Pretty Little Girls

by Jenifer Ruff

  She broke into a run for a half block, stopping at a gray van marked 24 Hour Emergency Plumbing. She tapped on the back in code. The door swung opened. She climbed inside, joining three agents wearing armor and readying guns—Murphy, another man, and a woman. They were crowded around a television monitor.

  Victoria drew closer to the monitor and the clear image of the safe house’s interior.

  On the screen, Connelly was standing outside the bathroom door. His hand rested on his gun.

  “Sofia?” he called. “It’s Detective Connelly. We have a small problem. I need you to get dressed and come with me.”

  He slid the gun out of his holster. “Sofia?”

  He banged his forearm against the door. He waited.

  “Sofia! Get out here! I’m not playing games with you.” He banged on the door again. When he looked around, Victoria could see the desperation in his eyes. “You shouldn’t have run away from Stephen. You knew what would happen if you talked.” And then, his voice changed, as if he’d just considered trying a new angle. “He’s paid people to kill you and they know where you are now. I need to get you away from here to protect you. If you want to live, you need to come with me now.”

  “Unbelievable,” Murphy grunted. “We’ve got enough and it’s all on tape. Let’s go get him.”

  The agents jumped out the back of the truck with Murphy in the lead. “He better be the only sleaze-ball with a badge in on this.”

  Victoria stayed behind, unable to take her eyes off the screen as Connelly burst through the bathroom door, confirming all her suspicions.

  He lowered his gun, staring around the empty bathroom. He turned and lifted his head toward the ceiling. His eyes roamed until he found the camera and his gaze seemed to settle right on Victoria. A chill coursed through her.

  “He knows we’ve got him. Come on,” the female agent said, holding the door open for Victoria. “You see the car he drove here? No cop on the up and up drives something like that. And he kept it hidden from his colleagues.”

  Victoria jumped down from the van, her stomach suddenly queasy. “At least he didn’t unload a round of bullets through the door. I guess that’s . . . something.”

  “He’d never kill her here, but after she left with him? Absolutely. Maybe he was paid to do it in the event one of the girls ever got arrested.”

  “But how would he think he’d ever get away with it,” Victoria wondered out loud.

  “How did any of these sex traffickers get away with what they were doing? Who knows what he would have tried to tell us! Either way, you just saved that girl’s life again, Victoria.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “This is like the walking wounded suite at the Hampton Inn. You know, with both of us injured,” Rivera joked.

  Sofia’s injured arm rested in a sling to immobilize her shoulder. She offered a slight smile in return. Either he wasn’t at all funny, or she didn’t trust him enough to be in a laughing mood.

  The hospital had given her some novels to read and some clothes to wear, and whatever else she owned sat below her chair in a duffel bag from the hospital’s lost and found. She looked nothing like the pictures he’d seen of her with makeup and an evening dress entering the hospital soaked in her own blood. Occasionally she touched her good arm to the bridge of her new glasses. She’d acted like a different person since she got them. With delight and confidence, she pointed out everything she could see—from signs on the wall to birds in the trees. Now, she sat in a chair watching television from a normal distance, nibbling at candies she’d selected from the lobby.

  Only Victoria and Rivera knew where she was.

  Rivera had the strange sensation of being under surveillance from across the room as he worked on his laptop. Every time he turned to check on her, she was already watching him.

  Room service arrived with their dinner. He made sure to give her as much space as possible while they took their trays off the cart and returned to their respective corners. Nibbling at her french fries, she continued to watch television.

  “You’re sure they have her?” Sofia asked suddenly, surprising him by initiating the conversation.

  “Anastasia? Yes, she’s safe and sound. She’s with a colleague of mine, another FBI agent. The raid was a success. No one got hurt. There was one man with Anastasia, Emma, and—"

  “Did he have one hand that doesn’t work? It’s burned?”

  “I think I heard something like that.” Rivera bit into his hamburger.

  “That’s Damian,” she said, and unless he was mistaken, her words carried a hint of sadness.

  “Well, Damian is in custody now. So is Petar’s brother.”

  “Good. And Petar is still in jail?”

  “Yes. He can’t leave.”

  “And Stephen and Allison?”

  “They’re not going anywhere.” If we do our jobs right.

  “What will happen to Anastasia and the motel girls?”

  “They’ll be in the hospital a few days for assessment and care while we contact their families.” He wasn’t sure where they were going to go if they didn’t have families. Most would end up with social services.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to see my family again.” Sofia said, massaging her hands.

  How would they deal with what happened to their daughter? “They’re going to be thrilled to see you. And amazed that you speak English so well.”

