Chapter 27
27
MILA
When the door to the room opened, I leaned forward and watched Ethan walk through carrying two bags filled with Chinese food.
I smiled. “Finally. I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving.” He chuckled and dropped the bags on the table before looking around. “Nick here yet?”
“No.”
Ethan walked over to the bed where I was sitting with my laptop open on my lap. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Good.”
“Mmm…” I hummed against his lips before pulling back slightly. “I can’t think of anything except food right now.”
He laughed and turned toward the table. “Why am I not surprised?”
Putting my laptop aside, I stood and followed him. We grabbed the cartons and put the food out on the table before sitting down and digging in.
We were quiet for a few minutes while we ate, but then I pointed my fork at Ethan. “Do you want to come up with a plan of our own before Nick gets here?”
He swallowed a bite of food. “Sure, but you know the team already has one since they’re sending Nick.”
“True, but we’ve been in that place. We know better than anyone what will work and what won’t.” He studied me for a moment, and I saw the concern in his expression. Before he could say anything, I continued. “Look, I know I haven’t given you many reasons to trust that I can follow a plan, but I promise I heard what you said last night and won’t do anything that could put us in danger.”
He lifted his fork to his mouth, but his eyes never left mine. “I believe you.”
“Good. I think I should chat with the girls when we get there and see if anyone can give us anything before we talk to Samson again.”
“And if they can’t?”
I sighed. “Then I’ll talk Samson into letting you come into the back room with me.”
“And if he doesn’t let me in?” He pointed out what was a very real possibility. We both knew Samson didn’t want Ethan there because he wanted an opportunity to get me alone.
I held up my hand. “Hear me out.” When he nodded, I continued. “Samson sees me as the weak link, and we need to take advantage of that. If I can convince him that I’m willing to do just about anything, he might let me in deep enough so I can get us the information we need.”
“And then what?”
I tapped the end of my fork against the carton. “Then I walk out. Say I changed my mind and find you.”
He wasn’t buying it. I could tell from his expression that he hated the plan and didn’t think for one second that it could work. It only took a moment for him to confirm my thoughts. “What if they don’t let you? What if you’re already incapacitated by then? There are a million what-ifs.”
“If anything happens, you and Nick can come get me. Nick will be covering the outside, so they can’t take me out of the building without him knowing about it, and you’ll be covering the inside.”
“I can’t wire you. We’ll have no idea if you’re in trouble.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t have anything small enough to be undetectable if someone’s looking at you closely. And they will be, considering you’ll be dancing,” He explained. “The best we can do is have you plant what Brody’s sending before you’re on stage, but even that is a long shot. There are too many unknowns in that fucking place for us to have a solid plan.”
“We’ve gotten pretty far without any knowledge of what he was up to, and we’re still safe,” I tried to reassure him. “We came here to get Samson, and that’s what we’re doing.”
“No, we came to get information on Samson.” He stood and put his hands on his hips. “We didn’t come here to put you in a situation that could go really bad really fast. We have no idea what lengths he’ll go to protect his business, whatever the hell it is.”
I sighed. “Ethan…”
He laid his hands flat on the table and leaned down, putting us face-to-face. “I’m not willing to sacrifice you for this fucking guy. There isn’t anything you can say that will change my mind. I know Elite’s plan is to send you in. I hate it, but I can’t change it, and it’s pissing me off.”
I wanted to reassure him somehow, but nothing I said was helping. I couldn’t remember a time in my life when someone felt so strongly about my safety. I was trained to be thrown into the fire, and even when I wasn’t safe, I was told I had to keep going for the sake of the job. But that wasn’t Ethan. He would pull out right now just to keep me safe and have no regrets. I was just about to tell him what that meant to me when there was a knock on the hotel room door. I glanced at Ethan, who looked toward the door, but he just dropped his head, obviously frustrated.
Getting up, I walked to the door, squinted to see through the peephole, and smiled before pulling it open. I was happy to see him and a little relieved. Maybe Nick would have the words Ethan needed to hear.
“You’re late.”
He chuckled and walked into the room. “Red-eye was full, so I was stuck until this morning.”
I closed the door behind him when I heard Ethan’s voice. “Kyle couldn’t make it happen?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I guess there are some things even Kyle can’t do.”
Ethan smirked. “I have a hard time believing that.”
Nick put his bag on the floor before facing us. “Sounds like you two found something.”
I nodded. “We think we have.”
“So does Brody, or I wouldn’t be here,” Nick admitted.
Ethan crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you mean?”
“If he didn’t think something was there, he would’ve brought you home, especially considering it sounds dangerous.”
“It is dangerous,” Ethan commented. “Too dangerous to be in there alone.”
