Chapter 11
Shock coursed through Calla. Was this real? Had three men actually come in and taken Brent to the floor?
He'd screamed at her to hit them, and then he wanted her to stab them with a knife. No way could she attack those men. When he asked her to shoot them, she shook her head.
A fourth man stepped in and moved to her. He was moving stiffly, like something was wrong with his leg. He had a bit of scruff on his chin, and he wasn't as big as the other men, but he still looked strong.
Then he asked her how she was, and that did her in. She moved to him, clinging tightly. She would beg him to take her with him. She didn't want to be stuck with Brent. If these people could save her, she would do anything to go with them.
“Hey, you’re okay. You’re going to be okay,” the man holding her said.
She wouldn’t feel okay until she was out of Brent’s sight and away from this place. There wasn’t anything she wanted from Brent ever again. She could walk out right now and never look back or be sad.
Brent had gone slack, and she could tell he was still plotting a way to escape. The three men around him helped him up and pushed his butt into a chair. She wanted to punch him. No, she wanted to pick up a big stick, maybe the rolling pin, and smash it against his face.
“What is your name?” one of the other guys asked her.
“Calla.”
“Shut up,” Brent said, his eyes boring into her.
He didn’t realize she would never listen to him again. He had no power over her any longer.
The thought hit her hard, and tears took over. She felt weak with relief. She wouldn't have to put up with her stupid brother ever again.
How would she live? She had nothing. She drew in a slow breath and let it go, pushing away the fear.
She could build something out of nothing, but she couldn’t keep dealing with the bullshit Brent put her through.
Being free from Brent would allow her to get a job and make money.
She didn’t need much, just a bathroom and a place to lie down.
She would survive because these men had come to save her.
Thario smoothed his hand down the woman’s back, thinking she was way too thin. Her whole body shook, and he didn’t know if it was fear or relief.
He needed to ask Brent questions, but he didn't think he would get much accomplished with this woman clinging to him. He wasn't sure who she was, but it was obvious that Brent thought he controlled her.
They would find a charity organization to help get her on her feet. Heck, he would help her. She would be better off on her own. He hoped she could see that.
Thario pushed the woman to arm’s length and held her gaze. “Hey, I need to speak with Brent. Can you go with Squat? He’ll just take you outside. We’ll be out there in a few minutes.”
She nodded, then glanced at Brent, then away fast. She seemed very upset, but he understood why. Brent was obviously abusing her. They could find a way to help. Squat led her outside, leaving just the three of them and Brent.
Thario squared his shoulders and approached Brent. “Why did you do it?”
"Shut up, you simp, always trying to act like you're some knight in shining armor. You've done more to help me get away with selling women and children than anyone else."
Anger burst through Thario, and he wanted to lash out. Lashing out wouldn't do him any good. He would just end up in trouble if he beat the shit out of this man.
“You’ve got a lot to answer to.”
“I ain’t answering anything. You all are a bunch of pussies—”
Sharp’s fist connected with Brent’s chin, snapping his head back.
Sharp shrugged. “Don’t know what happened. I guess my muscles twitched.”
Thario nodded. “That happens. Muscles jump and twitch.”
Brent sat up slowly, his gaze staying on Sharp. Pure hate flowed from the man. It was a side of Brent Thario had never seen. The guy had always been so nice. Right now, he looked demented.
“Why did you try to kill me?”
Brent glanced away, no longer meeting any of their gazes. Thario grabbed the hair on the top of his head and forced him to look up. But he could tell by the look in Brent's eyes that he wasn't going to answer.
Thario had hoped he could appeal to the better side of this man, but he guessed he’d been wrong about him the whole time.
“Who was the man you killed at my place?”
Again, Brent wasn’t answering. They needed to call the police or get rid of the evidence. When he was operating as a SEAL, a guy like this would have been easy to dispose of. Here in the USA, they could get in trouble for making the problem disappear.
Brent admitted to trafficking people. If he openly admitted to that, what other bad things had he done? Maybe Calla would know?
"Who is Calla to you?" Thario was met with more silence. He wanted to unleash on this man, but more than one punch to his jaw would be suspicious. "Is she your girlfriend?"
Brent snorted. “Hardly. She’s my sister.”
“You did that to your sister?” Griz asked. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Brent snorted again. “She’s a useless bitch.”
Thario could see Sharp winding up to punch Brent again, but he stopped him. “Don’t. He’s not worth the price of getting in trouble. We should call the police and let them pick him up.”
Sharp nodded. “I’m going to speak with Calla. Maybe she can give us some information.”
Griz crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. Thario wanted to keep asking questions, but Brent would only taunt him. Instead, he started going through Brent’s things. Maybe he could find something that would give him a clue what was really going on with the man.
