Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
The basement is exactly what Lacey said it is—a large space set up much like the room upstairs, with a bar, tables, chairs, and booths all facing a stage.
It shows signs of having been used in the recent past. Sticky drink rings still line a couple of tables, and the scents of smoke and stale beer fill the air instead of dust and mildew, which should be present if this place was unused.
A couple of condom wrappers litter the floor, and there’s a sheen of white powder on a table as well.
I guess Lacey was right, and they were coming down here to fuck, but has anything else happened down here?
Sage and I bypass the large area and approach a single door on the far side of the room. He pulls out his gun and gestures for me to move behind him before grasping the doorknob and pushing it open.
The door swings open with a creaky groan, and I peer over his shoulder. All I can see is a dark corridor. I look around for a light switch and find one just inside the door. I reach over Sage and flick it on.
Dull, incandescent bulbs dangle from the roof, lighting up the inside of a nondescript concrete corridor with five doors on either side before they stop, and the concrete walls continue to a dead end probably about fifty feet away.
I look down, noting the dusty floor has been disturbed, and there are a number of footprints in the thick layer of dust and debris.
I wrinkle my nose at the sight of rat droppings as well.
“Let’s take a look, shall we?” Sage suggests, and I nod and follow him in, his gun still raised in front of him.
We reach the first door, and again, he gestures for me to stand behind him while he opens it.
I roll my eyes but don’t argue with him.
Sometimes, I need to let him lead, and I’m surprisingly okay with that.
He pushes it open, and we peer into the darkness. I wrinkle my nose at the stale air that billows out. I don’t think this one has been used in a while, but I reach in and turn the light on so we can see what we’re working with.
The same dull lightbulb illuminates the room, which is basically nothing but an old rusty bed with a moldy mattress that I’m pretty sure the rats have been living in.
“I guess Lacey was right, a space to try the merchandise,” Sage says bitterly as I look around the room to see if I can find anything else, but there’s nothing, and you couldn’t pay me to check under the bed.
I turn the switch off, and we do the same to all nine remaining bedrooms. It’s not until the last one that we find signs of use.
The rest of them were the same as the first—empty save for a rusty bed that had seen better days—but I gape at the last one and feel a shiver run down my spine.
Instead of a rusty bed, this one is full of equipment that wouldn’t be looked at twice in a sex dungeon.
There’s a St. Andrew’s cross and a thick metal pipe running across the roof with chains dangling from it.
There’s also a hook, which makes my skin crawl, a set of stocks, and a number of tools on a side table that wouldn’t be out of place in my torture rooms. Worst of all, there’s a drain in the floor, and instead of a bed, there’s a rack.
“I don’t know whether to be turned on or terrified,” Sage mutters, and I shiver.
“You know both torture and bondage revs my engine, but none of this is turning me on. If what they say is true, then no one who was in this room wanted or deserved to be here.” My stomach rolls, but there is a thick layer of dust covering everything, so I assume no one has had the unfortunate pleasure of being in this room in the recent past.
I flick the light off, and we pull the doors closed.
“I don’t know the exact timeline, but the Russos gave up the skin trade when my grandmother asked my grandfather to stop it, and he was so in love with her, he was happy to grant her that wish.
It must have been at least thirty or forty years ago now.
These rooms don’t look like they’ve been touched. ”
“No, but the footprints continue down here.” Sage points farther down the corridor, where there looks to be a dead end, but the light is not bright enough to tell for sure.
“Come on, let’s have a look.” This time, I take the lead.
I don’t bother with my gun. If there was anyone here, we already would have come across them.
“I’m going to get Sam and Dean to set up some cameras down here.
I want eyes on this place all the time. If what Lacey said is true, and these lead to the wharf, then I bet they are going to use them to transport women.
Agent Garcia said he thinks that’s where they are being transported out of. ”
As we get farther down the corridor, I notice it isn’t a dead end, but two tunnels that branch off in opposite directions. We stop, and I look both ways and listen.
These tunnels are a lot wider, and they turn pitch black a few steps from where we stand, so it’s impossible to see anything.
“Look at that.” Sage points at something on the ground, and I crouch down to get a better look.
“Holy crap, those look like train tracks.” I stare at the metal rods inlaid into the dirt floor.
“A trolley possibly. It’s at least twenty miles from here to the port.
I bet they had a faster way of moving things than just walking.
I wonder where the other tunnel leads.” Sage takes his phone out and turns on the flashlight, trying to see deeper into both tunnels, but it doesn’t penetrate the darkness at all.
“Let’s get some of our men down here to explore.
We have a two week time frame to break it all down.
I’ll give the agent a call and let him know what we discovered, but we won’t let them know any details regarding the shipment until we’re closer to the time.
I don’t trust them not to poke around more than they promised they would. ”
Sage lifts his phone and sends a message. He soon gets a reply, and he looks up at the ceiling.
“Sam and Dean are already here,” he tells me.
“Good, then they can get started right away. It won’t take long until Lorenzo finds out Melissa is dead and Candy is in rehab. He’ll probably put a hit out on her. That’s what I would do. She knows too much now.”
We start retracing our steps.
“He won’t be able to find her. Bill and Joe will hand her off to our contact, and they will make sure she’s enrolled in rehab in another state under an assumed name.
If she reaches out to him, then that’s on her, and if she ends up dead, then that’s no one’s fault but her own,” he says, trying to reassure me, but I don’t need it.
“I really don’t care what happens to Candy. She’s lucky she’s still breathing. The only reason I didn’t kill her was because of the drugs, but she won’t get another chance. If she comes at me again, I’ll put a bullet in her head as quickly as I shot Melissa.”
