sweetheart.”

  “My career was never about that.”

  “Not even a little?” His voice was gentle.

  “I mean, it was fun. I loved my job, what I was doing. But it wasn’t a popularity contest. I became a journalist to be a voice for the voiceless.”

  “You did,” he agreed.

  Rachel frowned at the fact his statement was in past tense. “You think I started out with good intentions and got so swept up in what I was doing that I forgot who I was.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But you thought it,” she persisted.

  “I think we all forget who we are sometimes.”

  “True.” She bit her thumbnail in thought, peering over at Conrad and then smiling softly. “Some of us are lucky to have someone around who’s willing to remind us who we are.”

  “Yes, some of us are lucky like that.” He stretched out on the bed in his characteristic casual way.

  “Do you think we’ll ever have sunshine in our world again?” She curled up at his side.

  “I have sunshine in my world every time you smile. I’d move mountains to see that smile.”

  Rachel shook her head in wonder. “What’s a girl supposed to say to something like that?”

  “Nothing; she’s supposed to smile.”

  Rachel couldn’t help it. She smiled.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  RACHEL WOKE UP ALONE; sunlight was streaming through the windows and an alarm was going off that she hadn’t set. She smacked the alarm silent before stretching lazily and admiring the way the light pirouetted through the air. It might be lonelier at the hotel, but at least she could keep the curtains open a little here. There was a note on the pillow beside her, written on the stationery Conrad had delivered the night before.

  “Forgot to tell you that you’re going on a short trip today. Will explain later. Be ready by 10. Don’t worry about the disguise. Will sneak you out.” The instructions were scrawled out in Conrad’s distinctive script.

  Rachel glanced at the clock; it was nine. She debated allowing herself the luxury of another fifteen minutes of sleep, but a knock at the door forced her out of bed.

  “Room service,” came the call from the hallway.

  Rachel verified that it was room service before letting him in, standing aside so the young man could wheel in a cart set with waffles, bacon, juice, and two cups of coffee. A smile tugged at the corner of Rachel’s mouth as she tipped the server. There was another note on the cart, written in the same handwriting as the first. It read, “No, you can’t have 15 more minutes.”

  She laughed out loud, swiping a piece of bacon off the plate and heading to the bathroom to grab a shower. Since she had no idea what kind of outing she’d be going on, she had no idea how to dress. Jean shorts and a tank top would have been her vote if she’d had one, but just like she hadn’t chosen the clothes in her closet on Carroll Street, she hadn’t packed for this particular ruse, either.

  Not that she had many clothes to pack if she could have. She was in the process of replacing pretty much everything she owned since she’d left New York with little more than the clothes on her back. Even her money was frozen in bank accounts back home. That thought depressed her as she dressed in a pair of boring slacks and a perfectly drab blouse. If she couldn’t be comfortable, she wished she could at least be stylish.

  Even if she wasn’t happy with her appearance, she was ready in ample time to finish her breakfast before Conrad let himself into her room.

  “I swiped a key last night,” he offered by way of explanation before stopping to inspect her appearance. “No offense, babe, but that is a very boring outfit.”

  “I can’t help it.” She wrapped her arms protectively around herself. “I only have the clothes Rick left in the room, and all of those belong to a soulless businesswoman with no fashion sense.”

  “I know, which is why I brought you this.” He held out an overnight bag that was filled with clothes she’d never seen before. “It’s not much, just what I had time to grab on the way over.

  “I can’t believe you thought to do this.” She pulled each article of clothing out one by one, delighting in them all.

  “I have a sister and helped raise my niece. It seemed like something they would appreciate, so I figured I should at least take a stab in the dark at replacing some of your clothes.”

  “You did very well,” she assured him, selecting a pair of jean shorts and a sleeveless blouse. It wasn’t the ratty-but-obscenely-comfortable clothes she was in the mood for, but it was still worlds better than her current outfit. He’d even brought her pretty-but-not-trashy underwear. “It’s ridiculous how well you did, actually.”