I glanced at Ethan, who watched me closely, but then shifted so I could see Nick. “We’ve been hashing out some ways to get more information tonight and stay safe doing it.”
Nick nodded. “Brody said you made friends with a couple of girls.”
Putting my hands on my hips, I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Except they both ghosted us,” Ethan added.
“What do you mean?” Nick glanced back and forth between us.
“Jenny and Carl invited us the first night, but they never showed. And then last night, I met a girl named Truly. She invited us downstairs, and we never saw her again. She literally just disappeared. Her and her boyfriend,” I explained.
“That says a lot.”
Ethan dropped his arms. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll bet they were scouts. These women got you where Samson wanted you and then disappeared.”
“Leaving us right in his line of sight,” I concluded, the realization hitting me all at once. “Dammit. I didn’t see that before, but you’re right and when we passed a test we were moved on to the next one.”
Nick nodded. “Exactly.”
“How did I miss that?” I frowned.
“Hard to see it when you’re living it,” Nick said, almost as if he was reminding her. “That’s why we have handlers. They help pull us out of the situation emotionally so we can see it more clearly.”
“Does that make you our handler?” Ethan asked.
Nick shrugged. “In a way, I guess it does. Gotta admit, it’s a little weird being on this side of the case.”
Nick was definitely always on the inside, in the thick of all the action, so I believed it had to be hard for him to be sidelined like this. “I can imagine.”
“This girl Truly took you downstairs.” Nick continued. “What was down there?”
“Didn’t Brody fill you in?” I asked.
“He did, but I want to hear it firsthand. Maybe something will stick out to me that didn’t to him.”
“Makes sense,” I agreed. “The downstairs area had a bar, but a curtain divided the room. On the other side of that curtain is a BDSM area and a small stage featuring some strippers.”
“It’s only divided by a curtain?” Nick asked.
“Pretty much,” I explained. “The room behind the curtain is more sectioned off, so you can watch the dancers on one side and watch or participate in the BDSM on the other.”
“Hard-core?”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “Beginner stuff really. It’s more about voyeurism. Some shit’s going on, and people are definitely having sex while they watch, but nothing extreme or illegal even, except the drugs. It actually reminded me of the motorcycle club’s bar where I danced.”
“That place was rowdy but nothing too crazy,” he agreed. “It definitely sounds like a front. They were smart. If the cops raid that place, they’ll see shit they probably don't want to see, but it’s all consenting adults.” He paused before continuing. “Brody said there’s another door, and that’s where you believe some other shit is happening.”
“It definitely is.”
“Guarded?”
“Heavily guarded,” I emphasized. “No one is getting in that room without getting past the guard, and last night, that guard was Samson.”
“You talked to him?”
“We did. I wanted in that room,” I admitted.
Nick grinned. “Doesn’t surprise me. Brody said you got that invite, but shut it down.”
“Ethan shut it down.” I gestured toward him while he silently watched us talk. “And in hindsight, he was right to do that. We needed backup on the outside in case shit went south.”
Nick put his hands on his hips. “How’d you sweet-talk your way into that invitation?”
“Didn’t have to.” I raised my eyebrows. “He knew I danced, said he heard it through the grapevine, which meant someone was definitely feeding him information.”
“Did he know you were with the Black Widows?”
“He didn’t say, but others knew I was involved with them because I shared that my ex.” I grinned at Nick. “You.” He returned my grin. “Had died in a raid, and I left shortly after, not wanting my fate to be the same.”
“Probably assumed not much is off-limits if you were involved with the Black Widows.”
“Exactly.”
Nick shifted to face Ethan. “He question you?”
“Nope,” Ethan admitted. “He pretty much ignored me until I told Mila she wasn’t going into that room without me.”
“What did he do?”
“Nothing,” I interjected. “But he didn’t seem surprised by Ethan’s answer or that I went along with it.”
“He pegged you as the submissive one.” Nick came to the same conclusion I had. “He knows if he can get you in that room, he can manipulate you.”
“I think that’s why he invited us back tonight,” I admitted. “He knows there’s not much I’ll say no to because of where I danced before, but he also knows I can be controlled.”
“The only issue I see for Samson is that you already have a dominant partner.” Nick frowned and focused on Ethan. “You just became an obstacle for him, which means at this moment, you could be in a worse situation, safety-wise, than Mila is.”
“You think this is sex trafficking, don’t you?”
Nick frowned. “Unfortunately, I do. From everything you’re telling me, there isn’t a doubt in my mind he’s selling women to the highest bidder.”
“Which means he needs to get me out of the picture to get her,” Ethan surmised.
