26. Marco
Chapter Twenty-Six
MARCO
It’s almost midnight, and the air outside has that stillness which only comes with the calm before the storm.
Andre and I sit across from each other at the kitchen table with a map spread out in front of us, surrounded by empty coffee mugs and scrap pieces of paper covered in our scribbled notes. We’ve gone over the plan a dozen times, but we do it again because we can’t afford this going sideways.
Tonight is the night I repay my debt to Cillian, only it won’t be in the way he expects.
Andre taps a spot on the map with his pen. “You pick up the women here, making sure to stick to the main route long enough to make Cillian believe you’re following his orders. But then you’ll detour down Route 9 where Clara and I will meet you at the halfway point.”
“Which is where you and Clara will transfer the women into the second van.”
Stating the plan out loud over and over again helps. We need to make sure we all know our parts perfectly, and that no misunderstandings will ruin the operation.
Andre nods. “Then you continue to the address Cillian gave you. Bruno, Carlos, and the rest of our guys will be waiting nearby.”
I nod, though I can’t ignore the way my blood turns cold at the thought of bringing Clara along.
I lean back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my jaw as I look at the map, feeling sick to my stomach.
“Are you sure about wanting to have Clara there?” Andre must be reading my thoughts.
“It doesn’t matter what I want. I made her a promise, and I won’t go back on my word.”
“Marco, if Cillian catches wind of our plan?—”
“Don’t you think I know? If Cillian is one step ahead of us, then it’s all over.”
The words taste like poison in my mouth, but it’s too late. If I tell Clara she has to stay behind, I have a feeling she’ll only find another way to help. At least this way, I can be sure of her whereabouts and that she’s all right with my brother protecting her.
“You’ll keep her safe?” I ask him for what feels like the hundredth time.
“With my life.”
I nod, my jaw aching from clenching it so hard.
Andre gets to his feet and comes around the table to clap me on the shoulder. “We’ve got this.”
I want to believe him. Hell, I need to believe him. But there’s so much that can go wrong, and I’ve never had more to lose than I do right now.
Before we head out, I stop by Zoe’s room to say goodbye to my little girl.
I’m glad that she’s still so young that she won’t remember any of this, but that thought does little to ease the guilt in my chest.
One wrong move tonight, and she could end up losing both her parents.
I find her already asleep in her crib, her cheeks flushed, and her little fist curled around the corner of her blanket. She’s so perfect and innocent—the exact opposite of the world I’ve brought her into.
I bend over the crib and press a kiss to her forehead.
“I love you, baby girl.” My heart cracks open in my chest.
Please don’t let this be the last time I see my daughter.
When I turn to leave the room, I find Lila hovering in the doorway, her eyes red and swollen. I have no doubt she offered to come too when she heard Clara would be joining our mission tonight, but my brother is not as soft as I am.
“Be careful.” There is a silent plea in her eyes.
“I’ll make sure he comes back to you,” I promise her, but Lila shakes her head.
“Promise me you’ll all come back to me.” Her voice thickens with tears.
I cross over to her and pull her into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to her hair. “I’ll do my best.” A promise like that is nothing but empty words when it comes to my world.
When I look up, Clara is hovering at the top of the stairs.
She’s dressed in a pair of leggings and one of the few t-shirts I own. She must have dug it out of my closet.
My eyes rake over her body, landing on her still flat belly. Knowing that a piece of me is growing inside her almost brings me to my knees.
How the hell did I get so lucky?
“Clara.” I reach out for her, needing desperately to press her body against mine.
“I’ll miss you.” She wraps her arms around me.
I bury my face in her hair, inhaling the sweet fruity scent of her shampoo. “I’ll see you soon.”
She nods. “You better,” she says softly. “Just…be careful, okay? Please .”
I pull back to take her face in my hands and kiss her slowly, letting my tongue trace the curve of her lips. “This will be over soon. I swear.”
Before we have a chance to say unnecessary goodbyes, I force myself to let her go so that I don’t do something stupid like cancel this entire operation.
The van Cillian arranged for me is parked exactly where he said it would be.
It’s nothing particularly fancy, just a plain black van with tinted windows. It’s exactly the kind of vehicle that won’t draw much attention, which is good, considering the job I’m about to do.
I climb inside and check the back for any surprises Cillian might have left for me, before getting on the road and heading to my pick-up point.
I hate this. Every damn part of it. But I need to play my role at least for a little while longer.
The roads are completely empty as I drive, my headlights the only source of light.
My mind races as I think of Clara, the baby she carries, Zoe, the women I’m about to meet…
How the fuck did I allow myself to get caught up in this?
I just have to remember that this deal is allowing me the chance to take down Cillian and save a fuck ton of woman who would otherwise be trapped in a life of sex-slavery until they’re no longer of use.
I suppose that’s the one good thing to come out of all of this mess.
The pick-up spot is a remote location about ten miles out of town, in a gravel lot surrounded by thick trees. It’s likely no one would stumble across it unless they knew exactly where to look.
I park the van and get out, my body too pumped full of adrenaline to sit still. I pace back and forth, the cold night air biting at my skin, but I don’t care. If anything, it’s helping to keep my mind sharp.
Not long after I arrive, headlights come through the trees, and I freeze.
This is it.
