Grayson
. . .
TWENTY-SIX
Outlaw isn’t very packed tonight, since it’s a weeknight, which made it the perfect place to meet Moretti for a secret meeting. I snagged us a booth in the back corner. I know he said the organization has eyes and ears everywhere, so you can never be too careful.
Hunter drops a beer in front of me, and I tip my hat in thanks before she’s off dealing with rowdy cowboys fighting over the pool table. I’ve drank half my beer by the time Moretti rolls in, clad in a full black suit, per usual. He sticks out like a sore thumb in here.
So much for flying under the radar.
He spots me quickly, placing an order at the bar before joining me at the table. I stand and greet him, pulling him in for a pat on the back.
“Moretti, a pleasure as always. Though you could have traded the suit for a cowboy hat this evening,” I tease.
He shines me one of his pearly white smiles. “Where would be the fun in that, brother?”
“I’m starting to think you sleep in those things.”
He doesn’t deny me; he just smirks before taking the seat across from me. Hunter hurries over with a glass of scotch with a single large ice cube. She plops it down with a larger than life smile and a one hundred dollar bill tucked in the bust of her tank.
I can take one guess who it’s from.
“Thank you, darling,” he rasps, a slight accent to his tone.
“My pleasure, cupcake. Just let me know when you need another.” She winks and saunters away.
We tip our glasses together in cheers. I slam my beer down on the table, ready to get to the chase. “I want out,” I say bluntly, my face hard as stone.
“Straight to the point, as always. That’s why I like you, kid. I’m afraid it’s not as cut and dry as you think.”
I don’t like that one bit. I want out, now more than ever. I can’t keep putting my body through hell every week. It’s already starting to take a toll on me, and people are starting to notice the bruises. Maisie had to put makeup on me this week.
“Why? There’s gotta be a number he couldn’t refuse, a little dirt to dig up against him? What are my options here? I’m not leaving this booth until we have a plan.”
Moretti sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He leans over the table, lowering his voice.
“There’s more to the story. I’ve tried to keep you out of it for your own sake.
You don’t want to get wrapped up in this.
If they find out you know, it will be worse than the little threats they’ve sent your way so far. ”
He said threats. “How do you know about the second one?” I know better than to trust anyone in the mafia, and I need to remember to keep my guard up, even if he says he’s trying to help me.
His face hardens, but he doesn’t deny me. “Who do you think was the one tasked to set it all up?”
My hand slams on the table, drawing a few eyes. “You what?”
Moretti wearily looks around the bar before whispering under his breath.
“Calm down, Mustang. Would you rather it have been someone else? They would have done way worse than me, maybe even checked out Maisie’s cabin for themselves.
They needed someone for the job, and I needed them to think I’m still on their side.
Call it insurance on my part and protection of your property on yours. ”
He has a point, but I still hate it. If he wasn’t on my side, he never would have told me. This is a good thing, I try to tell myself, even if I don’t like the idea of him leaving threats on my property against my woman.
“Fine,’ I grit through my teeth. “What about the other thing you said? What have you kept from me?”
He shakes his head and swigs his expensive scotch.
“I didn’t want you deeper than you needed to be, but I think it’s time you learn the real men you’re dealing with here.
” He pauses, thinking over his words carefully.
“The fighting ring is a cover of sorts. Yes, the people watching are there to win money on bets, but that’s not the real reason they’re there.
It’s what happens after the fights that has them coming back. ”
What could be worse than watching two men or even children fighting to the death for entertainment? I hope this isn’t going the way I think it is. I’m not sure if I could hold back my anger if it does.
“Sex trade,” he says, straight to the point.
“They steal women from all over the world and collect them at warehouses. I wouldn’t wish their conditions even on my worst enemies.
The warehouses are basically like dog shelters but worse.
They chain them to the walls by their necks, no beds, no toilets, nothing.
Just concrete floor. They strip them of their clothes and tattoo them with a permanent scannable barcode across their chest. Each warehouse is different, a sort of ranking system.
They each have a specific brand they give their girls.
Those from the top warehouses go for more at the auctions. ”
My teeth grind the more he talks. “And I’m guessing these auctions you’re talking about happen after the fights, here in fucking rural Montana, where the feds would never look.”
