VALENTINA #2
We spill our blood, sweat, tears, and sanity, keeping this insane balance that keeps the world turning. Then these assholes think they can sneak it, cause trouble, and let someone else take the fall? Worse than that, they dare think they can use children as some kind of fucking currency?
We’ve worked hard to stamp out the skin game in New York, and I’m not foolish enough to believe it’s gone for good, but that doesn’t mean I’ll turn a blind eye.
The lounge is empty and through the glass bay doors, a glittering pool shimmers under the midday sun. Music blasts from several black speakers near the bar, and a couple of guards linger near the perimeter of the pool overlooking the city.
My target rests on a sun lounger with his protruding belly turning brown under the sun. Smoke rises from the thick cigar caught between his fat fingers and his balding head gleams like a mirror with sweat.
I twirl my knife and pad closer with Ruslan behind me. He swaps his knife for his silenced weapon and takes aim as I drop down and move behind the sun lounger holding the last man in this city intent on kidnapping children and shipping them overseas to be child soldiers.
We act at the same time. I sweep around the sun lounger and land in the man’s lap, silencing his cry of alarm by pressing my blade to his fat throat while Ruslan fires three perfect shots and kills each of the guards.
“What the?!” He croaks hoarsely and his cigar drops from his fingers. “Who the fuck are you?”
“You don’t know me,” I say shortly, and I accept Ruslan’s phone when he offers it to me. “I’m looking for her.”
Tabitha flashes up on the screen and a flicker of recognition passes through the man’s eyes. I adjust my knife just enough that a trickle of blood begins rolling down his neck.
“Where is she?”
“I have no fucking clue— Guards! Guards!”
“He’s thick as shit.” Ruslan snorts as he takes his phone back. “I’ll call the others.”
“Where. Is. She.” I press the knife deeper with each word, but this fucking asshole doesn’t even flinch.
“You have no idea who I am, do you?” he croaks. “You have no idea who you are messing with.”
“Did you sell her?” I stare into his eyes, unblinking as I study the micro-changes across his expression. “Are you still using her? She’s good, isn’t she? One of your generals caved and told us that you use her for bait. Did you get rid of her when things were drying up?”
The hints across his expression are tiny, but I get my answer. He hasn’t sold her, nor has he gotten rid of her. Despite that, he isn’t going to tell me where she is, either.
“You kidnapped the wrong woman,” I snarl. “I would gladly spend weeks taking you apart, peeling the flesh from your bones for everything you’ve put these kids through, but you’ve taken enough from me, you understand?”
“I don’t even—”
His words die in a gurgle and splutter as I drag my knife swiftly across his throat. Blood splatters the tiles next to the lounger and I clutch his shoulder, forcing him to stay down as he gurgles and drowns on all the blood bubbling in his throat.
“Hey, Val?” Ruslan’s cautious voice takes my attention and I glance up, then follow his line of sight to the bay doors leading back inside.
A small boy stands there in a dirty T-shirt and cargo shorts, his hair all messed in different directions. He stares at me with wide brown eyes until Ruslan quickly steps in the way to block his line of sight to the sun lounger.
I step away from the body as that bastard takes his last, wet breath. “There are children here,” I murmur as I approach Ruslan. The boy’s face crumples and his lower lip wobbles, then Ruslan darts toward him.
“Hey kiddo. Hey, it’s alright. It’s alright. We’re the cops, see?” Ruslan pulls out his little black card and flashes it at the child. “My name is Ruslan, what’s yours?”
The child’s wide eyes flood with tears as he stares up at Ruslan. “I-I want to g-go home.” His voice shakes and trembles, and my heart shatters into a thousand pieces.
“We can take you home,” Ruslan replies with a gentleness I’ve never heard from him before. “You’ll have to tell me your name, though.”
“C-Cameron.”
“Nice to meet you, Cameron. How old are you?” Ruslan holds up five fingers. “Are you this many?”
“No.” Cameron weeps. “I’m six.”
“Six!” Ruslan smiles. “That’s huge. Do you know your last name?”
He shakes his head and flinches as I approach, so I keep my distance and move around the two.
While Ruslan calms Cameron and calls for help, I wander back into the penthouse.
One kid here likely means there are others.
I signal to Ruslan that I’m going to look around and he gives me the OK, so I move deeper into the penthouse.
Any remaining guards are swiftly dealt with as I move through the last of the rooms, searching for any sign of any other children. One locked door gives way under several kicks, and I find five more children all huddled together in the corner who are far too scared to say anything to me.
It breaks my heart.
All these children, but not the one I’m looking for.
Maybe I shouldn’t have killed that bastard. He likely knew more, but I couldn’t stomach the idea of spending days torturing him only to hear the words I feared the most from his smug fucking face.
Back in the hallway, Bradley suddenly appears at the main door with Cassian and countless members of our team, so I direct them to Ruslan and to the room full of children.
As a sea of our people move in to take care of everything, I wander into the last bedroom and gaze around at how pristine everything is.
No one has slept in here. There aren’t even clothes in the closet.
I turn to leave, then something clunks behind me and I freeze.
“Hello?” I turn, but there’s no one there. “Is someone there?”
Silence. Did I imagine it? Nothing looks out of place or disturbed.
Maybe the sound came from another room? I’m turning back to the door when the slightest movement catches my eye.
One of the doors on the bedroom cabinets near the window shifts as if it’s trying to swing open and something is preventing it.
My heart begins to race and I tighten my grip on my knife, though I keep the blade out of sight as I approach the cabinet and very slowly lower to my haunches.
“Hello?” I say again. The cabinet is too small for a guard, but it could be an animal and the last thing I want is to get mauled. Reaching for the handle, something clunks inside once more so I grab it and drag it open while tightening my hand on the knife.
No animal.
No threat.
Just a girl.
“Tabitha?” My heart lurches the moment we make eye contact, and I recognize her immediately.
Her wide eyes gaze up at me in terror, glazed over as if she isn’t even aware of what she’s seeing.
“Tabitha?” I repeat softly, and my voice trembles. “It’s me. It’s Valentina. Do you… remember me, sweetheart?”
She blinks slowly, clutching that poor threadbare rabbit to her chest. On her next blink, her eyes seem to clear and they stretch wider still as recognition floods her face.
“Val?” she croaks. “You’re okay?”
“So are you,” I gasp. “I found you. Oh, my God— you’re okay, sweetheart. You’re okay. It’s safe. You can come out.”
She doesn’t even hesitate. Tabitha launches herself out of her hiding place and into my arms with such force that I’m knocked off my haunches and onto my ass, but it doesn’t matter. My arms embrace her tightly and I squeeze as hard as I dare.
“Oh, honey, I can’t believe it! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“I hid,” Tabitha croaks as she bursts into tears. “I hid when I heard the bangs. I hid.”
“You did good. You did so good!” Her tiny hands clutch at my dress and her tears soak into my bare shoulder as I get my feet underneath myself and stand. “You’re safe now. I swear. You’re safe now.”
“Y-You promise?” Tabitha weeps.
The shake in her voice takes me right back to the cell they kept me in, where she stayed by my side and I promised her I would save us both. Had she been with me the night I escaped, I would have taken her, but I couldn’t find her when I ran and feared the worst.
But she’s here.
She’s safe.
I actually found her.
“I promise,” I whisper, carrying her out of the room. Holding her isn’t enough to completely soothe the knot of guilt under my ribs, but it’s a start.
“Let’s get you home.”