Chapter 7
HUNTER
My pulse skyrockets.
And I thought my family was bad.
What’s worse than Aiden and Dorothy’s dad and uncle being tied to this somehow is now they have my evil mother involved in whatever misdeeds they’re dealing in. This situation is a ticking time bomb, and Dorothy’s life is tied to said bomb.
I stare hard at Aiden. “You haven’t told us what my mother has on you.”
Aiden’s gaze shoots over Melanie’s shoulder and lands on me. “She says if I don’t accept her offer, she’ll hand Dori over.”
Jamison steps forward. “Hand her over to who?”
“This is all your fault.” Aiden jabs his finger in Jamison’s direction. “Don’t you get it? By dating her, my dad will see how out of control I’ve been this entire time. She’s in danger being with you.”
Jamison flinches. “Why does dating me put her in danger?”
“By going against him, he’ll make his threats a reality.” Aiden stiffens. “He’ll hurt her. He’ll take everything away from me and ruin any chance of happiness you two think you can have. Who knows what he’s capable of? He’s warned me Dori will pay if she ends up with you.”
Jamison bears down on his teeth and glowers at Aiden. “I’m not understanding any of this, Aiden. You’re talking about Hunter’s mom one minute and flip to your dad and uncle the next.
“Get to the fucking point before Dori ends up in the hands of whoever. In case you’ve forgotten, she’s in danger, and we can’t help her until we know everything.”
“Fuck!” Aiden squeezes his hands into fists and takes a moment to think. He shakes his head and faces Melanie. “If I don’t go to work for that bitch, she’ll sell Dori to them.”
“What?” Melanie’s face pales. “Who are these people you’re talking about?”
Aiden’s head falls forward. “The men who use my uncle and my dad’s containers.”
“What containers?” Mel asks with an even breath.
“Any containers they use in their shipments. It can be cargo sometimes, or it can be overseas shipping. It depends on who’s asking.” Aiden raises his head and stares at Mel with a hollow gaze. “It all depends on where they’re sending the goods.”
“Aiden, for the sake of time, can you please tell me what you’re trying to tell me?” Mel takes his hand and squeezes it.
He flicks her hand away. “My dad never told me who they were helping or what they were using the bins for. He just had me direct any inquiries or tips that came into the FBI away from them. I hated doing it, so I looked into it further.”
“What did you find out?” Mel’s visibly shaking now.
“The information I discovered on my own, I found ways to get it to the department so they would investigate.” Aiden’s tone sounds defeated. “The men who are using the company are sex traffickers.”
That’s all it takes. Jamison’s between Melanie and Aiden before anyone sees it coming. He grabs Aiden by the shirt and slams his fist against Aiden’s jaw. Bloody spit flies out of his mouth as his head swings to the side.
Aiden stumbles back, but that doesn’t stop Jamison.
“You fucking put Dori in their hands!” He crashes Aiden to the ground, pounding on him again and again.
Mel gets pushed up against the table. It wobbles and a chair falls over.
Aiden’s taken a brutal beating by the time I reach them. Jamison’s arm goes back for another punch, but I grab it. It’s his injured side, but I don’t think he’s feeling any pain. He’s out of his mind with rage.
“Jamison, stop! If you knock him out, we won’t get anywhere.” I yank him off of Aiden. “Fucking think.”
Jamison staggers to his feet, breathing gusts of hate through his teeth. I can’t say I blame him, but killing Aiden won’t help.
Jamison glares into my eyes. “She’s with sex traffickers, Hunter. Do you think for one second we’ll ever see her again? It doesn’t matter what your fucking mother does. Dori’s exactly what those types of people want. They won’t give her back. Fuck! She’s probably long lost.”
A lump of truth with Jamison’s words lodges in my throat. My body numbs. He’s right. They won’t release Dorothy.
Mel kneels over Aiden and helps him as I try to figure out something that will lead us to Dorothy. This is the worst-case scenario.
My heart races, and I swallow hard. “We’ve got to believe we can find her. And we need Aiden’s help once we do. With your GPS tool, the FBI will be able to organize a rescue attempt.”
Jamison’s face turns purple as he seethes. “Attempt is all we’re guaranteed. That’s if the men she’s with haven’t stripped her of her jewelry. We have nothing if that’s the case. ”
I wince and tense. “I understand, Jamison, but we need to work together. You said it yourself.”
“That was before I knew Aiden was helping those fucks.” Jamison spins toward Aiden. “You’re as bad as them for letting your dad use you.”
Aiden sits up with Mel’s help.