An almost identical black van rolls up beside mine, and two men climb out of the back. One is holding a phone to his ear, muttering in Spanish, and the other is completely silent. He just circles around to the back of the van and opens up the door.
One by one, ten women climb out of the van, looking absolutely terrified. All of them look younger than Rosa, their faces drained of color, and their eyes trained on the ground as they’re marched over to my van like cattle.
Except for the last one.
She stops dead in her tracks as she looks into the back of my van.
I can see it in her dark eyes that she knows exactly what will happen to her if she gets inside.
But her hesitation has already cost her.
Before she can even consider running, not that she would get far before one of Cillian’s men put a bullet in her back, the second man steps up to her and murmurs something in her ear.
I can’t understand what he’s saying, but the look on her face is enough of a translation.
I can’t even consider intervening. So instead, I stand deadly still, my face a mask of indifference as he grabs her face and kisses her, hard and rough.
She cries out as she bangs her fists against his chest, but he only throws her to the ground like a piece of trash.
My throat burns as his laugh cuts through the night air like a knife.
Every instinct I have is screaming at me to kill these two fuckers, but I can’t. It would cost me too much, and right now I am the only thing standing in the way of these women and their freedom.
I watch in silent horror as the poor girl scrambles to her feet and climbs into the van as tears stream down her face.
I thought I had prepared myself for this moment on the drive over here, but watching as the van doors are shut behind the girl, my stomach threatens to empty itself all over the ground.
All I see in my mind is Rosa’s face. All of those girls looked younger than seventeen, but Cillian has already stripped them of their innocence. Even if I manage to free them, they will carry the trauma of this night for the rest of their lives.
My nails sink into my palms so deep I draw blood. But the pain is giving me something else to focus on besides how much I want to fucking kill those bastards as I get back behind the wheel of the van and drive off to the next location.
Now it’s time for the hard part.
I’m not sure whether the back of the van is soundproof or whether the girls are simply too traumatized to speak, but the silence is really starting to unnerve me.
It’s only a twenty-minute drive to the meeting point, but it feels so much longer.
At every corner, I’m looking in my mirrors to see if anyone is following me, or scanning the dense forest on either side of the road to see if I can spot a flashlight.
From the looks of it, I seem to be in the clear. Though from the way my heart is pounding in my chest, it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it.
When I spot Andre’s black SUV parked on the side of a quiet forest road with its headlights off, I finally exhale.
Clara stands next to the car with her arms crossed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
The sight of my girl eases the ache in my chest, but only slightly.
I’m still not happy that she’s here, but Clara is too stubborn for her own good.
I know once this is all over, my brother is going to rip into me for being so soft, but I can’t help it. Both Clara and Zoe have me wrapped around their little fingers.
Clara looks up the moment I pull in behind the SUV, and her entire body relaxes as I open up the door and step out.
“Marco.” She comes rushing toward me. “Are they okay?”
“They’re alive.” I cup her face, pressing a quick kiss to her temple, needing to be close to her for a moment. “They’re shaken and scared.”
“But unharmed?” There’s hope in her eyes.
I consider lying, but then I remember that I made her a promise to always be honest.
Besides, Clara wouldn’t have offered to come if she thought she couldn’t handle this. My girl is stronger than I give her credit for.
“One of the girls hesitated, and one of Cillian’s men… He hurt her just before she got in.”
Clara’s expression hardens. “Bastard.”
Just then Andre climbs out of the driver's seat and stalks over to us, his expression grave.
“Shall we?” He tilts his head toward the van, and I nod.
“Come on.” I wrap an arm around Clara’s waist. “Remember what you promised me?”
She nods, but there is such determination in her eyes that I know she won’t walk away from these girls. She’s going to stay by their side until Cillian is taken care of.
Andre opens up the back of the van, and Clara climbs inside slowly with her hands raised in a gesture of peace. Even though she speaks softly, the women still flinch at her presence.
None of them speak a word of English, but the more Clara speaks, the more they can hear in her tone that she isn’t a threat.
Andre and I stand off to the side, both of our stances relaxed, and our hands clasped in front of us so they can see we have no weapons.
As Clara talks, the women peer out at us, and I offer them all an easy smile.
I know how my brother and I might look to them, but I think Clara’s relaxed demeanor is helping to show them that we’re on their side.
She talks for another few minutes, and already it’s clear that her presence seems to be calming them down.
Eventually, she climbs back out of the van, and the women follow, their eyes still trained on the ground. But their tears are starting to dry up, and the one girl who hesitated is the only one to look Andre and me in the eye.
I dip my chin at her in a silent promise, and she does the same.
Clara settles the girls in Andre’s SUV, and by the time the last one is buckled in, my chest is fit to bursting with pride and gratitude at what she’s done for these women.
I pull Clara into a hug. “You were right. They needed you.”
She reaches up onto her tiptoes to kiss me, the gesture quick and desperate as the clock continues to tick down.
“Be safe, Marco.”
“I will.”
“If anything happens to you…”
“It won’t,” I promise her, brushing my thumb over the soft skin of her cheek. “I’ll be in touch as soon as it’s done.”
With one last kiss, she disappears into the SUV, and they drive away, and I stand there, watching, until it’s completely disappeared from sight.
Only then do I turn and climb into the black van once again, readying myself for the final job on my list.
It’s time to finish this.
It’s time to take Cillian Moore down, once and for all.