“I was happy to stay there until I was sixteen,” Lily said. “That’s when things changed. That’s when I realized that I had changed.”
“What happened when you were sixteen?”
“Harland came home one day with a new friend,” Lily replied. “She was scared, and she was blonde, and she was eight.”
Sophie shuddered. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“What could I do? At least it wasn’t me this time.”
“So, you just sat back and let him abuse another girl?”
“She was his property. There was nothing I could do,” Lily said. “You can’t take another man’s property.”
“I’m fairly sure that was the same argument used by slave owners.”
“Who says they weren’t right?”
“I do,” Sophie said. “You had a chance, Lily. You had horrible things happen to you, but you could have saved that girl.”
“Last time I checked, Misty was fine,” Lily said. “She’s on the streets now. She didn’t have the constitution for Harland’s work. I understood that. I check in on her from time to time, make sure she’s fed, you know that drill. That’s all I could do.”
“Misty?” Sophie was floored.
Lily narrowed her eyes. “You know her?”
“No,” Sophie said, shaking her head. “It’s just an odd name.”
“She picked it,” Lily said. “We all pick new names.”
“Why did you pick Lily?”
“It was my favorite flower.”
“Well, bully for you,” Sophie said, all sympathy for Lily washing away. “And where is Harland now?”
“He still lives in the same house,” Lily said. “He runs the operation now, though.”
“He’s the one running girls over the border?”
“It’s a lucrative business,” Lily said. “I’m his right-hand woman now. I’m second in command. And, when I kill him, I’ll be taking everything over.”
“You’re going to kill him?”
“He’s a child rapist,” Lily said. “Of course I’m going to kill him. I thought, once he got older, that his appetite would die. He just pops Viagra like aspirin now. It’s sick, and it makes him last a whole lot longer.”
“Why haven’t you done it yet?”
“I need to have all my ducks in a row,” Lily said.
“And what ducks are those?”
“I need money,” Lily said. “I was building it up gradually. I’ve been moving women across the border on my own for months, and keeping all of the profits for myself. When I left Harland’s house, I did some time on the streets – that wasn’t a lie – and I knew Christian had diversified. That’s why I decided to do a few pots runs with him, too. I’m in charge now. I’m the one with the power. Well, actually my brothers have joined my cause. They don’t like Harland any more than I do.”
“One big, happy family,” Sophie murmured.
“They know how to take orders,” Lily said. “They’ve been helpful.”
“I’m guessing those were the two guys with you at the newspaper.”
“Yes,” Lily said. “Carl and Keith. They’re good soldiers. They’re going to be very important to my team when I take over the whole operation.”
“That’s why someone noticed the missing girls,” Sophie said. “You’ve been taking more and more of them. You got sloppy.”
“I don’t get sloppy.”
“Well, people didn’t notice the trafficking until you amped it up,” Sophie said.
“Yeah, who did put you on my tail?”
“You told your story to Emma,” Sophie said. “She remembered it. Peter was the one who heard about the women going missing from the street. He went to the Hardys. That’s how this all came about.”
“Oh, yes, Peter,” Lily said. “What a prince he is. I bet he did the same thing to you when you were a kid. That’s why you moved out of that mansion when you were eighteen, wasn’t it? You can tell me.”
“Peter never laid a hand on me,” Sophie said. “He’s not built that way.”
“Then why would you leave? You could have lived like a princess there your whole life.”
“I don’t want to live off of others,” Sophie said. “I’m independent.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I know what I know. Men only want one thing from women. Peter wanted it from you. That’s why he took you in. I’m not stupid. You may not want to admit it – and I get that, it’s hard to deal with – but I know what happened with that man.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I know women like you, Sophie,” Lily said. “I know women like Emma. Her father did the same thing to her. That’s why I knew she would be a good choice.”
Sophie stilled. “You were going to take Emma?”
“Who knows, I might still take her,” Lily said. “She’s young and beautiful. The Hardys will lower their guard at some point, and when they do, Emma is ripe for the picking.”
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Sophie warned. “I’ll kill you.”
“Oh, Sophie, you’re not going to be in a position to do anything,” Lily said. “I’ve got a new home all picked out for you, too.”
Sophie’s heart skipped a beat. “What?”
“Not everyone likes children,” Lily said. “I’ve already got someone who is dying for a crack at you. You’ll be happy in your new home. I’m sure of it.”
“ARE we sure she’s there?” Grady asked.
He was sitting in the back seat of James’ Explorer in the parking lot of the Evergreen Hotel. Just the sight of the hole Sophie was being held in had Grady’s skin crawling.
“My men are in the front office,” Peter said. “The owner recognized Lily. He rolled right away.”
“Where is he now?” James asked.
“He’s watching porn in his office while taped to his chair,” Peter said. “I have no interest in killing him. I also have no interest in him tipping off Lily before we can get to Sophie.”
“Have we heard from Finn yet?” Jake asked. He was sitting in the back with Grady.
James nodded. “He’s got both Emma and Ally, and he’s taking them to Peter’s house. It was just a precaution, Jake. I don’t really think Emma and Ally are targets right now. I just wanted to be safe.”
