King of Evanston

by Campbell

  Laughing, Camilla set Ayanna on her feet. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  He shared her humor with an answering grin. “You’re a mind reader now, Cam?”

  Her laughter faded as she moved toward him, shaking her head a little. “Nope, but I can see the wheels turning in your brain. You’re thinking, how can she say that when she’s been modeling and has that blog.”

  “That’s right. I see that even with family, you’re tight as a clam.”

  She grabbed for Ayanna, who staggered toward Shaz with her arms held out. The little girl giggled and ran to Shaz, who encouraged her with a beckoning motion.

  Ayanna beamed up at him and squealed when he lifted her onto his leg.

  “I gotta admit,” Camilla said, as she sat next to him, “I’ve spent a lot of time inside my head since things started going wrong with Derrick.”

  “How long have you guys not been an item?” he asked. “It’s weird that I haven’t asked before now and I question everything. Too much going on, I guess.”

  “We broke up just before I discovered I was pregnant. The only reason we’re in contact now is because I have to be here for Ayanna’s treatment.”

  “Hmmm.” Shaz had been dissecting the situation and sifting through what seemed to be an escalating problem. From what he saw, Derrick was trying to rid himself of responsibility, including any child support claims.

  Shaz had arrived at a solution, which he had to sell to Camilla.

  Ayanna tugged a handful of his locs and he gently tapped her under the chin. He raised his head and caught Camilla eyeing him with an analytical expression. Their eyes met and her gaze softened.

  “I have an idea,” he said.

  Threading one hand through her hair, she sat facing him. “Why do I think I’m not going to like whatever comes next.”

  Ayanna grabbed the end of his tie and loosened it further. When his attention went back to Camilla, he said, “I think you should move to my place in The Castle.”

  Wrinkling her face, Camilla pulled back her head. “That place looks like an ivory tower.”

  “Where you won’t have to worry about Ayanna’s safety.”

  Dragging a hand through her hair again, she asked, “What am I gonna do there all day?”

  His tone was gentle but insistent. “The same thing you do here.”

  She moved her head side to side. “How am I going to get around to do my business when I’m stuck all the way over there?”

  “That, you don’t have to worry about, I can arrange—”

  A stubborn mask descended over her features. “I don’t like that I can arrange part.”

  When he attempted to speak, Camilla held up one hand. “D’you realize just how much stuff you’ve been taking care of for me? When you’re used to doing for yourself, it makes you feel powerless when someone else is trying to do everything for you.”

  He hid his frustration behind his calm words. “All I’m trying to do is keep you safe.”

  She squeezed his arm. “Thank you, but this is my problem and I need to work it out my way.”

  “I get that, but I’m not leaving you out on a limb to deal with Bennett by yourself.”

  The baby tugged at his locs again and pulled one of them toward her mouth.

  “No, Ayanna.” Camilla scooted closer and lifted the toddler onto her lap.

  The baby made protesting sounds and grabbed another handful of his hair, examining it and chattering to herself.

  “Trust me, I’m grateful for that,” Camilla said, resting her head on his shoulder. “But I can’t allow you to move me into your place like I’m some kind of concubine. What will Auntie think?”

  “Your aunt has never struck me as narrow minded.” His arm slipped around her waist. “She’ll think I’m doing exactly what I’m doing, which is protecting you.”

  With her arm wrapped around his, Camilla kissed his jaw. “I love you for that, but the answer is still no.”

  He looked down at her as all traces of indecision drained from him. “You win, Camilla. For now. But, believe me when I say, if anything else jumps off, I don’t care how small it is, I’m moving you into the Castle.”

  “I—”

  “My mind is made up. Better to be safe than picking up the pieces. As my granny used to say, prevention is better than a cure.” He tipped her chin toward him. “Are we clear?”

  She looked away from him, then sighed. “I suppose so. I know you’re trying to help.”

  “Arrgggh.”

  Ayanna’s outburst made both of them laugh, and Camilla let her down on the floor.

  “See,” Shaz chuckled. “Ayanna understands what time of day it is.”

  He got to his feet. “Daniel’s outside, so you’ll be fine. If you have a problem, no matter how small, call me.”

  At the door, she turned her face up to his. “Of course. We’ll be all right, though.”

  The worry in her dark-brown eyes negated her words and silently, Shaz cursed her pride and stubborn streak. Since Camilla wouldn’t listen to him, he’d do what was necessary to keep her safe.

  Cupping her cheek, he brought his lips down to hers. Before he could deepen their kiss, a pair of tiny hands grabbed him by the pants. Ayanna waved at him to pick her up.

  As he swung her into the air, she showed her tiny, pearly-white teeth in delighted laughter.

  “I hear you, little one.”