“What are we going to tell the staff? Lorenzo will probably ask around.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t care, as long as Lorenzo doesn’t find out we know about the tunnels down here. Tell them I popped her in a jealous rage. It fits the brand, and no one would find it hard to believe.”
“The staff here are loyal to you,” he tells me, and I scoff.
“Candy wasn’t, but hopefully she’s the exception.”
He wraps an arm around my shoulders and presses a kiss to my head. “Nothing more vicious than a woman scorned.” He chuckles as I give him side-eye.
“And don’t you forget it.” He throws his head back and laughs.
“Oh, I can assure you, Ms. Russo, that I won’t ever forget how deadly you are, but I’m like a junky, and I love the thrill of making you mad.”
I roll my eyes but can’t help smiling. Sage is so damn happy all the time, and it’s hard not to be affected by it. He’s like living ecstasy, making me happy and horny with just one wink and a grin.
When we get upstairs, I find Lacey, Sam, and Dean in a booth having a drink. Sam lifts his glass and gives me a nod. “Hey, boss.”
“Lacey, can you give us a moment?” I ask, and she quickly climbs over Dean and slides out of the booth.
“I’ll just go and check on the next act then. I saw Joe and Bill walking Candy out through the back, and although most of the girls know what they are doing, it won’t hurt for them to know who is in charge now.”
She proudly struts off, and I watch with bemused amusement. “Oh, I think she’s going to do just fine.” I sit down, and one of the topless waitresses comes over and takes our drink order, flirting shamelessly with the guys before she leans in and whispers in my ear.
“Let me know if you’d like a lap dance, Ms. Russo.
I’d love to see to your needs.” She smells fresh and fruity, and in the past, I wouldn’t have hesitated to take her up on her offer, but things are different now.
I give her a small smile, and she stands and gives me a wink before sashaying back to the bar, her rounded ass cheeks shaking delightfully in her thong.
“Ugh,” Sage groans, biting his fist. “Please let me watch.”
I shake my head and ignore him before telling the guys exactly what we found. I give them their instructions, warning them only to use our most trusted employees and to be careful.
“I want to know where both of those tunnels go, and I want cameras installed ASAP. I also want you to do a deep dive into the operations here. I want to ensure Melissa and Lorenzo didn’t mess with this business as well and corrupt any of the other staff like they did in San Jose.
Get the forensic accountant in also. I want the books checked and the place swept for bugs and cameras that don’t belong to us.
We also need to put a tail on Lorenzo. We haven’t had one on him for a while now, but it seems it’s needed again.
I want to know where he goes and who he sees, and while we’re at it, put one on Penelope too.
” I look at Sage. “Am I missing anything?”
“Nope, I think you got it all.”
The waitress returns with our drinks and wears a disappointed little pout when I send her on her way. Sage’s pout matches hers, and I elbow him in the side.
“Cut it out. I thought we decided we were going to try this thing with the others and be monogamous within the group,” I hiss into his ear, not wanting Sam and Dean to hear.
I trust them with my life, but just like I don’t need to know what they do with Lacey or each other, they don’t need insight into my sexual activities.
“Oh, I know, but I’ve had a raging hard-on since we were upstairs, and I was thinking about you and Vienna in that swing instead of those two bitches. I’m only human,” he whines, and I can’t stop the chuckle that escapes my lips.
“You would think we hadn’t fucked each other’s brains out only a few hours ago.”
“What can I say, I have a high sex drive,” he replies and slides my hand that’s resting on his thigh to the bulge in his pants. I give it a little caress before removing it, tossing my drink back, and standing up.
“Okay, we have a plane to catch. Keep in touch, and I want to know the minute you find anything, okay?”
Sage groans but follows my lead.
“Do you want us to tell Gio?” Dean asks cautiously, and I shake my head.
“As far as I’m concerned, Gio doesn’t get to learn anything about what’s going on. If he asks you for any information, send him to me, but I doubt he will since he’s too busy playing happy family,” I say, unable to stop the bitterness in my voice.
“Oh, and Tori.” Sam stops me as I turn to leave. “Thanks for trusting Lacey. You have no idea how happy she is.”
“Why didn’t either of you tell me that there was a new girl here?” I ask, voicing something that has been bothering me. I see them all the time, and they obviously knew about Melissa if they told Lacey to talk to me about it.
“We were going to, but Candy threatened her and told us if we said anything to you that Lacey would disappear, and neither of us were going to risk it. I’m sorry if that seems disloyal, but Candy was nasty to Lacey, and we figured it was probably for the best anyway.
She was always so miserable working with Candy.
” Sam looks down at his hands, and I can see he’s visibly shaken by the thought of Lacey being hurt.
I guess she means more to them than having a good time.
“We were going to tell you in San Jose back at the hotel, but then you got into that accident, and it slipped our minds,” Dean adds. “I swear if we had known Lorenzo was involved, I would have told you immediately, but Lacey never mentioned him coming and going.”
“Candy probably threatened her too,” Sage says, crossing his arms.
I sigh and glare at my henchmen. “No more secrets. No matter how little and insignificant you think the information might be, I need to know, even if you think you’re wasting my time, okay?
” I tell them, unable to be mad about them protecting their girl.
They are family, and that’s how family is supposed to be. How can I be angry at them?
They both promise, and with that, Sage and I leave.
“You did good,” he tells me, squeezing my hand in the car. I get a little rush of pleasure at his praise.
“Well, it isn’t like I can put a bullet in my henchmen. Then I would have to train new ones and find a new manager for my strip club. I don’t have time for that shit with everything else going on,” I say gruffly, shaking off his hand and looking out the window.
“Sure, my little marshmallow. You keep telling yourself that.” Sage puts music on and starts singing along to Taylor Swift, making little dance moves up as he goes. I can’t help the smile that spreads across my lips as I lean my head back and enjoy the ride.