33. Zane
Zane
I t’s quiet out as I slip through the front door. I don’t see anyone when I look around the driveway, so I hurtle over to my car and carefully close the door behind me. Once I’m seated inside, I pull out my phone and look down at it.
Zane
I’m heading out to do some more surveillance. I’ll be back late tonight.
Viv
Okay. Be careful, and thanks for letting me know.
I smile at the phone. And then I freak the fuck out as the passenger door opens and a giant figure folds itself into the seat. “Where’s my favorite future nephew-in-law heading?”
I grin at him. “Of course I’m your favorite.
I’m your only future nephew-in-law.” I put the car in reverse and start backing out of the driveway.
“Speaking of weddings. You’re an adult. I’m sure you’ve been to plenty of them.
How does the whole mother-son dance thing work when the bitch is dead?
Do I have to take her corpse for a whirl around the dance floor or something? ”
Enzo just stares at me. “Jesus, you really are fucking insane.”
I hold a finger up. “We prefer psy…”
“Psychologically divergent. Ya. I know. I’ve been given the spiel lots of times. You don’t dance with a goddamned corpse. You either just don’t do it, or you have someone who’s like a mother figure do it,” Enzo explains.
He might have just called me insane, but at least he answered my question. The other guys would have looked at me like I was crazy and then just pretended like I didn’t say anything.
I consider his words carefully for a while. “I don’t know if I can convince Nox to dance with me.”
Enzo chuckles at that. “If he didn’t regularly supply me with French toast, I would help you force him.”
I shrug, but don’t respond. I’ll figure out how to make it happen. It’ll probably just take a lot of bribing. And if I can get Viv to offer him sexual favors, he might cave instantly.
I drive for over forty minutes before Enzo breaks down and asks where we’re going again.
I grin over at him and explain about the ring of child pornography producers and distributers I’ve been tracking.
He seems interested, especially when I tell him about the hush hush meeting we’re going to spy on.
“I couldn’t figure out what the meeting tonight is about, but I’m thinking it’s something serious.” I pull off onto a side road.
It takes me a moment to find a nice place to park on this deserted road so that I can keep my car out of sight. Enzo gets out at the same time I do, looking around with a furrowed brow. “This meeting’s happenin’ in the middle of the forest?”
I shake my head. “No. It’s about half a mile that way.”
I walk over to the trunk and open it up. Inside there’s just enough room for the overstuffed duffle bag. Not knowing what was going on tonight made me a little worried, so I packed for the occasion. I’m ready for just about every situation.
Holding my finger over my lips, I signal to Enzo that we need to be quiet as we make our way over to the warehouse.
The thick underbrush slows us down, so what should have only taken ten minutes takes us nearly twenty.
But when I can see the warehouse, I freeze.
I sorely misjudged what was going to be taking place here tonight.
I watch as a man pulls a dirty little boy from the back of a van and drags him into the building.
“What the fuck have you gotten us into?” Enzo hisses, dragging me back toward the trees to stay out of sight.
I glance over at him to see his jaw clenched tight as he watches a little girl being dragged out of a different van and into the warehouse.
“Obviously I didn’t realize this was going to be happening. It was just supposed to be a spying thing so I could connect them to more people. I never thought I would show up here to this,” I snap, pulling my phone out.
Enzo watches me as I pull up my text thread with Viv. “What are you doing?”
“Texting Viv. We have a deal. Plus, now I’m going to have to get the others to come out here and help out,” I tell him as I start typing a message to Viv.
“There’s not that many people here. The two of us can handle this,” Enzo says dismissively.
I look over at him and raise a brow. “There are like fifteen people here. I know I can’t handle half that, so how many are you planning to take care of yourself?”
He shrugs. “I know you’re not that useless or Vivy wouldn’t like you so much.”
I roll my eyes and look down at my phone. Fuck it.
Zane
I’ve gotten myself into a bit of trouble. But don’t worry, I’ve got Enzo with me.
Viv
I expect an explanation when you get home.
I wince at the message but put my phone away.
