Lilah

Chapter 9 Friends? #2

Like hell I could be friends with her. Not even five minutes after she said we can only be friends, my fucking hands couldn't stay away from that waist of hers.

Kissing her once has given me a feel of what I could have. It was a mistake getting so close to her, I know that. Kissing her and holding her like I was put dreams in my head that shouldn't be there. I shouldn't be glad that they're there but I fucking am.

After that little taste, I felt like I could never be away from her. The way her hands held onto me I could've stayed there forever.

She's too good for me. She's sweet. But I can't fucking stay away.

I'm drawn to her. Every time I see that damn store I have to see her.

She's got a smart mouth, she annoys the shit out of me, and she's wild but fuck if she hasn't grown on me.

It's worse that she's Jake's little sister. And it's even worse that she doesn't know how he was involved with us. Even worse than that, Jake made sure no one went near his baby sister. She was off limits even though none of us had ever seen her.

Except for me. I was the only fucking one that he ever showed a picture of her to and now I can't quit imagining what she'd look like naked.

Fuck me.

I wish she would.

I just can't treat her right. I don't fucking know how. That's what comes with having a shitty father and a nonexistent mother.

"I can't do this anymore," Jai comes into the room dragging his hands through his hair and down his face.

"I hate taking orders, I hate handing people food, I don't like the way people treat waiters like shit, Grey, get someone else to do it, I can't anymore," he breathes out. I tilt my head back and look at him.

"Suck it up bitch-" Jonas starts until I stop him.

"Jonas," I grumble and he turns toward me. I nod my head to Jai who lets out a loud laugh.

"Are you kidding me?" Jonas questions, his mouth open wide.

"I'm not a people person," he adds and I feel my teeth grit together.

"Get the fuck out there before I put you out there after beating your ass," I glare at him and he stands and yanks the notepad from Jai.

"Have fun buddy," Jai calls out as Jonas leaves.

I hate this fucking restaurant but it's a nice cover for our base.

"What time are we leaving?" Jai asks. I look up at the clock on the wall.

"Now," I watch as the clock hits five. We all rise from our seats.

"Do you think he'll give up at a million?" Theo questions, tucking a pistol in the back of his pants.

I pick up the file on the coffee table in front of me.

David Anthony Morris

Documentation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation

DOB - 8/14/76

Birthplace - Griffin, Georgia

Sex - Male

Height - 5'10

Eyes - Brown

Previous Criminal Offenses - Two Counts of Assault and battery, Three Counts of Statutory Rape, Two Counts of Kidnap, and One Count of Domestic Abuse.

Reported Offenses - Human Trafficking

Location of Warehouse - 359 Marly Lane, Greer, Tennesee

Relatives - Ex-wife, Marina Carnite

Fucking psycho.

I give Theo a shrug and we continue loading up.

"You guys seriously are going to leave me here by myself?" Jonas questions as we walk out to the main floor.

"George and the chefs are still here," Jai points to the kitchen and Jonas glares at his big brother.

"You'll get in on the next one," Roman looks around the place, his calculating eyes searching for anything out of the ordinary.

At the coat rack in the closet near the door, Jai passes out the padded leather jackets. He hands one out to me but as usual, I refuse.

"One of these days you're going to regret not putting one of those on," Jai sighs and I glare at his head as he pulls on the jacket.