  “Yes, they will be surprised. It will be their first time in America. The land of the free and the brave, except this is my first week here with freedom.”

  Rivera swallowed his anger and tried to appreciate her new situation. There would be plenty of time to help ensure those who were responsible for her suffering paid for their crimes.

  “Agent Rivera, I have to ask you something.” Sofia’s voice took on a whole new tone.

  “Go ahead.” He crumpled a napkin on top of his empty plate and leaned back in his chair.

  “I have some jewelry.” She lifted her bag off the floor and onto her lap.

  “And?”

  “I want to sell it. You know how I told you my mother believed she was sending me off to begin a modeling career?”

  “I remember.”

  “I wanted to earn money so I could help my family. But I’ve been here three years, working all that time, and I have nothing to give them that would help. They don’t need jewelry. So, do you know a place where I can trade my jewelry for money?”

  Rivera didn’t know whose jewelry she had been wearing when she was picked up by the ambulance, or how she had come across it. If she’d stolen it from a customer, he doubted that person would have the nerve to claim she had been anywhere near his home. If she’d stolen it from Allison Greenwood or Stephen Petrovich—good. He only hoped it was a small fortune. “I’ll help you sort it out. I might know a guy. Don’t worry.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Victoria was sitting at a table in the hotel lobby when Adams spotted her and walked over.

  “Hey.” He remained standing. “Thanks for meeting. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

  “I’m just getting ready to go home.”

  “Tripp asked me to give this to you.” He handed her a sealed envelope. “To give to Sofia. There’s a check inside. He wants to thank her. If she hadn’t escaped, he might not have gotten his daughter back.”

  “That was considerate of him. I’ll make sure she gets it. It’s really wonderful that Emma will be home soon.”

  “Yeah.” Adams rested his hands against his sides. “I can’t imagine the relief for her parents.”

  “And now we won’t be digging into their personal life anymore.” Victoria smiled.

  “Right.” Adams’ expression turned serious. “I hope I was able to convince your colleagues when they interviewed me—for all Tripp’s flaws, he didn’t know Allison Greenwood existed and he definitely didn’t know what she was doing.”

  “Well, it’s his own fault for not knowing she existed.”
<
br />   “Agreed. Turns out he worked with her on a business deal a few years ago. Neither realized their connection.”

  “Imagine that. What a world. How is the boy you’re mentoring?”

  “He’ll be okay once he can get a job and live on his own. Right now, it’s day to day, depending on how drunk his mother’s boyfriend gets. I put him and his older sister up in a hotel near his school for a few days when the boyfriend was on a drinking binge. Sad thing is, the mother didn’t even notice either of them was gone. The kid is selling drugs to try and buy the stuff he needs for school. It’s just sad. There are worse things than having parents like the Mannings.”

  “I know,” Victoria said. “Glad your mentee has someone like you to help him through tough times and help keep him off the streets.”

  Adams looked over his shoulder then back to Victoria. “Just making sure no one is following me or anything.” He held Victoria’s gaze.

  She pretended to scan the room. “I don’t think so. Not today.” She finished her sentence with a straight face but broke into a smile.

  Adams chuckled. “Thought I’d have a better sense of something like that when it happened, but apparently not.”

  “Well, I’m pretty stealthy.” She laughed.

  “It was nice working with you, Victoria. I hope our paths will cross again.”

  “Same.”

  Adams waved and she watched him walk away.

  She was glad she’d waited before condemning Adams based on what she’d witnessed—the boy and the hotel. She’d certainly seen enough to jump to conclusions, but all of it made sense now. Things aren’t always what they appear to be. And neither are people.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Victoria waited in the lobby of the Hampton Inn to say goodbye to Sofia. Murphy and Rivera were talking. Victoria studied Rivera. When he caught her staring, she quickly looked away.

  A woman from social services walked in with Sofia behind her. Dressed in jeans and a loose sweater, her hair up in a bun, and her horn-rimmed glasses, Sofia looked like a young ballerina. She could easily pass for a normal teenager, but strikingly beautiful, with a measure of grace beyond her years. Victoria hoped that after what Sofia had been through, and the tough wariness she now possessed, she would never let anyone take advantage of her again.

  Sofia clutched a book in one hand, and in the other, the carry-on suitcase Victoria bought her. By her feet rested another duffel bag filled with clothes and toiletries they’d recently purchased at the mall.

  “All set?” Rivera asked. “You’ve got your savings account info?”

  “Yes.” Sofia offered a quick smile and regripped the handle of her bag.

