Chapter 9
Xavier
“The Cellar,” Jonathan whispers to himself over and over while pacing back and forth in our meeting room.
I knew his reaction would be bad, but at this point, he might be about to lose it. Maybe I should offer him a pill to calm down.
Nope, not a good idea.
Jamison sits visibly irritated next to me, with Sebastian across the table rubbing his hand on his chin as if in deep thought. Andre is up on a video call with us. He is sitting so stiff he could pass for a statue.
Jamison just broke the news about Sasha’s phone pinging at a very well-known underground establishment called The Cellar. It sounds fancy but it's just a shitty gambling front covering for the skin trade. Not to say you can’t actually gamble there because, of course, you can. I’ve never been but from the bits and pieces I’ve picked up, the main level is set up casino-style with hotel rooms on the floors above. It's the lower levels that contain the worst of the worst. Anything from sex trafficking to organ harvesting happens down there. The twins know the most about it, followed by Andre.
Jamison and Jonathan both grew up in foster care and group homes. I don’t ask for details but I know their upbringing was horrible. They saw things no children should ever have to witness. Andre’s brother runs a part of the underground as well, which is why he is familiar with the place.
“Well, we have to check it out don’t we?” I ask everyone in the room out loud.
Sebastian snorts, “If you’re asking my opinion, then, no, we don’t. Why the fuck do we still care where my ex-assitant’s phone is pinging?”
“Sebastian,” Andre starts, “do you know what fucking happens down there?”
“Don’t!” Jamison growls, causing Jonathan to start pacing again.
There’s a loud sigh over the video chat before Andre starts speaking again. “I messaged Antonio. He said he would try to get me a little intel. He can’t do much. That place is locked down like Fort Knox but maybe we can find out something…anything, that can help us.”
Sebastian scoffs but we all ignore him. I know he doesn’t give a fuck about Sasha but seeing as how she is Lockhart’s niece, we might be able to figure a lot more shit out if we were able to speak with her. From what Riley said, she’s pretty scared of her uncle. Maybe we can use that to our advantage.
A loud ping comes up on the monitor and Andre looks at his phone before quickly looking down again. “I’ll fly into the States tomorrow.”
“What, why?” Sebastian asks, confused.
“There’s a hooded event this weekend. It’s how they recruit without being recognized. They open The Cellar quarterly by invitation only from another member. Antonio is a member and says this is the best time for us to get in if we want to look for Sasha and get even a chance to talk with her. This is also one of the only events where we are less likely to be recognized.”
Suddenly Jonathan rushes out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
I look over at Jamison but only see his usual blank face. “Jonathan won’t be able to go with us.”
“I’ll stay back with him,” Sebastian responds. “I have someone tailing the girls to make sure they stay safe anyways. I need to make sure I can answer his calls.”
“Okay, I’ll get the rest of the info from my brother and get back to you guys when I land,” Andre says. The line goes dead, and I look over at Jamison. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
A dangerous smirk crosses his face before he replies, “Never been more ready in my life, Xavier.”