by Kelsie Rae
“What do you mean, probably too much?” D growls beside me.
Pulling my lips into my mouth, I replay all the little signals from what feels like a lifetime ago before giving him a shrug. “I don’t know how to explain it. Maybe it’s a weird sixth sense or something. But sometimes, a girl can just tell when someone is looking at her in a…more intimate way.”
His nostrils flare. “Did he ever touch you?”
“No. Mr. Johnson never touched me.”
“But he didn’t want Burlone to take you from him,” Kingston interrupts.
“N-no,” I stutter. “I don’t think so.”
His fingers are laced in front of him and rest on the top of his desk as Kingston questions, “Then why did Burlone do it? He wasn’t known for selling women who were employed by someone in the business. That’s not exactly discreet.”
“I….” I pull my lips into a thin line, then glance over at Diece. His pained expression nearly cripples me.
Sensing my reservations, Kingston continues with his interrogation. “Tell me about the night you were taken.”
“I-I don’t know,” I lie again.
“Then think.”
With my head in my hands, I block them out and try not to pass out from hyperventilating.
I can’t tell them. He’ll kill me.
D reaches over and rubs my back, bringing me back to the present as his rich voice rolls over me. “You can do this, Q. Talk to me.”
“I can’t.”
He sighs but continues to comfort me with his touch.
“You can trust me, Q. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”
It’s the plea on his tongue that does me in. The memories of our moments together. The trust that he’s managed to gain despite my best efforts to push him away. All of it.
Before I can stop myself, the truth tumbles out of me, gaining momentum as each word rolls off my tongue until I’m not sure I can stop.
“Two men showed up. It was out of the blue. Mr. Johnson had a lot of visitors, but it usually wasn’t when I was there. That’s just what Will would tell me. I was upstairs putting him to bed when someone started pounding on the front door. Mr. Johnson answered it, then they shoved themselves inside and started talking.” My voice trails off, and I cover my ears, praying I could take the memory away.
“What were they talking about, Q?” D murmurs beside me.
“Someone died, and they needed to get rid of the body. A rat in the Romano family had been found, and they couldn’t find a new one. The men were too loyal. But they didn’t know what the rat said before he was…taken care of. I don’t know. It didn’t make any sense at the time.”
“And you’re sure you heard Romano?”
“Like the cheese,” I answer with a pathetic laugh. “Yeah. I’m positive.”
“Any other names?”
“V-Vince? I think? He was the rat.”
“Yeah. We killed him a couple of weeks before you were taken,” Kingston confides, like admitting to murder isn’t that big of a deal. “What else?”
Still reeling from his confession, I stutter, “I-I don’t know.”
“Try, baby,” D encourages, continuing to rub his massive hand up and down my back. “Think hard. You can do this. Do you know who the men were?”
Brows pinched, I answer, “Burlone was one of them.”
“And the other?”
“Mr.…Mr. Reef? Reams?” My face scrunches as I scour my memory. “Reed? Yeah, Mr. Reed.”
Kingston’s gaze darts over to Diece, and a silent conversation passes between them before Kingston keeps his tone gentle and asks, “Then what happened, Q?”
“Then they saw me at the top of the stairs, and Reed lost his mind.” I gulp. “Told Mr. Johnson he was supposed to be alone. Mr. Johnson argued that he didn’t know they had a meeting that night, and it wasn’t his fault.” Closing my eyes, I get lost in the memory and admit, “I can still see the barrel of his gun pointed at me.”
“Who’s gun?” D whispers.
I force myself to open my eyes. “Mr. Reed’s. He pulled a gun on me, but Burlone stepped into the line of fire and told him that he had a better idea. One that was more…lucrative,” I choke out. “I freaked out and tried to run to the door, but Reed stopped me and hit me with the butt of his gun. Then I blacked out and woke up in Burlone’s office. That’s it. That’s what happened to me.”
The room is quiet, but I can feel both of them staring at me. Not like I’m a monster or the enemy. But like I’m an asset. A piece to a puzzle I had no idea existed.