  She patted his cheeks and yammered while he handed her to Camilla.

  “I guess that takes care of that,” he said, and kissed Camilla’s forehead. “I’ll touch base with you later.”

  He walked through the door and was about to close it behind him when Camilla’s voice stopped him.

  “Shaz.”

  His mouth tipped up in answer to her smile. “Yeah?”

  She stepped onto the verandah’s wooden surface and crooked a finger at him, a mischievous quality to her smile. When he was close enough, she held the back of his head with her free arm and pulled him in for a kiss.

  Camilla wasn’t playing. She dominated the kiss, going deep and keeping him connected to her with a firm grip. Then her touch was soft and delicate, making him yearn to make love to her. But that would have to wait. For now, he’d make do with what she was offering.

  Her smile was sweet when they separated. Before she turned away, she placed one last kiss on his chin. “Bye, love.”

  Moving slow and easy, Camilla went back inside the house with the baby waving at him from her hip.

  A satisfied smile pulled at his lips. Their coming together was going to be like fireworks.

  He pulled in a deep breath and faced the road. The sight of the Jetta across the street was reassuring, but the weight in his gut warned him that they hadn’t seen the last of whoever was stalking Camilla and her family.

  CHAPTER 14

  This is downright weird.

  What was the likelihood that two days after seeing one sex trafficking victim, another one should pop up on his radar tied to the same entity? If he didn’t understand what was going on within The Castle’s walls, he’d think it was a mere coincidence.

  Soraya told the woman across the desk about him. From Marva’s accent, Shaz knew she was also Jamaican. She’d been living and working in the States for some time. From Georgiana, she got a message that her daughter, who resided in Jamaica, was inside The Castle and needed help.

  Looking up from his notes, Shaz asked, “How is it possible for her to be here when you left her in Jamaica?”

  Marva shrugged, bit her ragged nails, then scratched her scalp. “I don’ know. I left her with my sister, but she said Nicole bruk out.” She winced and continued, “Sorry, I mean she started acting like she’s a woman and she told my sister she joined some kind of dancing club with girls her age and younger. She heard the better dancers would get picked to go on tour abroad. My sister didn’t believe her.”

  Pen poised, Shaz looked at the lined paper. “You said she was fourteen?”

&n
bsp; “Yes, last month.”

  As her tears came, Shaz’s stomach lurched. Fourteen. He didn’t want to think about what that meant. Some perverts thought the younger the girl, the better. Milholland came to mind, and Shaz barely stopped himself from swearing. These men thought their money made them invincible, that they could buy anything. Including human flesh.

  A snippet of his conversation with Soraya came to mind. Coincidences were few in his world, so Shaz leaned forward, laser focused on the woman across the desk. “Which community did your daughter live in?”

  “Waterford.”

  The same place Soraya had mentioned they were from originally. There had to be a connection and if there was one, he’d find it.

  “Did she mention any names to your sister? Persons who were involved in the dancing club? Anyone who befriended her before she disappeared?”

  She thought for a moment, asked him for the password for his Wi-Fi and shot off a message. In two minutes, she provided him with three names received from her sister. She also sent him pictures of her daughter, which he immediately downloaded and sent to his email to distribute to the Kings, who were helping him.

  With a hand pressed to her lips, Marva closed her eyes and sniffed. “Nicole is not a bad girl. She just followed bad company and got caught up in something that … oh, God.”

  Shaz allowed her to weep, but went to the credenza and brought the box of tissue to her.

  With a trembling hand, she removed a few. When she wiped her eyes and blew her nose, she stuffed the crumpled paper in her handbag. “Thanks for taking my case. Soraya said you’re the best. Please get my daughter out of that place, Mr. Bostwick.”

  “I’ll do my best,” he said, as he guided her to the door. “As soon as I have an update, I’ll be in touch with you.”

  When he slid back into his seat, Shaz pulled his laptop forward and wrote an email to Phillip Denham, a cousin on his mother’s side who lived in Jamaica. Phillip had moved up in the police force and would be able to get him the information he needed quickly.

  Shaz also attached the photos of the girl. The minute he hit send, his phone rang. Grinning, he put the cellular to his ear. “Mom, what’s popping?”

  “Boy, in case you forgot, yo mama ain’t your friend. You young’uns don’t have no respect.”

  Her use of double negatives still tickled him and he chuckled. “You love me anyway. So, what d’you need?”

  “I’m having a picnic on Saturday.”

  “Where?” he asked, as if he didn’t know.

  “In the backyard, of course.” Her tone lightened. “You know I’m not going anywhere where we might run the risk of being arrested for having a picnic while Black.”

  “You watch too much television,” he said, crossing his feet on the edge of the desk.

