Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
Julius
I woke up the next morning wrapped in Gator’s arms. I’d slept better than I’d expected, all things considered, only startling awake a few times. But each time Gator was there, whispering words of reassurance that I was safe and that he was there until I drifted back to sleep.
I shifted to move out of his embrace, but he tightened his arms. I looked over my shoulder at him to find him awake. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
“Some. Are you ready to get up?”
“I am. I’m starving.” Which made sense. After the whole ordeal, food had been the furthest thing from my mind last night.
“Me, too.” He rolled over and stretched out on the bed beside me. “How about if I run down to Goldie’s and grab us a couple of breakfast sandwiches while you let Trixie out of her cage?”
“Yeah, I should do that. Since she was barely out yesterday at all.”
“Great. You start the coffee, and I’ll run down for food.”
“Sounds good to me.” I hopped up and tossed on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then turned around to find him watching me.
“Aren’t you getting up?”
“I am. I was just thinking how glad I am you’re here. That you’re safe. I was so scared, mon petit. I kept thinking, what if they took your earring? What if I didn’t find you in time?” He paused and took a deep breath. “I can’t lose you, Julius. I wouldn’t survive it.”
I crawled back up on the bed and into his arms. He wrapped me up tight, and I could feel his body shaking.
I’d been scared yesterday, but I’d been so relieved when he found me, so glad it was over, that I hadn’t given much thought to what it must’ve been like for him.
“I’m here, Daddy. I’m here and I’m safe. You didn’t lose me.”
“I love you, Julius Petros. I love you and don’t you ever scare me like that again.”
“I don’t plan on it, but just so you know, I love you, too.”
I leaned up on my elbows and kissed him. He gripped the back of my head and deepened the kiss even more, but then my stomach growled. He pulled away with a chuckle. “To be continued. Right now, it sounds like I need to feed you.”
I was tempted to tell him he could just feed me his cock, but I really was hungry. I rolled over him and got up off the bed. “Okay, we both have our missions. Let’s make this breakfast happen.”
I went out of the bedroom and straight to Trixie’s cage. As soon as she saw me, she perked right up. “Mornin’ sunshine,” she said in a voice that sounded a lot like my yaya.
“Morning, Trix. You want to come out and play?”
“Trixie is a bird. Trixie can fly.”
“You sure can if you want to. Let’s get you out of there.”
I opened the cage, and she crawled out onto my wrist and spread her wings. “Going up. Going up.”
“Yep, we’re going up.” I lifted her to the top of the cage, and she hopped off my arm and up on her perch. “Let me get you a treat, pretty girl.”
“Stachios, Trixie is a pretty girl.”
I filled her cup with pistachios and set it on her cage. I watched her grab a nut and start chomping down on it like it was any other day. Of course, to her, it was. But not to me.
I could have woken up in that nasty-ass basement or worse, in some other basement that belonged to some asshole that purchased me from the previous assholes.
I didn’t, though. Instead, I woke up safe, warm, and in the arms of a man who loved me.
Speaking of the man who loved me, he was expecting coffee to be ready when he got back, so I needed to stop woolgathering, as Yaya always said, and get our coffee brewing.
An hour or so later, we’d finished breakfast when Gator’s phone rang. He flipped it over and looked at the caller ID.
“It’s Chance. He probably has an update for us.”
“Or more questions for me.” I rolled my eyes. I swear, last night it had felt like that would never end. “We might as well get it over with.”
Gator nodded and answered the phone. He listened for a minute and then said, “We’ll be right down.”
He hung up the phone and looked at me. “You ready?”
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
We walked into the conference room on the eighth floor.
The Three Bears were already there. Hawk leaning against the table, Wolfe with his arms folded, Axel and Maddox trading a droll look.
Chance stood in front of the whiteboard, FBI shoulder badge clipped to his belt, and when he saw us, he gave a little nod that was half thanks and half apology.
“Agent Kelly,” I said.
“Julius. Thanks for joining us. I was just about to brief the team, and I thought you might want to hear what I have to say. And you might as well call me Chance, all these degenerates do.”
Gator pulled out a seat for me and then sat down next to me. As soon as we were situated, Agent Kelly… Chance, began.
“First, thanks. I appreciate your help on this.”
Wolfe gave him a nod in acknowledgment of the praise, then asked the question we all wanted to know the answer to. “So, where are we now?”
“Wade wasn’t the brains. He was logistics.
As you know, we’ve been tracking Merrick Sloan for years.
Trafficking rings, movement of people, layered shell companies.
Merrick doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, so he operates through contractors.
Wade was one of those contractors. Small-time on paper, but oh so valuable to us. ”
Chance held up a small evidence bag. Inside was a phone.
“When we cuffed Wade, he had this. Our forensic team got into it fast, and this is the best piece of evidence we could have found. It has location data with timestamps. Financial transfers that don’t make sense for a legit business, but best of all, the messages. They’re what really sealed the deal.”
He placed the phone on the table and tapped it. “It has encrypted messages Wade sent and received referencing transit windows and wire transfers that our other investigations have tied directly to Merrick Sloan.”
“That was fast,” Hawk said.
“We were ready for a break, and you guys gave it to us. When we confronted Wade, he cracked. He confirmed that they’d moved to the farmhouse to lay low.
