Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
ORION
Present Day
There was nothing I hated as much as I did a case involving human trafficking. It was always a bit too close to home for me.
Despite the years of therapy, I still suffered from the memories that haunted me. I still remembered the past I couldn’t shake no matter how hard I wanted to.
Even my accent, the one I’d worked for years to get rid of, wanted to return. It was on the tip of my tongue to let the southern drawl slip out. To curl my tongue around words I hadn’t spoken in decades.
Some of it had to do with the fact that I lost everything the day I was taken. My life. My best friend. My mama. It was all snatched up and set ablaze as I rode away in the back of a car.
In the four years, six months, and twelve days it took me to escape the Mori’s clutches, my mother had passed away and my best friend vanished from the face of the earth. I knew because I’d looked high and low for both of them.
I was forced to restart my life at only fourteen years old without the support of any friends or family. Luckily, I was street smart enough to keep my head above water until I managed to come across Tank.
Meeting him changed my life all over again.
He offered me the one thing I thought I’d never have again: a family. They weren’t blood related, but they were fairly damn close.
And we protected our own at all costs. Even when it was uncomfortable, or it challenged us.
Which is why I was facing my demons despite not wanting to.
“The Gilded Ones have their hands in a bit of everything,” Memphis had said. I knew from the look Tank shot my way that it was going to be something I didn’t want to hear.
It wasn’t until later when we were going through the reports that it hit me. There was a trafficking ring within the society. Since it was still early in our investigation, we had no clue how many people they held or how wide their reach was. We could only assume until we had more intel.
Even seeing the possibility of it all had me wanting to ditch the team. My therapist, Elyse, would tell me to take deep breaths and to find my center. She’d guide me through balancing myself out, so I remembered I was no longer trapped in that place.
But fuck if it didn’t feel like it all over again.
My skin itched with the need to scrub myself raw in the shower. I knew if I started, I wouldn’t stop until something was bleeding. I didn’t have time to break down just yet. That would have to wait.
Besides, there were a number of these cells in the country. I doubted these people were connected to the Moris. That would be the worst luck in the history of ever if so.
Instead of thinking about it more, I took to doing the best I could to help the team. It was all I could do to focus on them.
Rescuing Damari.
Saving Sinclair.
Being there for Godric, Ronan, Cohen, and Memphis.
Avoiding Tank’s scrutiny.
It was all a distraction. Every second was meant to keep me out of my own head.
But then everything fucking changed thanks to a tip about the shipping container. Even though I knew it would likely trigger me, I went ahead with the mission.
I was the only one equipped to know what the people inside were going through. Having lived it myself gave me the opportunity to step in should there be any panic.
Except when we got there, it wasn’t all panic. There was some resignation and relief mixed in. Even a bit of fear given our size.
Overall, it was fine. This wasn’t too far-off from my past, yet it was just different enough to make it not so harsh on my mental state.
That was until I saw the boy.
The boy with the eyes I’d know anywhere. Soft blue, so bright you couldn’t miss them. Added to that unique feature was his button nose and curly brown hair.
I’d seen that exact face before. Knew it like the back of my hand. Had dreamed of it for decades.
It felt like I’d traveled back in time. Like I was getting a second chance even though it didn’t make sense.
Crouching by the boy, I tried to speak with him. “Hello. I’m here to help you and the others. What is your name?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he stared me down, his gaze blank in a way I recognized.
They’d hurt him. At some point, someone had taken from him the same way they’d taken from me.
I kept him close to me even though he never said a word. It would take time for him to trust me enough to share. Besides, if he realized the others were getting help, maybe he’d finally explain who he was and why he felt so familiar.
At the office, he stayed glued to my side as he watched the others speaking and sharing their stories. A couple spoke English, though most only knew their native languages.
We brought in a friend of Sinclair’s, some kid named Archie, to translate for each group. He was doing a great job working through the room, and more than once I saw him look our way.
I didn’t know how I knew, but I was sure the boy could understand me. It wasn’t that he couldn’t speak. It was that he was choosing not to.
Tank waved me over at one point, his gaze a mix of frustration and resignation. He already knew he wouldn’t like the answer to whatever he was about to tell me.
“Do you know him?” he asked me bluntly.
I nodded. “I do. It’s not something I can really go into right now. But I do know exactly where he should be and how to get in touch with his family.”
Ok, so that was a lie. Just a tiny one though. Tank would forgive me for it eventually.
“I trust you intend to handle it alone then, Orion.”
I frowned at his turn of phrase. “I have to. There are,” I paused, “answers I need. This boy should never have been anywhere near this stuff. I need to check on things. I know now isn’t a good time, but — ”
“It’s never a good time. Get in touch with his parents. You’re not to leave though. They can come here. Clear it with Jared, and he’ll setup security clearance.”
Fuck. That wasn’t the best-case scenario.
Even so, I let my shoulders drop as if I were relieved. They needed to believe the act I was putting on if I ever intended to get the proper answers about the boy.
Archie, the translator, kept throwing me strange looks. I didn’t know if he could see past my mask or if he was fooled by my charm and looks like others usually were. It was my secret weapon when it came to the business.
And I’d just used it on my boss. Though really, he probably had some inkling that not everything was as I said.
I wouldn’t stick around to figure it out though.
Grabbing the boy’s hand, I took off down the hall to one of the empty conference rooms. I motioned for him to sit in a chair, then called for food from downstairs. After that, I sat down to make a plan.
The boy couldn’t stay here, yet I had no clue where his actual parents were or if they were who I thought they might be. Hell, I might have been completely off base, and this boy didn’t mean what I thought he did.
Still, I couldn’t deny the similarities. Those eyes of his didn’t lie.
He might be the key to finding my past. A past that might not want to be found.