Chapter 12Ari
Chapter Twelve
ARI
Four hours ago, Remy, Franklin’s second, had notified Thea that Franklin had given him the slip. The last thing he heard was that he was heading to his club, Nocturnal. I wasn’t surprised. He knew we were coming for him and now that we had evidence that he was connected to sex trafficking and Gianna’s death, his perfect life was about to fall apart.
Lucas had tucked Claire inside his condo with a guard. From what Remy said, he was more interested in Lucas than his daughter. I wasn’t sure I trusted either Franklin or Remy, but Thea was convinced we could trust Remy.
Once Dimitris said there was movement at the club, we’d devised a plan and each taken a side of the building. Dimitris would move from behind the club, Lucas would go in the front, and Thea and Lex would move in from the side.
At first, we thought Franklin was having a party with the number of cars present, but we’d brought along equipment that allowed us to see the heat signatures in the building. None of them were behaving like it was a party. A dozen or so had been in the basement, but on the first floor, there were groups of people not moving. Just standing in a room together.
Lucas had sucked in a sharp breath and said they were acting like prisoners. It had instantly clicked. Our brother, Dimitris had rescued some girls that were shipped into Chicago in containers. There’d been fewer than he’d expected. I’d bet Lucas that the group huddled together in the room were from those missing containers.
That’s when Lucas put it together that it was an ambush. As soon as he said it, I kicked myself for not figuring it out first. Instead of all of us going in, Lucas had made the call to approach the nightclub by himself. Of course, I’d wanted to go, but he’d ordered me to stay in the limo.
It was probably a good thing. The little girl who greeted him at the front door was now sitting across from me with a blanket draped over her. Thea would have been better suited for this, and had I known I’d have a distraught girl in the limo, I would have had my sister stick with me.
“She said I was pretty.” She sniffed.
That was the first thing she’d said since she’d gotten into the vehicle. I resisted the urge to ask her questions and waited. She was already traumatized. I didn’t want to add to it.
She rubbed her red nose with her hand. “I wanted to have my picture taken. I wanted to feel pretty.” Her head lifted and red-rimmed eyes met mine. “I told my mom I was going to hang out with friends. We were going to see a movie. She dropped me off and I waited like they told me. A van pulled up, and it all happened so fast. I woke up and didn’t know where I was.”
If I could, I’d find Marco and make his last days on earth nothing but misery. “Where are you from, Cindy?” That was her name according to the nametag she wore.
“My name is Samantha Braden, and I’m from Charlotte, North Carolina.” Cindy, to go with the Cinderella costume. Sick.
“How long have you been here?”
She shrugged. “They drugged me. I don’t even know what day it is. They’d bring me here for parties. Well, not only me but other girls too. They make us take these pills at night when I come here. They make me feel weird.” A sob caught in her throat. “I woke up this morning and I was…naked... This man…”
I couldn’t listen to it anymore. “Samantha, I’m going to take you to the police station. You’re going to tell them exactly what you told me, and they will make sure your mom is notified.”
“No!”
What? “No?”
“A bunch of us were taken to a party last night. Several of them had uniforms on.” She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. “I remember one of them being called Chief Edwards. I pretended I was knocked out, but my friend didn’t. They took her away and I haven’t seen her again.”
I was at that tipping point. The moment the flame in a fire gets so hot it flickers blue. They were the same type of men who’d touched Gianna. I thought I’d taken care of them, but I’d clearly let a few rats escape.
“Do you think you could point one of them out to me?”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “They said they’d kill my mom if I told.”
“No, Samantha, they won’t.”
“But…”
“They were lying. But I have friends who live in North Carolina. I’ll make a call. I won’t let anything happen to you or your mom. I promise. Help me make sure they won’t hurt anyone else.”
I pulled up some photos from a few news articles and showed her the screen. I’d flipped through about six when she started weeping.
“That’s him.” Her lips trembled again. “I’ve seen that man too at other parties.”
The man with her the night before was Chief Edwards, and the scum standing next to him was the mayor. “Thank you, Samantha.”
Right as I finished my conversation with the little girl, Lucas flung the car door open and got inside. “Franklin’s at my condo. We have to go now.”
Ares gave me a look through the rearview mirror and peeled out .
Lucas touched the screen of his phone, put it to his ear, and caught himself before he let a four-letter word fly. He flicked his gaze to me, swallowed the worry, and asked Samantha, “Are you okay?”
Giving no answer, she began crying again. His gaze caught mine and he worked his jaw.
I suspected, like me, he was thinking of Gianna. Had she died this frightened? We knew there’d been trauma, but to think our baby sister went through this was more than I could process. I took a breath, pushing the thoughts down for the moment.
“This is Samantha. She shared some interesting information with me. Once we’ve got Franklin, I have business I’ll need to take care of.” Similar to three years ago, I had friends within the police department who would look the other way or make sure any evidence would disappear. Their tolerance for this filth was as low as mine.
“Ari…”
I cut a glance at Samantha. “We’re going to make sure she’s taken care of, aren’t we?”
Lucas looked at her. “Yeah, we are.”
“My mom probably hates me.” Her bottom lip trembled. “That man said she would. We’d been fighting so much. I’d lied to her. My dad left and I was mad. I told her it was her fault.”
“No,” Lucas and I said at the same time.
I continued, “Sweetheart, your mom loves you. I can promise you that.”
I dug in my wallet and pulled out my card. “When you get home, if you don’t have the money to see a counselor, tell them to call this number. You and your mom will need to see one. Okay?”
She nodded.
“As soon as we can, we’re going to take you to my aunt’s house until we can get a hold of your mom. My aunt has helped a lot of girls like you. After that, we’re going to get you reunited with your mom. All right?”
“Okay.”
“Lucas, I’ll need you to take care of Anna. After I’ve taken care of Samantha, I’ll send a recording.”
He opened his mouth to speak.
“You can’t talk me out of this. No one can.”
In the span of a few seconds, we had a full-on unspoken conversation. Gianna was getting her second round of vengeance.
Lucas looked at me like he was debating what to say next. “Start at Franklin’s house. Claire said there was a secret drawer in his desk. I seriously doubt Franklin wouldn’t have insurance.”
“Thanks.”
I’d be adding to my body count and the city would need to elect a new mayor and police chief. Depending on the information I could get at Franklin’s or extract from one of them, there was a good chance there’d be a significant turnover with the city’s finest too.