“I still don’t like it,” Jake said.
“Lily has never even met Ally,” James said. “I’m honestly more worried about her plans for Emma at the moment. Ally would be a high-risk gamble on her part.”
“I want to kill her,” Jake growled.
“Try meeting her,” Peter said. “You’ll want to kill her even more then.”
“I’ll pass,” Jake said. “Let’s just get Sophie and get the hell out of here.”
“Do we know what room they’re in?” James asked.
Peter pointed. “The one with the two men leaning against the car and pretending to read a newspaper in front of it.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Since when do two men who look like they can’t read share a newspaper in a motel parking lot?”
“I’m not calling your intuition into question,” James said. “I just want to make sure we kick the right door in. We can take those two out easily enough. If we get the wrong room, Lily might have enough time to hurt Sophie.”
Grady leaned forward. “We need to get her.”
“We’re getting her,” Peter said. “Just let me double-check with my men in the office. I need them to persuade the owner to make sure he’s telling us the truth.”
“Persuade?”
Peter arched an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. I’m paying him off, not beating him.” He pushed his phone to his ear. “It won’t be long now, and just remember, Lily is mine when this is all done.”
“I don’t care,” Grady said. “As long as I have what’s mine back, I really don’t care.”
“I’m starting to like you more and more,” Peter mused. “Yo
u have a certain … idealized devotion that I can’t help but have respect for.”
“Well, great,” Grady said. “I’ll give you a hug later.”
Peter smirked. “Yes, I’m definitely starting to like you.”
“I AM not going anywhere with you,” Sophie said.
“Something tells me that you’re going to be hard to break,” Lily said. “That’s what some men like, including the one you’re going to. He’s clearly going to get his money’s worth.”
“Yeah? And how much am I going for?”
“I got thirty grand for you,” Lily said. “If you were two years younger, it would have been forty, but I can’t help that.”
“You do know that Peter is going to hunt you down and kill you, right?”
“Oh, please,” Lily said. “I handed Christian up to the Hardys on a silver platter. I’m not even a suspect. They’ll kill Christian, and they’ll never know what happened to you. Why do you think I had a man call Peter?”
“Do you even know who he is?”
“I’m aware of his reputation,” Lily said. “Personally, I think it’s a little inflated. I lived with him for two days. He’s a wimp.”
“You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sophie said. “Peter is a shark, and he’s going to eat you for lunch and spit you out.”
“Perhaps age has addled him,” Lily said. “It doesn’t matter. When he shows up to the meet site, Keith is going to shoot him in the back. He’s not going to be a concern for me.”
Sophie’s heart rolled painfully. “You’re just horrible.”
“I’m a realist,” Lily countered. “I live in the real world. You obviously don’t. Don’t worry, you’ll be a realist soon enough.”
Sophie picked that moment to react. She knew it was fruitless. She knew she’d live to pay for her actions, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t listen to Lily one second longer. She hurled her phone, the one that had been hidden in her hand for the past hour, at Lily’s head.
Lily was so surprised she ducked, and the phone slammed against the window behind her. Sophie was on her feet, and she and Lily were grappling for the gun at the same time.
“I’m going to kill you,” Sophie growled.
“WHAT was that?”
The two men leaning against the car took a step toward the room. Jake grabbed one of them from behind, pressing his arm against his windpipe so he couldn’t make a sound. James had the other a moment later, mimicking the move. The two men were forced to the ground, and Jake and James refused to lessen the pressure until they passed out.
Peter handed them zip ties. “Hogtie them. My men in the office will collect them shortly.”
James and Jake did as they were told. James planned on arguing about their ultimate placement, but not until Sophie was safe. For now, they were a team.
Peter inclined his head toward the door. “Grady, if you will.”
Grady looked at him, confused.
“I’m a bit too old to be kicking in doors,” Peter said. “And I believe you have some aggression to work out.”
Grady couldn’t argue with that. He lifted his leg and slammed it against the weak wood. Sophie was close. He would have her in his arms in seconds. That was all he cared about.
“YOU are a sick piece of work,” Sophie said, yanking Lily’s hair as hard as she could. “You are just disgusting. What happened to you as a child was horrible, but instead of learning from it, you’ve decided to prey on others. You make me want to throw up.”
Lily yowled as she tried to pry Sophie’s fingers from her hair. “Let me go, you bitch!”
“No,” Sophie said, trying to wrestle the gun from Lily’s hand. Thankfully, the safety was set. Lily had tried to pull the trigger three times. Sophie had moved around so much, even biting the woman’s wrist at a point, that Lily couldn’t disengage the safety. “I hate you!”
“I hate you right back!”
“I hate you worse,” Sophie said, ramming her forehead into Lily’s and knocking her off balance.
Lily reared back, letting go of the gun and toppling over to the ground. Sophie disengaged the safety and raised the gun, pointing it at Lily’s head. “You’re a blight on this world.”
The hotel door exploded, causing Sophie to jump back as Grady raced through the opening. She cried out when she saw him. “Grady?”