“I’m going to get some ice and a towel.” She runs off to the kitchen.
Aiden wipes the corner of his mouth. Dazed, he glances up at Jamison and me. “It didn’t start out that way.”
“What didn’t?” I ask, breathing unevenly.
Aiden staggers to his feet. “When I was young, my dad told me to watch out for you, Jami. I didn’t care if you and Dori were into each other until he started beating me. He hated the thought of you two dating.”
Jamison glares at Aiden. “I would’ve seen marks on you if that were true.”
“Not if I was hiding them.” Aiden holds on to the edge of the table to steady himself. “My dad said if I let you and Dori get together, he would have my head. He forbade you two from having a relationship.”
Jamison throws his hands in the air. “That makes no sense. You know I never would’ve hurt her. You could’ve told him that.”
“Yeah, but my dad has a screw loose. He said if you two got together, Dori would be the one dealing with him, leaving me with no choice. I didn’t want her to endure his abuse.” Aiden sways as he wipes blood from his mouth.
I interject. “You said he got you involved with your family dealings. How did he do that?”
“He was always threatening me about the hell that would follow if I went against him. They were minor warnings in the beginning. They got worse over time, along with the beatings.” Aiden’s expression fills with anguish.
“I’ve been working to get out of this situation since the day it started. I don’t want this. ”
“Like that matters now. Dori’s in the worst situation possible.” Jamison steps forward, reaching for Aiden again.
I grab him and push him behind me. “Get yourself together, Jamison. We need him.”
Melanie comes back into the room with an ice pack.
She rushes to Aiden and pulls out the chair at the end of the table. “Sit here and put this on your jaw.”
He takes the ice pack and does as she directs. She spins to Jamison with determination etched in her face.
She points her finger at him. “You! Sit on the other end. We are going to talk . No more fighting unless you’re okay with losing Dori.”
Jamison holds her gaze for a moment. Then he stalks to the end of the table while cursing under his breath, and he takes the seat where I was before this meeting went to the shithouse. Melanie pulls the middle chair off the ground and sits.
She gestures to the seat across from her. “Hunter, you can take your place there. We’re the referees of this mess. If either of them moves, you know what to do.”
“Let’s just hope I don’t find a reason to go after one of them,” I say in all honesty as I stride over to my seat. I get situated and take the lead. “Aiden, are you clear enough to tell us everything now?”
He swipes his thumb over his swollen, bloody lip. “Yeah. I understand what’s at stake.”
“It’s about fucking time,” Jamison mutters.
He stares at Melanie like he can’t look at Aiden.
I want to shake my head, but I get why Jamison is out of his mind. Not knowing where Dorothy is and having all this information now is taking its toll.
“Aiden, I think it’s best if you start at the very beginning.” I dip my chin, a sign to begin.
He shrinks in his chair. “When I told my dad I wanted to be a private investigator, it spurred on some crazy idea of his. He told me he would give me more money than I could ever use if I became an FBI agent. He said I could start my PI business with the cash when he retired. I stupidly agreed.”
“How long did it take for him to get you to do his dirty work?” Jamison asks, still gazing at Melanie.
Aiden adjusts the ice on his jaw. “A couple of years. I had been with the agency for a while. I knew the department heads and how everything worked. He had me befriend certain people. Over time, those people became my contacts for any new inquiries about illegal shipments. All I had to do was pay them off to lose the tip. It never sat right with me, so I started digging.”
“And that’s when you uncovered what your dad was up to?” Melanie asks.
“Yes, and then I confronted him. He insisted he knew nothing about what was going on. We got into a big fight, and I quit talking to him for a while. That’s why I called you and asked to watch out for Dori.
I thought he was going to live up to his threats and hurt her. ” Aiden runs his hand over his head.
Jamison’s face contorts in confusion. “But I wasn’t with Dori then, so why would he go after her just because you quit speaking to him?”
“He uses her to keep me in line. He always has, and you know that. You’ve seen it for yourself over the years. Besides, I don’t trust him. Just look at what he did to me when I cut him off for a month.” Aiden shows us the scar on his head.
Shit!
He thinks his dad attacked him, but I know that’s not the case. I’m about to break the news to him, but he continues before I have the chance.
“After my attack, I was worried he’d go after Dori, so I reached out to him. He told me my uncle was the primary contact for the traffickers and threatened my dad, forcing him to follow along or else my uncle would take our family down, starting with Dori.”
Aiden directs the next part to Jamison. “I don’t know how he planned to do that, but I wasn’t about to get her wrapped up in the mess, so I went along.”