  Conrad beamed at the compliment. In truth, it was his usual easy smile, but Rachel was pretty sure she saw a hint of pride in his expression to go with it, so she preferred to think of it as beaming.

  “Do I get to know where I’m going today, or is it a surprise?”

  “I will tell you it’s close. We can’t go too far, in case we get called back in the game. I’m not going to tell you any more than that, though; I think it’ll be more fun to surprise you.”

  Normally, it would have driven Rachel nuts to not know where they were going, but today, she was thrilled to be spending a beautiful day outside with Conrad instead of cooped up in a hotel room by herself, so she played along.

  “Stay right with me. Keep your head down and keep quiet until we get to the car. Oh, and put these on.” Conrad handed her sunglasses and a baseball cap.

  She complied, sliding her hand in Conrad’s and waiting for him to give the all-clear to leave. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, watching the screen intently for a moment before nodding that it was time. He checked the hallway to verify they were alone then led her out the door.

  He hurried through the hallways, only slowing to a more natural pace once they hit the main lobby. Then he pulled Rachel to his side in a gesture intended to block her from view, despite its romantic appearance.

  “What were you doing with the phone?” She waited to ask until they were in his rented SUV with tinted windows.

  “Waiting for the all-clear from Rick. He hacked into hotel security to divert the cameras, just in case.”

  “Impressive.” She nodded approvingly.

  “I like Veronica and Rick. They seem genuinely good.”

  “Ronnie has changed a lot since I knew her. She was always a doll, but I can definitely tell her world is a much bigger place now than it used to be.”

  “That’s a good way of putting it.” The corner of his mouth curled up in a grin. “She says she was vapid.”

  “I think she’s being too hard on herself. Her perspective was more limited when I knew her, but she was far from vapid. So, what’s the deal with Vance? Do you know anything about him?”

  “I could tell he fascinated you the other night.” Conrad’s tone was knowing. “You’ve pegged him for your story, haven’t you?”

  “I know I can’t show his face or give too much of his story away, so it doesn’t make any sense. But I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s the angle I want to take with this. Maybe it’s the whole bad-boy-turned-good aspect. I don’t know.”

  “I will fill you in on what little I know, but you’ll have to talk to him to find out more,” he offered. “He’s known as Batman in undercover circles. You’ve heard about his rather inauspicious beginnings. He’d been working as muscle for a small-time pimp in St. Louis. When that guy got mixed up with human traffickers out of Eastern Europe – I think – he started getting less and less comfortable with his occupation. He was pretty good friends with one of the girls, Harmony’s roommate. There was some big mess when she got out of the business; she’d been working undercover and got busted. I think that was what put him on the path he’s on now.”

  “What happened to the friend?”

  “Everyone thought
she was dead there for a while. I think it all turned out okay in the end. He doesn’t talk about her much, but Veronica mentioned that they’re still close.”

  “She was the foster child,” Rachel guessed.

  “What foster child?”

  “The other night, he got noticeably upset talking about the foster children who slip through the cracks. I bet the friend was a foster child who slipped through the cracks.”

  “That’s a question you’ll have to ask him.”

  Rachel bit her lower lip, her brow furrowed in thought. “What about Harmony? What’s her story?”

  “She’s brilliant, from what I hear. Got mixed up in a bad thing trying to pay her way through college. I know Vance keeps trying to convince her to use her brains to save the world, but she insists she should be using her street experience to infiltrate human trafficking rings in a way few can.”

  “She’s done this before?”

  “In some form or another.”

  “I couldn’t do it. I’m in this particular game for selfish reasons. Once it’s done, if I never see another slave trader again for the rest of my life, it’ll be too soon.”

  “If you were entirely selfish, you would have gone completely underground with Julia and Rosemary and never looked back. Or you would have sent them packing back in Jersey and kept your perfect world intact,” Conrad contradicted.

  “It wasn’t a perfect world. You weren’t in it.” Her voice was soft as she gazed out the window.

  Conrad reached out to brush her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into the touch and smiled.

  “Besides – it never even occurred to me to simply send my own mother and sister away.”