Enzo and I watch the building for a while to make sure that nobody else shows up, and after a half hour of stillness we make our way out of the tree line.
Somehow, Enzo manages to get in front of me and leads the way to the back door we’d seen the kids being led through.
Even with my ear pressed to the metal door, I don’t hear any sounds from inside so I give Enzo a thumbs up.
He pulls a gun from his waistband while I slip a knife out of the sheath at my ankle.
Viv made me get one when she realized I kept a knife in my sock.
Something about DNA and evidence being left behind.
I wasn’t really listening, but I got one just to make her happy.
Enzo opens the door softly and I roll my eyes. What kind of bad guys leave doors unlocked? Overly self-confident assholes, that’s who.
Once we’re inside, anger rushes through me.
There are a lot more than two kids here.
There has to be at least ten of them and they’re all being kept in cages.
Not even actual cells with steel bars, just dog kennels you buy from the store.
They weren’t even smart enough to get the kind you can take through airport security, they’re the collapsable wire ones that have two doors.
The room is dirty and has boxes stacked in a few of the corners of the room.
The kids are all cowering in their cages and avoiding making eye contact with us.
In one cage off to the side is an older boy.
He’s still no older than thirteen, but he’s not as close in age as the other children.
And he’s the only one not shy about tracking us with his eyes.
I make my way over to him silently and crouch down beside him. “How many bad guys are here?”
He stares at the knife in my hand wearily, and I carefully slip another one out of my waistband. His eyes watch the blade carefully as I flip it over and hold it out grip first to him. He hesitates when I stick it through the bars of his cage. “Go on and take it.”
He slowly reaches forward and rips it away from me. “There’s twelve,” he says softly.
Enzo walks over to us on silent feet and holds out a key. “Fuckin’ amateurs had this hangin’ on a hook by the door.”
I take the key from him and unlock the older boy’s cage. “Can you get the others out while we go deal with the people in the other room? Find someplace to hide. Try to keep everyone together.”
He crawls out and stands to his full height, looking at me like he might cry for a moment before his face goes blank. I’m surprised when he accepts the key and heads over to start letting the other kids out.
Enzo and I are by the door that must lead into the rest of the warehouse when the doorknob twists.
We both manage to slip behind the door as it opens, and the idiot doesn’t even look around the room before closing the door behind himself as he comes in.
When he turns and sees a few of the kids out of their cages, he steps forward.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? ” he demands.
Before he can take another step forward, I slip behind him and slam my knife into the side of his neck, twisting it harshly.
The damage to his throat keeps him from screaming.
And when I yank the knife out, he slumps to the ground as blood pours out of his throat.
With both the jugular and carotid artery severed, he’s unconscious in moments.
Enzo’s eye twitches at me, and I have no idea what his problem is since we’re so close to the door that we’re both afraid to speak.
I hold up all ten of my fingers before putting them down and holding up one.
Then I mouth the words, “Eleven more.” Enzo nods and pushes in front of me to be the first one at the door and I follow behind him as he pushes it open.
I pull a gun from the back of my waistband.
It’s not my favorite weapon, but it’s better than bringing a knife to a gun fight.
And it’s a good thing I do, because the moment we’re through the door Enzo starts shooting.
He has five men on the floor before they even realize they’re being attacked, and I take another three down before they can take cover.
With another three left hiding behind obstacles, we have no choice but to wait for an opening.
Enzo is a great shot, taking down two of the men left with the smallest of openings.
And I’m able to take the last one out when he tries to get a cheap shot in while Enzo is reloading.
When it’s silent in the warehouse, Enzo looks at me. “We’re going to have a long talk about how messy that first kill was on the way home. I’ll call some of my contacts to deal with the kids.”
I frown at him. There was nothing wrong with that first kill.
Sure, there was a lot of blood, but it was quiet and got the job done quickly.
I don’t argue with Enzo though, because he’s already pulling out his phone and starting to dial.
I’m sure when we get home Viv will take my side on this. She loves me the most after all.