“Maybe, but that’s another reason I’m here.” Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “We have some theories about Samson’s intentions for tonight. If he’s running a trafficking ring and he gets the sense that you’re interested, Ethan, he might start by trying to get you on board with what they do, see if you’re willing to be an active participant, maybe even offer you a girl who needs a dominant to train her. If you agree, you’re safe, if you disagree, he’ll resort to plan B.”
“Which is?”
“Elimination,” Nick stated matter-of-factly. “He won’t do it on-site, though, if there are that many people. He’ll find a way to get you out of the building.”
“How do you know this?” Ethan asked.
“Worked an undercover case at the beginning of my career with the FBI. We were in pretty deep when we discovered we were dealing with the sex trade. They were finding the perfect girls, usually submissive, always vulnerable, and selling them to the highest bidder. If they’re not submissive, they have men willing to train them before they’re sold. Our guess is that’s exactly what’s happening behind that door, and if it comes down to choosing between you or the hefty sums of money they’re making, they’ll take you out. I can only assume they have a picture of Mila, probably taken by Jenny at the hotel, showed it around and found a buyer willing to pay a lot of money for her. That got you the invitation to the bar. Once inside, you were likely watched, and whatever the buyer saw in Mila sealed the deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were recorded while you were there. Buyers have deep pockets, but they want to know exactly what they’re getting before they agree to pay the asking price.” He looked back and forth between Mila and me. “If Samson’s willing to give you time to persuade Ethan to let you dance tonight, the buyer is paying top dollar, and he really wants you. Otherwise, Samson would’ve tossed you out and moved on to the next girl. The payout for Samson needs to be worth the risk he’s taking by letting you back in.”
“This is so fucked up.” Ethan ran his hand over his forehead. “So what’s my role, then?”
“Talked with Brody about that. You were against all of this last night, so you need to convince him that you’ve reconsidered. If he lets you back, stay close to Mila if you can, but I doubt that will happen. He’ll likely separate you, and that’s when you’ll have the opportunity to talk about business if he’s willing.”
“If he’s not?” Ethan asked.
“Then he’ll likely find a way to incapacitate you until he can get you out of the building.”
Ethan held up his hands. “I don’t understand why he would want to recruit me if they already have a buyer for Mila? I can’t imagine they need dominants willing to train that badly.”
“They could. Don’t underestimate the scope of this if it’s what I think it is. Sex trafficking networks can be huge, and because of that, they need a lot of people all doing different jobs to make it successful. They need dominants, but if they don’t like you for that, they may like you to be one of the men on the outside to lure women in. You’re young, good looking, and have proven you like to be in control of women and situations. They’re most likely looking for a certain type who will bring in more money, and you may be what they’re looking for.”
“This is a business,” I concluded. “It makes sense that he’ll use us both if we have the potential to make him a lot of money.”
“But if he senses you won’t be willing to play ball, he’ll just get rid of you. At that point, you’ll become an obstacle.”
Ethan put his hands on his hips. “How do I make him believe I’m interested?”
“Do more listening than talking, which shouldn’t be a problem for you.” Nick grinned, and I finally saw Ethan’s shoulders relax some. It wasn’t lost on anyone that Ethan was quiet and liked to observe before participating. “Keep your expression neutral and make him believe you’re open to what he’s saying.” Nick shook his head. “It’s not easy. Especially if he gives you details of the business. He’s looking for certain cues from you. If he doesn’t get them, it’s done.”
“This is so fucked up,” Ethan repeated.
“This is the underground shit Mila and I lived with for a long time. It’ll make you sick to know what people will do for money and power. Everything we’re doing here makes a difference, even if it seems small. You’ll need to remember that so you can stay focused and ignore everything going on around you. With any luck at all, we’ll be able to shut down this operation.”
“Haven’t gotten close enough yet to even breach their network, let alone shut them down,” Ethan stated.
“We’re gonna do whatever it takes to get close tonight or, at the very least, get enough information to hand this over to the FBI.”
“What happens if tonight fails?”
“We regroup,” Nick replied. “But it isn’t going to fail, Ethan. I can’t tell you much, but I can tell you that Jax and Brody have been in contact with the FBI. This is on their radar. Between us, the FBI has never stopped working the Sullivan case. Daniel Sullivan wasn’t running his operation alone, and there are some major players out there that the FBI would love to get.” When Ethan didn’t reply, Nick and I shared a look. “If you don’t want to go in, you don’t have to.”
“I’m going in.” Ethan narrowed his eyes. “We’re getting what we can and then getting out of this fucking place.”
“Okay.” Nick nodded. “Then we need to make a solid plan.”
I glanced at Ethan to see he was watching me. His expression told me everything I needed to know.
He hated this idea.
But he wasn't willing to leave Devil’s Lake without exactly what we came to find.