Reaching for me, D tangles his fingers with mine, then tugs me into his lap. “Why were you so terrified to tell us?”
“Because Reed is still out there. If he knows I told you, he’ll kill me.”
“And do you know who Reed is?” Kingston interjects.
I shake my head. “No. No idea. Do you?”
The door bursts open from behind me, and I jump in surprise before turning to it. One of King’s soldiers stands in the entrance with a panicked expression. “Sorry, Boss. But we had a gift dropped off, and I think you need to see it.”
Pushing himself up from his chair, Kingston rounds his desk and tells me, “Thanks, Q. You have no idea how insightful your past is.” Then he turns to D. “Let’s go.”
They exit the room in a hurry, leaving me alone in Kingston’s office for a few seconds before my curiosity gets the best of me. I follow them, practically running to keep up with their long strides as they step outside. The air is warm but does nothing to melt the ice in my veins as I take in the so-called visitor.
What the hell is going on?
On the driveway, a little boy is curled in a ball, clutching his arm to his chest as his body wracks with sobs. I can’t see his face, only a mop of brown hair, but he can’t be older than ten or eleven. My heart gallops inside of me as I inch closer. He almost looks…familiar. Tilting my head to the side, I try to place him while a wariness eats at my stomach. Then I dig my heels into the ground when he looks up and meets my gaze.
“Will?” His name is nothing but a whisper as it escapes me.
The blood drains from my face. Then I fall to my knees.
21
Diece
The kid’s brown hair is damp with sweat and clings to his forehead, and his brown eyes are pinched in pain while he holds his arm to his chest and cries.
He’s terrified out of his mind. And I have no idea who the hell he is.
Scanning the premises, I search for anything out of place, but everything appears to be normal.
“Lou, are we clear?” I bark.
“Yeah. Not a soul in sight.”
“Who is he?” Kingston demands, stalking toward the kid. He cowers like an abused dog at the pound before Kingston stops short and turns to Lou.
“A dark sedan pulled up near the curb down the street,” Lou explains. “Then this kid stumbled out the passenger side before it drove off.”
“Will?” a feminine voice whispers behind me.
Curious, I glance over my shoulder. Q looks like she’s seen a ghost and collapses on the front steps like a rag doll. Rushing toward her, I push the hair out of her face and force her to look at me. “What did you just say?”
“Will,” she repeats, her voice cracking. “It’s Will.”
“Go upstairs, Q,” I demand.
Motioning to the kid, she argues, “But he needs my help––”
“No.” I shove her inside. “You’re not safe out here. Go to your room and wait for me.”
“D—”
“I’m serious, Queena. I’ll come fill you in as soon as we get him inside and figure out what the hell is going on. Now, go!”
The indecision is clear on her face before she runs up the stairs and disappears inside the house. As soon as she’s out of my line of sight, I rush back out to the shitshow on the driveway and tell King, “It’s Will. Will Johnson.”
His jaw tightens before Kingston lifts his chin and motions t
o the kid. “Get him inside.”
Having sensed the commotion, Regina and Dex appear in the entryway before Dex asks, “What’s going on?”
I ignore them and watch Lou step closer to the kid, but he scrambles away on his hands and knees before Lou can reach him. With a quiet gasp, Regina lunges between Lou and Will then forces the soldier to freeze. “Stop it, Lou. You’re scaring him.”
“Kingston said to bring him inside.”
“And what? You were gonna drag him?” she challenges with her hands on her hips. “He’s a kid, Lou. Back off.”
Nostrils flaring, he retreats but motions to the kid huddled in a ball. “Then you deal with it.”
She glares at Lou with pursed lips, then raises her hands into the air and inches closer to the little boy Q used to nanny.
“Hey, bud.” She keeps her tone gentle. “You okay?”
The kid shakes his head back and forth over and over again while his chest heaves up and down with sobs.