  “And you obviously spend so much time in that office, you don’t realize what’s happening out here in these streets.” She laughed at her use of slang. “Anyway, you romp too much. In your line of work, you can’t not know what’s going on in our world.”

  She muffled the phone, said a few words, then came back to Shaz. “So, am I seeing you?”

  They both knew there was one answer to that, but he teased her. “I’ll see if I can work it into my schedule.”

  “If you don’t want me to disown you, you better bring your narrow tail here by eleven o’ clock. And by the way, I’m running low on that Sangster’s Coconut Rum Cream.”

  After a belly laugh, Shaz responded in a British accent, “Your wish is my command, Queen Paula.”

  “And don’t you forget it.”

  They laughed again and she said, “Do me a favor and bring Mabel’s niece with you. I’ve seen her at church, but didn’t get a chance to say more than two dozen words to her. I hear the two of you are doing more than business.”

  “You old women do like to ‘labrish’ and get all up in people’s business. I’ll see if I can persuade her.”

  In a sweet voice, Paula chided him. “If we don’t gossip, or labrish as you call it, how can we keep up with all the stuff you’re doing since you never visit or tell me anything.”

  He sputtered in protest. “Mom, I-I was over there—”

  “Weeks ago.”

  “What about you and Dad’s plan to sail into the sunset?”

  “That’s part of why I want you over here, so stop questioning me. See you on Saturday.”

  With that, she was gone. Despite her jokes, ensuring that he came to the family home for a reason only she knew, was the entire point of his mother’s call. Shaz had learned that studying Paula Bostwick would take more time than he’d ever have to spare. Teddy Bostwick had been married to her for forty-two years and still couldn’t grasp all her idiosyncrasies.

  Shaz swung his legs off the desk and walked to the wall where his certificates were displayed. He was uneasy. Almost as if he was going to receive news he wouldn’t welcome. Although he was settling into his role as a managing director at The Castle, he was disgusted by the dark underbelly of the expansive property. With so many deprived and hurting people in the world, it was hard to understand how those with the ability to help, used their resources to inflict more pain on the unfortunate. Soraya and Marva were struggling mothers who were trying to better their families, but that left their daughters vulnerable.

  He moved to the desk and pulled the laptop closer. Philip had already responded with a return email and a file attached. The document was a police report on a raid conducted in the Waterford community. He included a dossier that carried names and corresponding photos of suspects tied to a human trafficking ring. As he scanned the list of names, he came across two that didn’t have pictures, but it didn’t matter. He knew the identity of one of the missing suspects.

  He eased back in his seat, rubbing his chin and neck in turn. When his thoughts wouldn’t settle, he walked around the office threading his fingers through the chain in his pocket. He sat again and after studying the document a second time, closed the laptop and decided to go home. His recent move to his own suite at The Castle put him farther away from Camilla, whose presence would have been welcome, but she’d vetoed that.

  Tonight, he’d comb through the adoption agency’s records and also pull information on The Elite Hub. That was one of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs within The Castle, and a place to start turning over stones. He’d share what he found out with Mariano “Reno” DeLuca.

  Reno was the board member with responsibility for matters to do with suspected trafficking of girls and women through the Castle. He worked hand in hand with Daron.

  Where Daron provided mad skill with the intelligence and technical side of things, Reno was passionate about protecting victims. He was methodical and his safe house had an exemplary reputation. Shaz had no doubt that if he found anything underhanded, Reno would do the necessaries to get the missing girl out of that exclusive club.

  While Shaz was in the middle of shrugging into his jacket, the door opened wider.

  The man standing on the other side bared his teeth in a sharkish grin. “Seems like I came at a bad time.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Bennett stepped inside the office, still wearing that deceptive smile.

  “Your timing isn’t the best.” Shaz picked up the laptop and slid it into the protective sleeve.

  “This won’t take long,” Bennett said, advancing into the office.

  Shaz didn’t sit, nor did he invite the Alderman to take a seat.

  The lack of a welcome didn’t faze the politician. He slid both hands into his pockets and cleared his throat. “I want to make you an offer.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Shaz said, mirroring the older man’s pose.

  “As I explained, my wife has become attached to Ayanna—”

  “I hate to be rude, but I distinctly remember telling you that baby was not up for adoption, much less discussion.”

  Bennett raised one hand. “Hear me out. Please.”

  “I’m listening,” Sha
z said in a less than inviting tone.

  “Like I said, Lori-Anne loves that little girl. Finding out she won’t be getting Ayanna is going to break her heart. We can afford to give her the treatment and care she needs for her heart condition.” He paused and studied Shaz as if gauging his every reaction. “With the expense of treating her, plus the tragedy that might occur if she doesn’t receive proper care, I’m suggesting that you look the other way where this adoption is concerned.”