The house was at least six hundred feet long. It was the biggest private home she’d ever been in, that was for certain.
“Back in your Payton clothes. Pity. You looked quite beautiful tonight.” He stood near the half wall that divided the front living area from the music room. There weren’t any full walls in this section of the house.
“Isn’t that what you demanded?” She’d never felt more uncomfortable in her life. Fancy balls and charity events were not her kind of thing. She did better at pickup softball games and yard sales. Didn’t he understand that? “Extorted?”
“You see it like that?”
“What else was it?” He was so confusing, wasn’t he? Payton had never felt so out of her depth with a man before.
“Us doing what we could to protect the woman we both care about.” He held out a glass and she took it. “Relax, it’s soda.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you have a good time tonight? You made several conquests that I saw.”
“Really? Like who?”
“That guy from the governor’s office. And the one from the Chamber of Commerce. He asked me about you.” He smirked at her.
“What did you say to him?” She didn’t remember anyone from the Chamber of Commerce.
“That you weren’t available. Of course, he is old enough to be your father, so I didn’t think you’d mind me speaking on your behalf.”
“Thanks for that, I think.”
“Anytime.”
“So can I go now?” Rath bumped her knee and Payton gave him his fair share of attention.
“No. We have work to do.”
“Was tonight necessary? I don’t know why you couldn’t just call an escort service. I’m sure you have a number.”
His face darkened. “Don’t joke about that.”
He scared her sometimes. More than sometimes. “I didn’t mean anything…”
“Of course you didn’t.” He rested his chin on her head. His fingers tightened on her arms and he pulled her against his chest. Almost like he had when they’d danced at the hotel a few hours earlier. “Let me check in with my security team, and then we’ll get started.”
“They’re still awake?” Why did that surprise her? A man like him was probably never without security, was he?
“They’re still around. I have one or two on shift every night, sweetheart. You’ve seen them. There are eyes on us at all times. Don’t ever forget that. And don’t worry; they are well paid for answering to my every whim.”
It was a horrible way to live, wasn’t it? He had everything he could ever want to buy, but it had come at such a nasty cost. What had that done to him? “They can see us right now?”
“They’ve been trained to be discrete. But they are a part of my life that I cannot ignore. Grab your bag. I’ll make the call.”
Chapter Eighteen
She looked at the papers in front of her. She’d seen all manner of forms through her skills and she was extremely familiar with purchase orders. She was the direct supervisor for two forensic accountants, who spent most of their day picking through various financial documents of suspects looking for any kernels of information. “What is all of this?”
He stared at her a moment. “First you need background information.”
“Tell me.” She picked up one form and read the item listed. 14 Brown Blue Local color. “I get that these are purchase orders for something. But what?”
He took the paper from her hand. “People. Payton. People. A fourteen-year-old brown haired, blue eyed American girl.”
“For what?” She knew the answer. “How are you involved? Are you buying this girl?”
“If I can’t get her any other way, then fuck yeah, I’m buying her. And getting her far away from the perverted bastards out there who think children—“ He stopped, took several deep breaths. “Eight years ago I was in Atlantic City when a young girl ran into my car. She was young, terrified, bleeding and battered. She claimed she’d been held captive by a bunch of perverts who’d pimped her out, along with more than two dozen other young women. The security team I had with me at the time and I decided to…um…validate…her story. We found two other young women in a warehouse five blocks away. They’d been there for months.”
“Dear God.” She certainly wasn’t a stranger to the knowledge that human trafficking existed. She’d even worked a few cases in recent years. More trafficking occurred on American soil than most people ever knew. “Were they…were you able to help them?”
“Damn right I did. The girl who hit my car? Chase’s sister. She was thirteen. She gave me her brother’s number and he came and got her. Immediately after leaving his unit in Afghanistan. He came home on emergency leave. I’d called in a few favors to get him here. He was all she had.”
Chase. His bodyguard, one who was with him most of the time. He was a few years older than Payton, strong and silent. She’d liked him from the moment she’d met him. And now she understood some of the loyalty between him and Chase. “How is she now?”
“Scarred. Emotionally. But she just had a baby; her second. Named him Lucas. They call him Lukey.”
“Did you find Lucy, too?”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Yes. I found her, after her parents were murdered and just as they were loading her into a van to be sold. For sex, Payton. Even as little as she is.”
“And took her to Cody. Is she safe? Is Cody?” She knew he wouldn’t jeopardize Cody’s safety, but she had to ask. To know everything that she could.
“As safe as I can make them. The girls? Chase’s sister was taken from in front of her school. Just grabbed like she was a bag of flour on the store shelf. The other two were taken from the streets—one was from New York and the other a small city in Washington State. Just taken, and no one reported them missing. And no one wanted them back when I helped them.”
She wasn’t shocked. Not really. “So how did you help them?”
“Found a woman to take care of them. Gave her a job and them a house. A nice school. Scholarships when they were old enough. And when I found more girls, they went to the same place. Or the other two I set up just like them. They didn’t go back to the streets. I did what I had to do to make sure that didn’t happen.”