“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.” She kneels down beside him and tilts her head to get a closer look at the strange kid on our driveway. His face is red, and his eyes are practically drowning in sorrow as he finds the courage to look up at her.
“Hey,” she repeats, her mouth curving up in a soft, reassuring smile. “I’m Regina. Are you hurt?” She drops her chin to his injured arm, and his gaze follows it.
“I-I’m…yeah. I’m hurt.”
“It looks like it. Do you think you could let me take a better look at it and maybe help you feel better?”
His wide gaze makes my gut tighten with pity as he searches her face. Coming to some kind of conclusion, he dives into her arms and loses it. Regina freezes for a split second, her mouth open in shock, before returning his embrace with the determination of a mama bear.
“Shhh,” she coos, running her hands through his sweaty hair. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.”
“What the hell?” Lou breathes with the same stunned expression as the rest of us.
“Get him inside,” Kingston orders a second time before heading to the front door.
I take a seat across from the couch before Regina, Dex, and the kid collapse onto it. Like a little monkey, Will keeps clinging to Regina as if she’s his savior. Depending on how this conversation plays out, he might not be too far off.
Cracking his neck, Kingston sits down in the chair to my right while Lou and Stefan hover behind the couch.
“Hey,” Regina croons with her arm around Will’s shoulder once everyone is situated. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. Can I see your arm?”
Whimpering, he pulls it away and shows her the inside of his forearm before nuzzling back into her side like she’s his damn mama.
Her hand covers her mouth as she stares at the damage with wide eyes while trying not to freak the kid out any more than he already is.
“Fuck,” Dex mutters under his breath. An ‘X’ is carved into his skin and is an exact replica of the one tattooed on Dex’s. Lou rushes out of the room without being told and returns with a first-aid kit as the rest of us sit in silence. Grabbing it from him, Dex sets it in his lap and opens the lid. “I’ll take care of it.”
We all watch as he starts to clean and dress the wound while Regina murmurs to the kid that he’s so brave. That he’s going to be okay. That she’ll take care of him.
The kid flinches but doesn’t pull away as Dex douses it with hydrogen peroxide.
“Why would someone do that?” Lou presses as if Will isn’t even in the room.
“It was a message,” Dex growls. He’s practically vibrating with anger while inspecting the wound again. “For me.”
Kingston scrapes the scruff along his jaw. “What kind of message?”
“That he knows I’m here.”
“Who?” I demand though I’m afraid I already know.
Dex tears his gaze away from the damage and makes my blood run cold. “Sei.”
Regina sits motionless as the name slips out of Dex’s mouth before she takes a deep breath and encourages the kid to look at her.
“Hey,” she whispers. “Is that true? Do you know Sei?”
The kid shakes his head back and forth. “He didn’t tell me his name.”
“Okay,” Regina concedes with a quick glance toward Dex. “Can you tell me what he looked like?”
Lower lip quivering, he confides, “Long, dirty hair. A diamond tattoo on his cheek. Gross teeth. Smoked a lot.”
“Yup, that’d be him,” Dex announces, looking like he ate something sour. “Can you tell us how you met Sei?”
Will swallows, then pushes himself up to give Regina a few inches of space as if his fear is finally receding. “I came home from school, and he was in my house.”
“What was he doing there?”
“He was trying to get into my dad’s laptop. I…I think he killed him.”
“Him? Your dad?” Kingston prods before his gaze darts over to Dex.
“Yeah,” Will returns. “There was blood all over my dad’s floor. He asked if I knew the password, but I told him no. I wasn’t allowed to mess with my dad’s computer.”
“Then what happened?” Regina prods.
“Then he got spooked, grabbed the laptop from the desk, and took me”—he swallows—“took me with him.”
“And did you help him figure out the password?” Kingston inquires.
He nods. “Yeah. Yeah, we figured it out.”
“Then what?”
“Then, he locked me in a room.”
“Did he hurt you in any other way?” Dex asks, trying to keep his tone even. But I know what he’s asking. And so does everyone else in this room. He wants to know if he tortured Will the same way he tortured Q. My fists clench as I wait for his response.
