Chapter 8
KNOX
Five missing persons complaints were reported to the Bronx precinct this morning.
Three days since my altercation with the “vigilantes.”
Three days since the little criminal flipped me off forty-seven times.
Three days, four hours, and twenty-three minutes since my obsession with the little criminal began.
I scrolled through the complaint registered in the server for the five men. All of them were under thirty years of age. They were all a part of the local gang, involved in distributing drugs in their locality, with two of them having a prior record of being arrested.
So what the hell did the five men do to warrant an execution? One of them attempted to kill me, and I approved that fucker’s execution. My little criminal had my gratitude for it. Which was probably why my mind refused to update the Bronx precinct with my side of the story.
But what did the rest of them do? It had to be something related to abusing women, since that seemed to be the vigilantes’ MO. If they did abuse a woman, who was she? Did she complain to the vigilantes about it? Did she even try to file a complaint with the cops?
The women had kidnapped all five men. Even the dead man. Did they keep the rest of them alive for long? Did they torture them? Kill them? Hand them over to the victim? I knew they never released them, which goes to reason that those men might be all dead at this point.
A knock on my office door snapped me out of my thoughts. “Come in.”
Brandon walked into my office and closed the door behind him. “Sir, you called?”
I waved at the chair across from me, and he took a seat. If there was one person I tolerated—kinda liked—more than others, that was Brandon. “Any update on Jones?”
He shook his head. “No, sir. No updates on his wife and kid either.”
While I could trust him with any confidential information, for some insane reason, some part deep inside me refused to share anything about my altercation with the vigilantes with him. “I need you to do something for me. And this stays between us.”
He straightened in his seat, excitement and alertness shining in his eyes. “Of course, sir.”
“I need you to compile and keep track of all the open complaints made by women for any sort of abuse in the last six months. Make a list of priorities based on the most extreme and violent abuse to the least. I want the names of every criminal walking free right now in the city of New York. If there is a new complaint, I need you to add it to the list.”
“Are you tracking the vigilante, sir? Are you any closer?”
Oh, I was so fucking close. “I’m not sure yet. I want to try to figure out the motive. Maybe figure out who the next targets could be. Check whether the next target is on our list. You understand?”
“Yes, sir. Consider it done.”
“Thank you, Brandon. I have a meeting with the captain now. We’ll have the team briefing once I’m done.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, he left my office while I grabbed my notebook and headed to the captain’s office.
I gave a light rap on the door of his cabin and opened it. “Sir, are you ready for the meeting?”
“I never am, Lieutenant Steele.” He sighed but waved me over to sit across from him.
Captain Stephen Harrison was an imposing Black man in his late fifties, the grays in his hair more prominent than the black.
The man had been responsible for the capture of some of the most notorious criminals, and there wasn’t an unrighteous bone in his body.
He was one of the main reasons I’d never applied for a transfer ever since I’d joined this precinct.
“Everything okay, Captain?” I asked, despite being fairly certain what the meeting was about.
The captain grabbed a file from his right and opened it. “The Russian operations, Knox.”
And there it was. I met the captain’s eyes. “You want us to uncover all their sex trafficking operations and hideouts and shut them all down.”
The captain nodded. “Precisely.”
“Any budget limitations?”
“Consider this our top priority. You’ve got all the resources at your disposal. I want our streets to be safe for the young women and men of our city.”
My body tightened in anticipation. “What about casualties? Do you need the culprits dead or alive?”
“Preferably alive.”
“I’ll get to work, Captain.”
A gleeful smile threatened to slip on my lips, but I held it back by the sheer force of my will. This was what I needed. To let off a little steam. To hunt a few scum. Feel the warm blood on my skin and revel in the scent of adrenaline and copper.
With a respectful nod, I got up and walked out of the captain’s office and directly into the conference room for the team briefing. My entire team of nine officers was already seated facing the large whiteboard.
Before Clark could get started on the case updates, I stood in front of everyone. “Good afternoon, Officers. We’ve got the go-ahead on finding out all the Russian hideouts involved in sex trafficking in New York City. The captain wants all the hideouts shut down.”
I got a few rounds of excited cheers. We were all just a bunch of sick, thirsty fucks fueled by violence and adrenaline. Or maybe that was just me.
I turned to Clark. “I need you to start tracking kidnapping activities in the city. Map out zones of the most kidnappings of young men and women in the last five years, last year, and in the last six months. Let’s get each officer on recon duty for each zone.
I want every suspicious activity noted and mapped out.
If we find a man of interest, we bring him in for questioning.
You and Brandon will be leading this case with me. ”
I looked at the rest of the officers. “You will all be joining in for the recon missions. But for any other case that comes up, you will take the lead on that. We clear?”
A chorus of “Yes, sir” echoed in the room.
With that, I stepped aside for Clark to start leading the meeting.
We reviewed updates for every open case, brainstormed evidence as needed, and noted what each officer will be doing for the rest of the week.
My team ran like a well-oiled machine except for the abusive fucker Jones, who got himself killed.
Because no way did those vigilante women leave him alive after what he did to his wife.
How did I miss the signs of him being abusive? I looked around my team, six men and three women. Were any of my other men abusive? Did they go home and beat up their wives and girlfriends? Were they psychopaths like me? Did they, too, hide themselves as well as I did, if not better?
I would have to have one-on-one meetings with the ladies on my team. While I was certain none of my other officers were abusive or dirty, I needed to get a clear, honest picture from the women on my team. I made a note in my calendar to email them to schedule meetings.
Once the briefing concluded, I walked out of the building and opened the contacts on my phone, stopping at the one man who knew me yet tolerated me.
I hit the call button.
While the phone rang, my thoughts drifted to my only priority. My little criminal. The woman with the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. Glittery hazel with fiery hate shining through them. Just the thought of them had me going half-mast.
The ringing stopped, and his voice reached my ears. “Knox. Everything alright?”
It was extremely rare for me to call him. Usually, he was checking in on me. At least every three days. “I need a little help.”
A loud coughing noise came from his side. “You need my help?”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “That’s what I said, brother. First, I need your discretion. Second, I need your technology skills.”
Hugh Steele was the normal child of the family. “Are we doing something illegal?”
He was still my older brother and always had my back. A smile stretched across my lips. “Super illegal. But don’t worry. We’re not after anybody innocent.”
“Uh, I guess that’s slightly good. What do you need?”
“Cameras in and around the brand-new 135 Park Residence building. I need to constantly track a few people and vehicles. I’ll send you a list with descriptions.
I don’t have their faces or names. I’m working on it.
I need to know every time they get in and out of the building.
I’m going to need access inside the building.
Stat. I should be able to enter any fucking unit. I need you to get working on it.”
“I certainly wouldn’t call it a little help. Tell me fucking everything, and I mean everything, before I get started.” His voice had that worried tone that brought back our childhood.
I sighed, already exhausted. “Must we do this?”
Hugh’s tone was sharp, not an ounce of fear in the way he spoke to me. “It’s not up for debate. Don’t make me bring Mom into this.”
“Fucking asshole.”
“Time’s ticking, baby brother. Start talking.”
Fuck me. I looked up at the bright afternoon sky, the endless movement of people walking along the sidewalk, the fucking normalcy around me that made me feel like a psychotic alien. “There’s this vigilante girl I’m looking for.”
“Oh, dear.”
“Yep.”
“Come to my place as soon as you’re done with work. I need a drink already.”
“Fuck you. See you at six.”