Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Amirah
Freya hits Kai straight in the gut. He stumbles backward, groaning, and I smile. That’s my best friend.
“What the hell were you thinking?” she snaps at him, folding her arms over her chest.
“You know this wasn’t my idea,” he says, and Freya glares at Bear, clearly putting two and two together.
He simply shrugs, then winks at me. My cheeks heat.
Freya looks between us, frowning, and shakes her head. “You could have not taken her, too, but you did.”
Lucas, Hazen, and my brother come up behind Freya.
Gage looks furious. He pushes past the guys and heads straight over to me, scooping me into his arms. I hug him back.
I’ve missed him and his grumpy butt. He releases me all too quickly.
There’s a softness in his green eyes that I hardly see anymore.
“You good?” he asks, checking over my body, and I nod.
The softness disappears before morphing into anger. He moves back in line with Lucas and Hazen, tugging me along with him. But Bear wraps his arms around my stomach, pulling me back, and Gage curses, releasing me. I fall back next to Bear and Kai.
“I’m going to kill you all for taking her. For lying and deceiving us,” Gage snaps.
Lucas grabs Freya by her waist, bringing her back to his side.
“But you won’t,” Kai says.
Gage scoffs. “You’ve got one minute to plead your deal before all the gloves come off.”
“Or we could play first?” Bear says, bouncing from one foot to the other.
Bear drapes an arm over my shoulder, and Gage watches him closely. His fingers move ever so slightly toward his gun. I shake my head at him. I don’t want this to end in violence.
My heart beats faster. I’m stuck between wanting to run toward my family and staying here with the three men I’ve fallen for. I can’t believe we’ve come to this.
Bear grabs my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. Freya’s gaze is locked on our hands together, and I don’t move. I hold on tighter, like he’s my lifeline.
Freya cocks her head to the side, and I press my lips together.
“Let us have control over the docks, and we’ll give you Amirah back. Unharmed,” Kai says.
“That’s taking away a shit ton of our cash and livelihood.” Hazen points out the obvious.
I release Bear’s hand, take one step forward, and point my finger at my brother’s chest. “Do you know about the girls?”
Gage scrunches up his face. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“There were a bunch of girls in Bill’s Freight containers. Being trafficked against their will,” I snap.
“Amirah, enough with your silly little theories. That’s not what’s happening. Not under my nose.”
I cross my arms over my chest, letting out a loud exhale. Fucking asshole. Is he so na?ve to the fact that shit goes on under his command? That not everyone is bowing down to The Brotherhood?
“You don’t—” I start, but Gage talks over me.
“We’ll talk about this later!”
With a huff, I practically stomp back next to Bear and Kai. I’m furious. I want answers about those women—now.
“Ticktock. Clock is about to buzz,” Bear sings, and I want to slap him. This isn’t the time to be a smartass.
My hands are shaking at my sides. There’s no way that my brother is going to give up the docks for me. It’d be foolish. Stupid.
“We’ll have to discuss the conditions, but you’ve got yourself a deal,” Gage says, and time seems to slow down.
He’s doing it.
He’s giving up their income . . . their control . . . for me.
Women don’t have control in The Brotherhood. But maybe I can have some. Maybe this is the best chance I’ll have to be listened to by the people who make the decisions.
“Gage, if you really want to do this, you need to listen to me,” I plead with him, needing him to hear me. “There are girls being trafficked here, right under your nose. You have an opportunity to save them.”
Gage snorts. “If they even exist.”
“Babe, listen to her,” Freya says quietly, and my brother flicks his glance between the woman he loves and me.
“You have a chance to save these girls now. Right now!” I yell, and on the inside, I’m begging, begging for my brother to hear me, for him to prove to me that my voice—any woman’s voice—won’t always be ignored by people in power, simply because I have a vagina.
Time stretches out endlessly, and for a second, I think he’s going to do it. He’s going to listen. He’ll tell me he’ll check the containers right here and now.
Then he frowns. “We’ll discuss this later,” he snaps, waving me over.
I shake my head, my nails digging into my palms. “How could you?” I ask, my voice breaking.
“We don’t know for certain what’s happening with Bill’s Freight. It’s only your word; we don’t have any concrete evidence. Now, get your ass over here,” Gage says, and I’m done.
Fuck them. Fuck this.
“I’m not coming home!” I yell, and I do the only thing I can think of. I run in the opposite direction. Away from my family, away from my captors.
I’m free.