“N-No. Just my arm,” Will mutters with his gaze in his lap.
A collective sigh of relief reverberates throughout the room. Then Kingston continues trying to piece together the mess in front of us. “Do you know what was on that laptop?”
“Not really. Just work stuff. As soon as we figured it out, he locked me up.”
There’s a grunt of frustration from Kingston before Will adds, “But he wanted me to give you a message.”
Knuckles white, Dex finishes wrapping the bandage around his arm. “And what message is that?”
“He wanted to thank you for taking care of…Burlone? I think that was his name. He wanted to thank you for taking care of him after he betrayed him, and that he…”—his brows furrow in concentration—“that he knows where she is? And that he’ll be seeing you soon.”
Regina blanches but stays quiet as her fear seeps from her pores. She might not know Sei as well as Dex, but it’s apparent she’s familiar enough with the bastard to take his threat seriously.
And so do I.
“Regina, can you take Will upstairs for me?” Kingston asks.
“I think I’d like to stay and chat if that’s okay?” She keeps her voice even in hopes of not freaking out the kid in her arms, but she doesn’t hide the silent plea shining through her eyes, begging Kingston to trust her. To let her stay.
Kingston doesn’t answer right away. Jaw tight, his attention shifts from one face to the next before finally coming to a conclusion. With a wave of his hand, he mutters, “Fine. Lou, will you take Will upstairs, then grab Jack? He can stay in one of the guest rooms. I’ll have someone bring up some food as soon as we’re finished here.”
“Sounds good. Come on, Will. Let’s go.” Offering his hand, Will stares at it for a second, then turns to Regina with a fresh wave of fear in his eyes.
“It’s okay,” she encourages, rubbing his back. “You’re safe now. Go get some rest. I’ll come check on you in a few.”
His courage is shaky at best, but he takes Lou’s hand and stands up from the couch before following him up the stairs to his room. Pretty sure that if it were any other day of the week, the ten-year-old wouldn’t be caught dead holding hands with a stranger, but
he’s too terrified to put on a brave face right now, and I don’t blame him.
Sei really is a sick bastard.
Head cocked, a patient Kingston listens to their footsteps creep up the stairs before he turns to Dex and Stefan. “There was a laptop?”
“Yeah. The clean-up crew was supposed to pick it up,” Stefan answers stiffly.
“Which means Sei slipped in sometime after you both left and the clean-up crew got there. How big was that window?”
“Thirty minutes, maybe?” Dex rolls his shoulders before scrubbing roughly at his face. “I should’ve just grabbed it.”
“We were a little busy carrying a body,” Stefan argues.
“No excuse. I should’ve gone inside.”
“You were following standard protocol. The clean-up crew was supposed to grab it.”
“Yeah, but—”
“It’s no use arguing over the past,” Kingston interjects, but it doesn’t erase the frustration emanating from his stiff frame.
A set of footsteps ends the conversation as Jack and Lou come into view.
“Jack, thanks for joining us,” Kingston greets him as he appears at the base of the steps.
“Thanks for having me,” he quips. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“We had a visitor.”
“Who?”
“A boy named Will Johnson.”
“Am I supposed to recognize that name?” Jack returns as he takes a seat on the arm of the couch.
With a one-shouldered shrug, Dex replies, “Probably not. His dad was a potential buyer for one of the girls and had been working with Burlone before I was sent to…take care of it.”
“Take care of it?” Jack laughs. “You mean, you killed him.”
“I mean, I took a sex trafficker off the streets. When was the last time you did that much?” Dex challenges.
“Stop,” Kingston orders before resting his elbows on his knees. Cracking his neck, he continues. “Listen up because I’m about to throw a shit-ton of information at you. Johnson’s son was kidnapped by Sei, who helped him break into Johnson’s computer before Sei carved an ‘X’ into his arm. Then he dropped the kid off down the street and ordered him to walk up my driveway and deliver a message to Dex.”