The streets. Like her friends Paige and Carrie. Like Luc. How often had he looked at those kids and seen himself in them?
“It’s a good thing you’ve done here, Luc. But…how have you managed not to get caught?”
“Terrance and Chase and Adam. The rest of my team. They are good at what they do. And all of them know how shitty this business is. They use their military training to get into the stash houses where these girls are kept. But it’s not something that can be contained at that level. There are people funding these stash houses, people organizing these rings. There’s one that operates here in St. Louis. I don’t have to go far, Payton, to find victims. I’ve found thirteen young girls stashed in my own properties around the city.”
“Why haven’t you reported it to the police, the FBI? Cody has to know what’s going on with you. Why hadn’t she said anything?”
“Because of Lucy, and because she knows…the police are limited by time constraints and funding. International laws. But I’m not. And most of the girls I find are U.S. citizens. Because even in this country, tens of thousands of girls and young women are trafficked. Just for sex. Most are taken off the streets and beaten, tortured, starved, drugged. Until there is nothing left of them, but a vessel for sex. Sickening.”
He spoke so passionately, did he realize that? It was just a hint of who he really was. Did he know he was showing her that? She softened toward him…just a bit. “Luc…You have to go to the authorities.”
“I’m planning on it. But first I want to have every piece of information I can find. But I don’t want my girls, the ones I’ve helped, involved. I don’t want them testifying or even being known by the local police. Too many places for corruption—or error.”
“But is it legal to go after these people yourself?”
“Maybe not strictly. I won’t lie to you about that. But I’ll do it, and I’ll continue to do it until I find the people responsible for Chase’s sister in the first place. And I’m finally getting closer. I want the top of the organization, and I’m going to bring them down.”
“Were the people you’re searching for responsible for what happened to your house?”
“Yes. I’m sure of it.”
“And you think that person was at the mayor’s tonight?”
“Not thinking. Hoping.”
“Why?”
“The bastards in charge are in this city and they’re wealthy, influential, and able to call in favors and make connections. And they most likely travel in the same social circles I do.”
“But they know who you are. Why else would they bomb your house?”
“Yeah. Somehow they know, now. I don’t know how it happened. But it has. And I have to deal with it.”
Payton leaned back against his couch. She’d never expected this, not at all. “You have to find out who. I think you need to start out with the how, though. Someone has to have the necessary connections to do this, and you think they’re here in St. Louis. How are they getting these girls? They have to come into contact with them somewhere.”
“Streets, schools, the mall—take your pick. These girls are dragged into this, or worse, they’re lured. Promises of a better world.”
“What about through the internet?”
“In many cases. Now. I’ve got people trying to track that.”
“But you don’t have who the FBI has. Carrie…My friend Carrie can find anything on the computer. She’s developed this system that reads algorithms and connections—”
“A system which I already purchased. She’s made a fair amount of money designing security systems. I bought one of her earlier programs years ago.”
“And what was found?”
“Nothing. The people behind this are complicated. It’s not just a matter of supply and demand. Or following the money trail. For every girl that’s nabbed, she’s sold for twenty or thirty dollars. Then she’s sold again for a grand or more. Then she’s sold for even higher profits. After that, it’s anyone’s game what happens to her. And one leg of sellers is never the same. They’re little men, anonymous and replaceable. I’ve found more of them than I want to think about, but I’ve yet to find the ones who are using this city as their own personal brothel. That’s who I want. I want to cut the head off the snake, and I’ll do it.”
“But not if you’re dead.”
“I’ll do it, but not at the cost of the people I care about. That’s why I need you. I want you to look at these forms. See if any were written by the same man. If they are, it’s more than what I’ve got now. If you’ll help me. If you do, I’ll keep you out of all of it. You’ll be as safe as possible. I promise you that. And Payton? I’ll owe you a great debt. One that I will repay.”
“What are you looking for, exactly?”
“Similar slants to the letters, ink pressure. Any particular unique characteristics. Everyone’s handwriting is different in small ways. You just have to find the hints.” She shifted in her chair, her attention on the papers.
Her phone slipped out of her pocket and she grabbed for it. Missed. The Bureau issued cell fell in the crack of his monster-sized couch. She turned and stuck her hand down the hole. She couldn’t lose that cell phone—it was the third one she’d been issued since arriving in St. Louis. One had been destroyed in the lab explosion, and she’d lost another since then.
Her fingers wrapped around the case and she was able to slip it under the front of the couch.
Luc’s dog sat directly on top of it.
Payton felt around under him; the dog licked her cheek. She pushed him aside. Her finger hit the unlock button and she heard the tell-tale sound of a number being dialed.
She’d have to talk to whomever it was; it was a Bureau issue phone, and the only numbers preprogrammed in were PAVAD. She glanced at the display quickly.
Al. She’d just tell Al she had butt-dialed her, then disconnect. Then she’d help him with what she could, and once that was done, she’d go back to her own normal life. Nothing sounded better.