Grady made a move toward her, but Lily was already shifting. She rolled to her side, pulling a knife from a sheath on her ankle – the one she had conveniently kept hidden from Sophie during her story – and climbed to her feet.
Lily moved quickly. She had the knife at Grady’s neck within the blink of an eye. “I’ll kill him.”
“No, you won’t,” Sophie said, her hands level as she regarded Lily. “There’s nowhere for you to go. He didn’t come here alone. Your brothers are probably already dead. You only have one option.”
“And what’s that?” Lily sneered.
“Surrender.”
“Not without my money,” Lily said. “I’ve earned it.”
“You haven’t earned shit,” Sophie said. “You sell people. You sell women.”
“It’s a business.”
“You made arrangements to sell me.”
“What?” Grady’s face was flushed with rage.
“She’s worth a lot of money to me, Mr. Hardy,” Lily said. “I’m willing to let her go as long as I get her ransom and a free ride out of town.”
“No,” Sophie said. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re too dangerous.”
“You have a choice, Sophie,” Lily said. “Either you let me go, or I kill him. Which do you prefer?”
Sophie snorted, her eyes catching movement in the open archway. She lowered her gun. “You win.”
“I always win,” Lily said.
“I wouldn’t say always,” Peter said, stepping into the room.
Lily made a move to turn, but Peter was already firing his gun before she could register what was happening. When Lily’s body hit the floor, blood running from the hole between her eyes, there was no doubt she was dead.
Grady took the two steps to Sophie, only pausing long enough to step over Lily’s prone body before he pulled her to him.
“It was her all along,” Sophie choked out.
“I know,” Grady said. “We figured it out this afternoon.”
“I … .”
Grady shushed Sophie with a kiss, cupping the back of her head and holding her still. “I love you, Sophie. I love you more than anything.”
Sophie’s eyes widened, the warm brown orbs welling with tears. “I love you, too.”
Twenty-Eight
“What took you so long to get here?”
Mandy threw her arms around James’ neck, letting him lift her off the ground as he returned the embrace.
“The cops had some questions,” Peter said grimly. “I still don’t know how they knew to show up there.”
“I was worried,” Mandy said. “It seemed like you were gone forever.”
James kissed her. “It felt longer for me.”
“It felt longer for those of us having to listen to him bitch about getting back to you,” Sophie said, poking James in the stomach. “You’re such a girl sometimes.”
Mandy let go of her husband and wrapped Sophie in an intense hug. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Sophie said. “I wasn’t mistreated. I had to listen to a crazy woman go on and on, but I’m used to that ever since I’ve started spending time with you and Ally.”
Grady snorted.
“How are you?” Mandy asked pointedly.
Grady pursed his lips. “In love.”
Mandy smiled widely. “It’s about time.”
Grady slung an arm over Sophie’s shoulders, pressing his lips to her temple. “It is.”
“What happened to Lily?” Emma asked, leaning her head against Finn’s shoulder. “Is she … ?”
“She’s dead,” James said, casting a quick look in Peter�
��s direction.
“Is anyone in trouble because she’s dead?” Mandy asked.
“No,” James said. “We told the cops what happened. She had a knife to Grady’s throat. The cops took Peter’s gun, but they say it’s justifiable.”
“What about the people with her?” Ally asked from her spot on Jake’s lap.
“They were taken into custody,” James said, pulling Mandy back to him. He wanted her close.
“Unfortunately,” Peter said. “I had plans for them.”
“They’re going to prison,” Sophie said. “They’re getting what they deserve, and so is their father.”
“Their father?” Mandy asked.
“Sit down,” Sophie said. “It’s a long and horrible story, and I only want to tell it one more time.”
When Sophie was done, Mandy shuddered. “I hate to say it, but I feel sorry for Lily.”
“I did, too,” Sophie said. “This was before she told me she was going to sell me into sexual slavery. Oh, and she had the same plans for Emma.”
“Ugh,” Mandy said. “Well, now I’m glad she’s dead.”
James ran his hand down the back of his wife’s head. “We’re all glad she’s dead.”
“Still, what about this Harland guy?”
“The police were picking him up as soon as they were done with us,” Grady said. “He won’t live to see freedom again.”
“That’s something at least,” Mandy said. “It’s too bad we don’t know who Lily’s mother was. She’s just as guilty in all of this.”
“We can only hope that karma caught up with her,” Sophie agreed.
“I still don’t understand how the cops knew to show up there,” Peter groused, pouring himself a drink from the whiskey decanter on the bar. “Someone had to tell them what was going on.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Mandy said, averting her gaze. “Everyone is safe.”
James sent Mandy a searching look, one that wasn’t lost on Peter.
“Did someone here call the police?” Peter asked pointedly.
Mandy shifted uncomfortably. “Um … well … fine. I called them.”
“You did?” James asked.
“I just didn’t think Sophie would want Peter to kill someone on her behalf,” Mandy said. “I also didn’t want you guys put into a position where you would have to lie to cover up a murder. Sue me.”
Deadly Questions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 8) Page 20