  “Remember, that’s your money. You can take it out whenever you need it, for you or your family. You can access it from any country. No one else can touch it.” Helping Sofia sell the jewelry wasn’t protocol, but too bad.

  “Your mother and grandfather will be here on Thursday,” Murphy said. “Their tickets have already been purchased.”

  “Thank you.” Sofia rubbed her hands together. Victoria didn’t blame her for being nervous. So much had changed since Sofia left her family three years ago. How much of it would she want to share?

  “Thank you again, for all your help,” Victoria said. “You’re the reason all of the girls are safe and the adults who harmed you are going to prison.”

  This time Sofia’s smile was complete.

  Victoria hugged her goodbye. “If you ever need anything, you have my number. From Ukraine, you can call me collect if you need to. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Rivera stepped forward. “I wish you all the best, Sofia.”

  “Same.” Sofia shook his hand.

  The agents watched them walk away. Victoria sighed. “I hope she’ll be okay.”

  “Gotta be better off anywhere than where she was,” Murphy said. “And she’ll have some protection until she leaves the country.” He started walking. “Come on. Lunch is on me.”

  “I know a few places that Connelly didn’t recommend.” Victoria snickered. “But I’m going to pass.”

  “I bet you’re ready to fly out of here,” Murphy said. “See those dogs of yours.”

  “Yes. But I’m not flying, I’m going to drive back.”

  “You’re driving up to Virginia?”

  Rivera also looked surprised. “Did you buy a car here or something?”

  “Not a car, exactly.” She couldn’t repress her smile. “Something bigger.”

  “I don’t think I want to know,” Murphy said. “I might be a little jealous.”

  “Nah.” Rivera chuckled. “Victoria isn’t your typical rich person. Whatever it is she bought; we probably wouldn’t want one.”

  Victoria smiled. “To each his own.”

  Murphy gave a last wave as he got into his car.

  Rivera and Victoria continued walking. She couldn’t help but feel like something had changed between the two of them. She wasn’t as comfortable as she used to be with Rivera by her side.

  “Everything okay?” Rivera asked. “Because I’m kind of sensing I might have done something to upset you.”

  “No. Of course not.”

  “You sure?”

  “I’m sure.” She sighed and rubbed her hand down her neck. “I’m sorry. It’s just . . . when you tackled that piece of crap—”

  “I knew you and Sofia were in that room.”

  “I know. And when I heard the shot and saw you on the ground, I was worried I’d lost you. Really worried.”

  “And?”

  “And . . . I don’t know.” She glanced at him and then looked off toward the horizon. Why do I feel guilty? “I don’t know.”

  Rivera offered a sad smile. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. Not now. But think about it while you’re driving to Virginia and let me know what you come up with.”

  She thought of her last conversation with Helen. What had she said? Something about the right guy taking the time to embrace her. There’d never really been a man before, and now, if she could trust her feelings, there seemed to be two.

  “Goodbye, Rivera. Hope to see you soon.” She held out her hand. “You’re a good guy.”

  He took it between both of his. “Maybe. But I don’t intend to finish last.”

  She stared at their hands, unsure of how to respond.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Victoria placed her phone in the center console and hit the speaker button, waiting for Ned to pick up on the other end.

  “Hi! On my way,” she said. “Shouldn’t be too much longer.”

  “Sounds like you’re in a good mood.”

  “I am. I can’t wait to get back.”

  “So, your case wrapped up?”

  “It did. Wrapped up with a really good ending. A major bust. Hey—just want to give you a heads up that I’ve got a special surprise with me.”

  “Let me guess, you found a dog who needed a home.”

  “Nope.

  “Two dogs, then?”

  “Nope. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  She smiled at the sound of braying donkeys coming through the open window from behind her. “Almost home, fellas.”

  The End

  End Note

  I’m grateful to all the women and men who shared trafficking stories and information that helped me write this book. Tammy Harris, founder of the URSUS Institute, a non-profit that works to combat human trafficking, especially amazed me with her knowledge and passion.

  The story and characters in Pretty Little Girls are entirely fiction, but there’s nothing about human trafficking in the novel that isn’t grounded in reality. The United States is ranked as one of the three worst countries in the world for human trafficking. If you think someone is being human trafficked, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The number is 1-888-373-7999

  Note to Readers

  Thank you for reading my book! If you have the time, I would deeply appreciate a review on Amazon or
Goodreads or wherever you bought this book. I learn a great deal from reviews, and I’m always grateful for any encouragement. Reviews help authors like me to sell a few more books. Every review matters and only a few words are necessary. Amazon Review

  Jenifer Ruff

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