Chapter Seventeen
He’d enjoyed having her next to him on the new couch. It was the only piece of furniture he’d picked up for the living room. He’d add more when the room was completely remodeled. He could smell her light soap and subtle perfume. It had been nice having a woman beside him. He’d enjoyed watching her bend over and hunt inside his couch, too. She had the most perfect heart-shaped ass…
He listened as she called her friend. He knew who the woman on the other line was. She was his sister’s best friend and he had investigated her thoroughly. And had met her on a couple of occasions, thanks to his association with Cody. Payton’s voice sharpened. “What do you need?”
Something was wrong. Badly wrong.
“Al, be careful! Wait for backup!” He could hear the rising panic. He grabbed the phone and hit the speaker icon quickly. “I’m sending help, Al! Be careful!”
“Payton, we just crossed under McKinley Bridge—”
He knew what the sound that exploded from her phone meant. He grabbed his own phone and hit the button connecting him with his security team and driver. “Get to McKinley Bridge. There’s a woman in trouble. She’s a friend of Dr. Asher’s. Go in armed, she’s a federal agent with a threat against her.”
Payton was calling her friend’s name, and he could hear the panic and fear in her words.
Finally the voice came from the other end of the call. “Payton…Riaz. And he’s hit my car. He’s not dead…Gun…”
Luc expected what came next, and he closed his eyes. Dammit. The shot echoed throughout the cavern that was his home. Payton was screaming her friend’s name, tears running down her cheeks.
He grabbed her and pulled her against his chest, holding her as tightly as he could. “I sent her help, sweetheart, and they’re extremely well trained in first aid. We’re only a few minutes from McKinley Bridge. She’ll get help soon, I promise. You need to be ready. Make the calls you need to make, then I’ll get you to the hospital.”
The next five minutes dragged out for an eternity. He kept his hold on her hand, but pulled her quickly to the end of his home where the garage was located. His car waited, engine running. One of his security team’s doing, no doubt. He’d thank them when they returned. He opened the passenger door and nudged her in. She followed, still in obvious shock.
“Payton, who will we need to call if…” He didn’t want to think about the possibility, but a single shot at close range—there wasn’t much of a chance the shooter had missed. And they were most likely facing the fact that Payton’s friend was dead.
His phone rang. He answered and listened. “Good job. We’ll be at the hospital in less than ten minutes…stay there until I arrive. I’m sure the FBI will want to talk to you about what you saw and found.”
He disconnected and turned to his passenger. “She was alive when they pulled her from the car, Payton. She’s at Melton-Jewish now. Terrance and Chase are both former army medics. They have dealt with gunshots before. Many times. She got help. Experienced help. Who do you need to call now?”
“PAVAD. I need to call work. And Paige. I need to call Paige. She’s Al’s partner, and they’re best friends. I need to call her myself. She needs to know.”
He handed her his phone. “Start calling, sweetheart. I’ll get you to the hospital.”
He’d never forget the mingled fear and gratitude on her face when she looked at him then. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Chapter Eighteen
Payton would be eternally in his debt for what he did in the next twenty minutes. He stayed with her once they arrived at the hospital, and while she tried to deal with the admittance personnel. She couldn’t do much, but she could get things started fo
r Al. And she called Paige, who she knew would do the rest. Her final call was to PAVAD dispatch, who put her straight through to Ed Dennis, director of PAVAD. She’d spoken with him a few times and found him a bit intimidating. But she knew he was close to the Brockman family, especially Al’s oldest brother. And he always wanted to know when his people were injured.
Paige was the first to arrive, with a man who looked just like Al’s team leader. But it wasn’t, was it? It was the man who’d kidnapped Al and Carrie. For the life of her, Payton couldn’t remember his name at that moment. Payton stood and went to Paige.
“How is she?” Paige asked.
“She’s stable, but still out. That’s all they can tell me until her next-of-kin get here. I couldn’t get a hold of Malachi, but I got Mick. He’ll be here shortly with her parents.”
Paige hugged her hard.
Payton resisted the urge to cling, knowing how Paige didn’t like to be touched too often.
“She was lucky you got her help, sweetheart,” Luc said from behind her. Payton had almost forgotten he was back there. She looked at him.
Paige shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Lucas. From what Payton said on the phone, your bodyguards probably saved her life.”
“I was glad to help. And happy I could. Sit down.” Did Paige hear the concern in his tone? She watched as he led Paige to the corner bench. “You look like you’re about to fall over.” He looked back at Payton. “Payton, sit.”
That sounded like a good idea. She sat.
She watched the people around her as the waiting room began to fill up. Al’s family was there, including her niece.
It reminded her too much of when her family had lost her brother Patrick. He’d been on his way to pick her up from work when a drunk driver had hit him head on. He’d been her only family in Indianapolis, and she’d waited and waited while the ER had tried to save him. She’d waited alone, and had been alone when the surgeon had come out to tell her that he was gone.
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