Thario made his way over to a closed door and put his hand on the knob to turn it.
“I wouldn’t go in there,” Brent said.
“Why?”
“Trust me.”
Thario rolled his eyes and turned to face Brent. “Why the hell should I trust you?”
Brent’s lips spread into an evil grin. “Hey, Siri, turn on the cave light.”
Thario froze. Why was Brent smiling like that? Why had he asked the digital assistant to turn on a light? This wasn't right.
Everything happened at once. Brent stood, Griz flinched, and Thario felt the floor moving underneath him.
He was knocked to the floor. He went down hard as he was unable to catch himself in time. Griz was right beside him, pulling him up.
Thick smoke filled the air as Griz helped him outside. They were both coughing as they made it to the fresh air. Thario glanced around, searching for Brent, but he wasn't out front.
“Brent,” Thario gasped for breath. “He must have run out the back.”
Sharp stood next to Calla and turned to her, saying something before taking off around the side of the house. Calla didn’t hesitate and moved closer to Thario.
"I don't know what he's doing. I had no idea he would blow the place up." She looked up, and her eyes met Thario's. She reached out and grabbed his arm, throwing it over her shoulder. "I can help you."
Griz stepped away. “You going to be okay?”
Thario nodded. “Yes. Go help Sharp.”
He was alone with Calla and was in no position to help her if Brent came around the side of the house. Following the doctor's orders would have meant he'd stayed home and rested. Getting tossed to the floor by a bomb exploding in the next room hadn't helped.
“Let’s get you somewhere you can sit,” Calla said.
“Thank you.”
“What happened in there?” Calla asked.
"I was going to open a door to one of the rooms, and he activated something that caused an explosion."
She shook her head. “He’s such an ass. I’m sorry you got mixed up with him.”
"Hey, it's okay. I should have been more cautious, but if I had been, we never would have come around, and you'd still be trapped with him."
A shiver worked through her as they made their way across the street, and she helped him lower to the sidewalk where he could lean against a low wall.
The sound of sirens grew louder. Someone had called the authorities. This was going to be a mess to sort out.
He met Calla’s gaze and held it. Her blue eyes were flecked with green and were mesmerizing. Something twisted through him as he held her gaze. He swallowed hard as he tried to shake the feeling, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.
Calla cleared her throat. “Thank you for showing up. I don’t know—” Her breath hitched. “Sorry. Thank you.”
He didn't mean to touch her face, but he couldn't help himself and cupped her cheek, stroking the soft skin with his thumb. Without thinking, he leaned in just an inch and then caught himself. It wasn't the time to kiss her. He couldn't do that.
He cleared his throat and sat back. “It’s okay. We’re here to help.”
“I don’t have anywhere to go. I guess I’m homeless now.”
He'd dropped his hand from her face, so he didn't do anything stupid like pull her close for a hug. He did squeeze her hand. "We know people who have resources. We can find you a place to stay."
“What is your name?” Calla asked.
“My friends call me Thario.”
“What about other people? What do they call you?”
Thario didn’t normally tell people his real name. Not that he was trying to hide it, but the people he worked with didn’t need to know his name. But with this woman, he wanted her to know. “It’s Stephen Nolan, but I really do go by Thario. No one has called me Stephen in a long time.”
“Okay, it’s Thario then.”
The fire department arrived, and the men were pulling the hose. One of the people on the truck saw them and raced over.
“What happened?” the fireman asked.
Thario met the man’s gaze. “It was an explosion. There might be more ordinances in the house. We don’t know. The homeowner is gone. He ran off.”
“Oh.” The guy turned and took off, rejoining his team.
“This is bad,” Calla said.
“Did you know what he was doing?”
She shook her head. “He kept me in the dark. I knew he was doing illegal stuff, but I had no power.”
Thario didn’t want to say more. Anything he was thinking could be taken wrong.
She was too skinny, and she looked like she wasn’t able to take care of herself.
He wanted her to get better, not worse. It bugged the heck out of him that he’d been working with Brent all while the man had been holding his sister hostage. It made no sense.
More firemen showed up, and the police, too. The nearby houses were evacuated because they had no idea how bad the danger was.
Hopefully, the police wouldn’t be too upset that they’d come here. They’d meant well, but they hadn’t meant for an explosion to go off. At least they’d rescued Calla.
His head was too messed up to really think straight and come up with an excuse for why they were here. Maybe Sharp had come up with something.
Just then, he saw Sharp, Squat, and Griz coming down the street. Brent was nowhere to be seen. That meant he was still out there. Nothing about this day was going as planned, and it was all bad.
He glanced over, seeing Calla staring at him. One good thing had happened. Calla was freed from whatever hell Brent had inflicted on her. At least they’d save her.