“Bingo,” he confirms, chugging down the rest of his drink.
“Even if the cops were to bust the place, they would go after the fights happening above. They don’t mind getting caught for that if the real money maker going on below stays hidden.
You guys are just the entertainment, the warm up.
It would be genius if it wasn’t so evil.
They’ve been doing this under your town's nose for years, Grayson. Years…”
“Fuck!” I flag Hunter down for a second beer, my stomach twisting over everything.
How could this be happening here in this little, close-knit town?
Surely, we would have noticed all the fancy cars and people going in and out.
But how could we? The Underground is out in the middle of nowhere, with a straight shot to the highway from an unused back road. It’s the perfect location.
Oh God… The trucks. There are always big white semis parked in the back. I thought they were for equipment. Are they hauling women in them?
“How many?” I ask, my stomach ready to explode.
He fidgets with his empty glass, tapping his large golden ring on the glass. “On a single night?” he clarifies. I nod, urging him on. “Anywhere from fifty to one hundred. They auction them off in waves by their ranking and age.”
The wooden table groans under my hand. “Age?”
His grim nod is all I need to know it’s beyond bad. If I didn’t want Maisie wrapped up in this before. Now, I want to lock her in my bedroom and never let her see the light of day until this is all sorted out.
“So what’s the plan here? I want out, but these women need help too. I can’t go on with my life with a healthy conscience, knowing what’s happening right under my nose. Any of those women could be Maisie…or my sister.” I can’t bring myself to say Nova’s name out loud.
“I need time.”
“I’ve given you time,” I yell, catching stares again. “Shit, sorry. I just…I can’t keep doing this. I need some hope, something to keep fighting for. I need a plan in place to make all this pain worth it.”
“I hear you, I do, but this sort of thing takes time. You can’t crumble an empire overnight.
There are steps that need to happen in a specific order.
Matteo is untouchable. There’s no one more important than him.
He calls the shots here, but his son, he’s more malleable.
He hasn’t been hardened by the world and his dad fully.
I can still see some good in him. If we can get him to take over the organization, I think we would see a lot of changes.
For one, he’s against the sex trade. I’ve personally heard him give his dad shit for it and pay the price.
He’s also an honest man. If you can get the numbers together—and I mean hard numbers—that you’ve paid off your debt with your fights, I have no doubt he would release you. ”
I relax into my seat. “Great. So we kill Matteo. Easy.”
“Not,” Moretti cuts me off. “Didn’t you hear what I just told you?
He’s untouchable. He has top guards around him twenty-four seven, loyal ones.
This isn’t some SWAT team operation, in and out type of deal.
We need a solid plan, and we need to get the others to back his son before we make our move, or this is all for nothing. ”
I blow out a breath. “What do you suggest then?”
“We continue to lay low. You keep winning your fights, and I will slowly start to feel people out within the organization. I’ve been around these men my whole life.
I know which ones I think would be the first to fold and switch loyalties.
I need to start planting seeds in their ears so we can entice a coop without Matteo finding out. Then, we strike.”
“How long?”
“I can’t give you that number. It takes time, but just know I’m doing everything in my power to get you out of this mess. I was born into it, so I had no choice, but you got wrapped into this mess without knowledge of how deep it ran. I want to make it right. Call it looking for good karma.”
“I don’t like this.”
“Me either, brother, but it’s the cards we’ve been dealt.
If any of this is going to work out, I need you to be on your best behavior.
” His face hardens, all mafia boss now. “Don’t talk back.
Don’t ask questions. Put your head down, be a good boy, and get your fights done exactly how they want. If they say jump, you say how high.”
I grit my teeth, not liking his words but nodding along anyway. If it keeps everyone safe and gets me out of this mess, I’ll do whatever it takes.
“Oh, and one last piece of advice. If you plan to keep the girl in your life, keep her close. I mean it. Do not let that woman out of your sight. They won’t hesitate to hurt her—or worse, take her if they see the opportunity.
Chain her to you, for all I care, but they have her on their radar now.
Before, it was safer to stay away, but now that you’ve let them see you two together, you need to keep her close until this blows over.
There’s no going back now. Pushing her away to show them your disinterest will only push them closer to her. Got it?”
I nod, knowing exactly what I must do next.