If they really want to kill me, they'd shoot me in the head.

~~~

I lean against the outside wall of the warehouse as the guys spread out as they're supposed to. Jai takes his place to the right of me at the entrance.

"You look like a fuckin' idiot," I grumble at him as he places a pair of sunglasses on his nose. It's fucking dark outside.

"No, I look official," he argues before knocking loudly on the door. I lean my head back against the wall and let out a sigh.

I hope one of these motherfuckers try me. My fist has been itching to punch somebody.

After a minute, the door swings open.

"Who the hell are you?" a gravelly voice questions and I can only imagine him to be David Morris.

"We've come to make you an offer," Jai talks smoothly which is exactly why he's constantly put in the negotiating position of what we do.

"We?" he questions and I push myself off the wall. I stop at the edge of the doorway, slightly leaning into it. David takes a step back.

"I'll give you a million for the property," I take a look inside, over his shoulder. Half naked women lay on and around men. They look scared for their fucking lives.

I look back at David and try to keep my face emotionless. This motherfucker deserves to die.

"And everything that comes with it," I add.

"A million?" he questions, looking surprised to hear it.

"A million," Jai nods, "cash if you want."

"You want in on the trafficking world?" David smiles and I grit my teeth. My knuckles crack at how hard they're balled in a fist.

"We definitely want in," Jai smirks before holding out his hand, "Michael Jackson."

Fucking dumbass.

"Michael Jackson?" David asks, shaking Jai's hand.

"My parents named me after him," he replies coolly and David looks over at me.

"That's Cruz Marshall," Jai answers and I send him a harsh glare.

"David Morris," he extends his hand toward me. I only glance at it before returning my gaze to his face.

I don't shake hands with fucking rapists.

"He's a germaphobe," Jai explains and as soon as we're done with this bust I'm breaking his fucking nose.

"Oh that's alright," David waves it off, his long greasy hair shaking as he does, "why don't you come inside and look around while I consider your offer?"

"We would love to," Jai smiles as the plan executes itself easily. Jai enters first and I follow.

The smell of weed and even a hint of the fucking nasty chemical-smell of burning cocaine hits my nose. Walking through the main floor I look around at everything and everyone. Counting, finding exits, windows, doors, everything.

I hear a crunch under my foot. I stop in my tracks and look down and the crushed meth pipe.

"Hey man," a slurred voice calls out to the left of me. I turn my glare to him.

"You crushed my pipe," the man calls out, quieter this time. I look at the girl on his lap. She can't be older than fourteen.

Jai walks back to beside me. He sees my stare on the two.

"We'll come back to him," he assures knowing damn well that I'm fixing to throw our whole bust away because of one guy.

I shake the thoughts away and continue through the main floor.

"How many girls do you have?" Jai questions. I've counted thirteen only in this room.

"Thirty in total," he answers proudly, "but tomorrow we're getting a 'shipment' of about ten more."

He leads us into another room. He shuts the door behind us and my senses heighten.

"This place is nice," Jai lies through his teeth.

"Only the best for the bitches," David chuckles, turning. My hands itch to wrap themselves around his neck.

He opens one more door and a dimly lit room is on the other side. Jai walks in first and I follow. Hardly a second after entering, he comes to a sudden halt. He turns around quickly to me and a look takes onto his face.

He's furious.

"Fucking get him," he tells me quietly and usually, I'd beat his ass for telling me what to do but with the look on his face, I understand. Feeling David's presence right behind me, I send an elbow to the side of his head.

He falls into the wall and before he can yell out to the stoned guys in the main room, my fist connects with the center of his face. I feel his nose crack under my knuckles and he falls to the floor.

I barely hear Jai call the guys in with the radio too busy beating this sick motherfucker's face in.

Before he dies, unfortunately, I pull him up, shoving him against the wall. Jai tosses me the cuffs and I crank them onto his wrists as tight as they'll go before letting him fall back to the ground.

"Grey, come help me with her," Jai calls out and I finally get a look at what had him so fucked up.

A naked girl-no, a naked child lays with her hands and feed wired to a bed. I avert my eyes immediately and I wish, I fucking wish I could kill that motherfucker.

Both Jai and I untwist the wires holding her wrists in place, followed by her feet. Jai quickly takes off his jacket, followed by his sweatshirt. He gives his sweatshirt to the girl and she puts it on.

"Thank you," she cries, "are you going to help me?"

"We're here to help you," Jai helps her stand and she does so shakily, the sweatshirt falling down to her knees.

"We work with the F.B.I," he explains, knowing it's easier than telling her exactly what we do.

We're not the F.B.I. We're an independent organization. They pay us for the jobs we do for them and we get the full percentage and ownership of the properties from the criminals we bust.

Money is definitely not an issue for any of us.

"How old are you?" he questions helping her to the door. She wipes her tears and sniffles.

"Twelve."

"Fucking hell," I send David's body a strong kick, most likely breaking a couple of his ribs.

"He-He almost touched me," she explains, "but someone knocked on the big door before he did."

"Did anyone else try to touch you?" he questions and she shakes her head.

"He told them not to," she whispers, "he said he wanted me for himself."

This fucking kid is going to be terrified and scarred for the rest of her life. He opens the door we came in and I grab David's foot, dragging him behind us.

We make it back to the main floor and every guy is cuffed and sitting against a wall. I count only fifteen guys.

There was sixteen.

I drop David's leg and walk to one of the guys that looks the least stoned or drunk.

I bend to his level.

"Where the fuck is he?" I question darkly.

"Who?" the guy questions back but I can see in his eyes that he knows exactly what I'm talking about.

"Don't fucking play with me," I press my fist into his sternum and his eyes widen in pain. His throws his head forward and he headbutts me, his forehead only connecting with my bottom lip.

I spit the blood out and sneer at him.

"He went to a back room before all your fucking pigs came in here," he answers and I rise.

"Shut him up," I tell Roman who smirks and I go to find the sixteenth guy.

I find him in a room at the end of a long hallway, the door cracked open, a girl on his lap, and his back faced toward me.

I stalk toward him and the girl sees me. This one is older than the last two and she's actually got clothes on.

Her eyes turn wide in fear and I shake my head at her mouthing an 'I won't hurt you'.

I begrudgingly take the gun out of the back of my pants. I like to use my fists but whatever.

I press it against the back of his head and he freezes. I click off the safety and he hears it.

"Hands off," I tell him and he raises his hands from her. She runs off as soon as he does.

"Stand up," I growl at him and he does. I see him grab something to the side of him and I internally let out a sigh.

He turns and points the gun at me. I tilt my head a bit. He can't be older than twenty.

"Put it down, kid," I tell him gruffly.

A kill is a lot of fucking paperwork.

He clicks the safety off his own gun and I roll my eyes. I lower my gun, I grab onto the end of his, and I send my knee up to his elbow, breaking his arm and he drops the gun in my hand.

He lets out loud shouts in pain and I grit my teeth at the dramatic loud noise. I drag him harshly back into the main room and Maxon cuffs him as a few of my other guys bring in the remainder of the girls from isolated rooms.

I count all thirty.

The guys begin the protocol on each of the girls. I find the closest one to me.

"Name?" I ask her as Jai hands me a report to write her information down on.

"Anna Terri," she whispers, still obviously scared to death.

"Date of birth?" I finish writing her name and look up at her.

"10/11/03," she says and I grip the pen harshly. She's fifteen for fucks sake, what the fuck is wrong with these motherfuckers?

"Birthplace?"

"Chicago," she says and hope fills her eyes as she realizes she's going to go home.

This is going to be a long night.

? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?

Thank y'all for reading! I gave you a little bit of insight on what Grey does. I'm sorry for this chapter being so depressing and all but human, especially child trafficking is very real and it truly needs to be stopped.

*Not edited*

Word count: 4264

-Ashlyn E. Montgomery