Chapter 22 #2
“Let's shift gears to what happened today on set. That explosion was not caused by me or my guys. It was detonated by the men your dad made a new deal with. Men who wanted much greater compensation than what their cut of the movie deal would bring.
“The intention behind the blast was to put you in limbo, if you will. They knew you’d be stuck in Dallas for days on end, possibly unprotected and vulnerable, which aided their plan to abduct you.”
“To what?” Nash growled.
“Abduct?” Ellie’s came out in more of a squeak. Nausea rumbled through her.
“Then what?” Nash came again.
Wolf took a sip of his whiskey, smoothed a hand over the tablecloth once more, and cleared his throat.
"Prepare to be sick for this part,” he said lowly, “but they then plan to deliver you to the highest bidders. Turns out there’s been a bidding war on the dark web since your father had you sign that new contract.
“What they’re bidding on is a night with you.”
Nash slid his chair back and shot to a stand.
Wolf mirrored the action just as quickly, extending a hand across the table. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he smoothed a hand down his suitcoat and glanced toward the bar.
All four men were on their feet as well, eyes set on the table and ready to draw.
"I wouldn't want my guests to misread your body language right now,” Wolf cautioned. “We don't want bullets flying, do we?"
Nash clenched his eyes shut, jaw angry and tight and he pressed his fingertips to his forehead. "No, we do not."
“Good. Now, I appreciate your outrage, and more than that, I share it. But let's sit back down, and you can hear about my efforts to see that this little plan never goes into action."
Nash took a seat and began rubbing his hands together under the table. Ellie felt the uproar of emotions emanating from his rigid build. From the corner of her eye, she saw the men at the bar taking their seats, too.
Wolf reassumed his seat last, then rolled his shoulders back, took another sip of his whiskey, and set the glass back on the table.
“It’s going to get a whole lot worse, so buckle up.”
Nash groaned. Another knot rolled through Ellie’s stomach.
Wolf leaned slightly over the table. “They’ve accepted five bids from across the globe, each for time slots of eight hours.
The dates and times are set, meaning your would-be captors have chosen the location, which will be someplace outside of the U.S.
They’ll share that location with each bidder, designating their time slot based on the bid.
They expect to have you in their possession and drugged up enough for your first shift in less than a week. ”
The words first shift cycled through Ellie’s mind like a pair of foreign words. It didn’t make sense. But Nash seemed to catch on.
“You’re saying he cut a deal with sex traffickers?” he hissed.
Wolf shot him a look. “Unwittingly, but yes, that’s exactly what they are.
On the surface, these guys look like they run a business like mine.
And even if it was like mine, your old man never would have survived doing business with them.
I'm the reason your father’s still alive.
” He shook his head. “I feared that when I pulled back from the contract, he’d do something like this, but Johnny came crying to me, saying you wanted your freedom, and I allotted that to you and him both.
“Now that I look back on it, he was probably already in trouble with someone else. More than likely, they scouted him out. They might have known who he was and intentionally swindled him until he was way over his head, with this plan in mind all along.
"In essence, you are not safe, and you need to go into hiding. A few of my men are attempting to expose this ring without incriminating themselves, as we work outside the law in our own right. Not easy, but we want to get these scumbags off the streets.
“For now, I’d advise you not to take your private jet or use any credit cards your dad or your manager have access to.
They’re retaining your father and therefore have access to everything he does, including common contacts.
Be careful about who you talk to or trust. Did you tell Geneva you’d be at the Magnolia? ” he asked.
She nodded and reached for another swig of her drink, wishing it’d be enough to wake her up from this nightmare.
“Good. That’s on the other side of town. I don’t think they plan to strike just yet, but they may have someone watching the place. If you never show, they could get antsy.”
He looked at each of them in turn. “Now, in the interest of time, ask whatever questions you deem necessary, but let's make this quick. I'm sticking my neck out on this one, and if they manage to chop off my head, my efforts to save you and expose this ring will be in vain."
Ellie looked over at Nash who brought his hands above the table, rubbing them together once again. "What if instead of flying, we take a road trip? There’s a safe place I know of."
Wolf turned thoughtful for a minute, tipping his head one way and then the next.
"That could work. But they’re likely planning to leak details about you and your family.
If I had to guess why they wanted you two to go public, under the guise of helping your reputation, I’d say they hoped to frame Nash for your disappearance. ”
That detail rumbled through Ellie like a bomb.
“It makes sense,” Wolf continued. “They couldn’t exactly release you after bidding you out like that.”
Nash shifted in his seat.
“I doubt Geneva’s in on this, but we have to treat her like she is. For now, see if you can get her to hold off on releasing any details about Nash. Then, steer clear of any family-owned properties and have your family do the same until the dust settles."
Nash moved like he was about to stand; no doubt he was anxious to tell his brothers what they were facing, but Ellie still hadn’t gotten all the answers she wanted.
"What about my dad?” she blurted. “I have a lot of questions about him. Why did they take him? Where do you think they're keeping him? And how can we get him out?"
Wolf’s lips became a hard line. "They’re holding Johnny to prevent his interference. Where they’re keeping him is anyone's guess, but they won’t kill the guy unless they have to; the last thing they want is to draw attention to themselves before your abduction and become suspect.
“Our best bet for getting your father out is taking down the entire ring. Let’s just hope our moles lead the right people to the right place.
“Once they take the ring down, your dad will be free. The good news is,” he added, conviction tightening his expression, "you'll finally be free, too.”