They wanted to leave town, but couldn’t because the transfer for Noah Gentry had already been arranged.
They were afraid that changing towns would spook the buyer, and apparently, he’d paid a premium price for the young man.
“The information on his phone, combined with Wade’s statement, put us over the top. We have more than enough for warrants and to open an official federal investigation on Sloan. He can run, but he’s exposed now. He’s not getting any comfortable nights.”
“What about the other people in the basement?” I asked.
“They’re all being cared for. The two who were transported to the hospital are still there, but they’re both doing well.
They have a long road ahead of them because it seems they kept them drugged up most of the time.
The women were cleared medically, and we have them in a safe house while they wait on family to come get them, and the other young man’s parents picked him up at the hospital last night.
“I stopped by and talked with Noah earlier. I still think he should’ve gone to the hospital with the others, but it was his choice not to. I gave him some names of people he can contact if he needs help. He isn’t sure what he’ll be doing from here—”
“He’s welcome to stay as long as he needs to,” Wolfe interrupted.
Chance smiled at him. “Yeah, I figured that was the case, but someone might want to make sure he knows that. Anyway, he’s eager to put all this behind him, as I’m sure you are.” He nodded in my direction.
“I am, but mostly I want to see these guys taken down. I know it’s a constant battle and there’ll be another trafficking ring rearing its ugly head in its place, but I still want these guys brought to justice.”
“That’s the plan. We’re going to follow this to Merrick and beyond. I can’t promise it’ll be fast or clean, but we’re committed.”
Hawk nodded. “Three Bears will keep feeding you whatever you need.”
Chance’s smile was a flicker that meant something. “You saved my case,” he said quietly. “I’ve been chasing Merrick Sloan for years, and I knew my supervisors were getting ready to pull the plug. But not now. Now, for the first time, this gives us something solid to stand on. So thank you.”
Chance left, and Wolfe looked at me. “Why don’t you go up and talk to Noah. Let him know that he doesn’t have to be in any hurry to go anywhere, but if he wants to go back to his apartment, we’ll make sure he gets there.”
I nodded and left them all sitting around the table talking about evidence and testifying and a hundred other details that I assumed would affect me later on, but not today.
I was relieved when I stepped off the elevator to find the ninth-floor common area empty. Surprised, but relieved. It was a Sunday, though, so I knew before long the place would be filled with snacks, people, and the sound of football.
I crossed over to the door of the apartment that, for a short time, had been mine and knocked softly. It took a minute, but after I knocked a second time, Noah pulled open the door.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” He stepped back to let me in.
“Are you getting settled in okay?”
“I guess.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I have bags to unpack or anything. I’ve just been rotting on the couch, watching television, and eating a ton of junk food that Mika left in here for me.”
“Well, just so you know”—I checked the time—“in about an hour, that space outside your door is going to be filled with people who work here at Three Bears Tactical, but you’re under no obligation to interact with them if you don’t want to.
That said, if you’re tired of being cooped up alone, you’re welcome to come out and join in. ”
He glanced at the door and then back at me. “I don’t know if I’m ready to be with a whole crowd of people.”
“Well, no pressure. If you step out there and decide it’s too much, you can always just come right back inside.”
“Thanks, Julius, I might do that.”
“Also, Wolfe wanted me to let you know you can stay as long as you need. We can give you a ride back home if you want one, but if you want to stay, I’ll go with you to get your things.”
“Do I have to decide right now?”
“Nope, take all the time you need.”
I looked at him and just wanted to pull him into a hug, but I wasn’t sure if physical touch would be a trigger for him. He looked so lost and vulnerable that it made my heart hurt.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?” I asked.
“No yet. I went over it all with Agent Kelly again this morning, and that’s enough for today. I know I’ll probably need to talk about it more, but I don’t think I’m ready.”
“Good enough. I’m here if you change your mind. Or Mika, you met him last night. He’s really good at listening.”
“He seemed like he would be. He’s already stopped by this morning and dropped off a freshly baked cinnamon roll on top of all the food he brought me last night.”
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “Food is definitely his love language. Anyway, my number was in that phone they gave you, so if you need to talk or ask any questions or anything, just let me know.”
I went back upstairs and spent the rest of the morning on the phone with my sister and with Migs. I started with Migs because I knew talking with Miranda was going to be exhausting.
I’d managed to keep the call with Migs pretty short. I made sure he knew I was unharmed and that Gator was taking good care of me. I gave him a rundown on what happened and assured him I would be at work on Tuesday like normal.
The call with Miranda hadn’t gone so smoothly. She’d insisted on a video call so she could see for herself I was fine. Once she was sure I was, she chastised me for going with those assholes, then broke down crying, thanking me for being willing to go with them to protect Lainey.
It took some convincing to keep her from rushing over here to see me in person, but I finally managed it by telling her I was tired and thought I would take a nap.
I figured a little white lie could be excused if it saved me from half a day of being fussed over.
I promised to come over to her house for dinner one night soon, and that seemed to appease her.
After my calls were made, I decided maybe I hadn’t lied to Miranda at all. Gator was still tied up downstairs, and a nap didn’t sound half bad.