Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
"I'm Kincaid, president of the New Mexico Chapter of Cerberus," he says.
I shake his hand, confusion drawing my brows together. "Cerberus?"
The man releases my hand, looking over my shoulder at Nolan.
"Have you explained anything to her?" Kincaid asks.
I don't know how Nolan responds, but it isn't verbally.
"We're a motorcycle club that specializes in rescuing sex-trafficked persons," Kincaid says, making my blood run cold.
I swing my eyes back to Nolan, and I see that he reads exactly where my thoughts go. He walks up to me, hands held up in mock surrender.
"We don't have any reason to believe that's what is going on with Eli."
"We're hoping you can give us some more information," Kincaid says, swiping his hand out to indicate the offer of a seat at the table.
I take it simply because I don't know how long my legs will continue to hold me up. I've considered a bunch of terrible things that could happen to my son but being hurt in that way wasn't one of them. It opens up a whole new level of terror for me.
"I'll help in any way that I can," I offer.
"We're hoping that you know the names of Gaines's employees who have children," Kincaid says, taking a seat across from me at the massive table.
I shake my head the second the words are out of his mouth. "I don't know anything personal about any of his employees. They're all terrified of him."
"And the ones who are still around after your father was killed?"
I shake my head. "They were scared of him too. No one speaks to me, and I don't mean they don't tell me things. They literally go the other way when I walk toward them," I explain. "I go days without seeing anyone other than Damien, and when I do see house staff, they make themselves scarce very quickly. I can't tell you who has children and if they do, if they've been taken or how long they've been gone. Is it possible that Samuel was lying?"
Kincaid looks from me to Hemlock as if wondering if they should share the information they have with me.
"What is it?" I demand.
I hate being on the outside of everything. I have lived that life every single day since I was born, but I'm tired of not asking questions, tired of people deciding what is okay for me to hear and what isn't.
"They found another body," Kincaid says.
"Another?" I breathe, my hands trembling as I lift them to my mouth.
I feel like I'm about to be sick.
"What do you mean another body?"
Nolan earns another unimpressed look from the man. "We've been going to all the places linked to your husband's organization, and so far we've found two bodies of young people. The first one was a boy about fourteen or fifteen and this last one was of a little girl."
"Oh God," I mutter, bile racing up my throat. "He's killing children?"
I snap my eyes in Nolan's direction, terrified of what this could mean for Eli.
"I don't want you to think about shit like that," Nolan growls.
"Are you?" I snap back. "Did you consider this shit before you grabbed me off the fucking street?"
Nolan glares at me, pulling in a deep intake of breath, but he stays silent. I can see from the look in his eyes that he didn't consider this. He was fully committed to his plan, a hundred percent sure that the team they had in Hartford was going to get Eli to safety. He never thought that wasn't going to work out the way he wanted it to and look where it has landed us.
I stand from the table so quickly that the chair rolls away, slamming into the wall, but I'm too upset to care whether or not it caused any damage.
"I will never forgive you if something happens to my son," I snarl at him, tears streaming down my face.
"Our son," he growls back.
"I know you're in a very emotional state right now, Aspen," Kincaid says, his voice low and calm. "But we need your help."
I look toward the man because staring at Nolan and seeing the pain and regret in his eyes is enough to fully break me.
"Have you heard mention of anyone talking about sex trafficking in either your father's or your husband's organization?"
"Thank you," I tell Hemlock when he rolls the chair back toward me. "Sorry about the wall."
He doesn't even bother to look over his shoulder at the damage the chair caused to the drywall.
I take a seat once again, letting memories filter through my head about the times I've borne witness to my father working and the handful of times things have gone on in the house that I've observed.
"We have it on good authority that your father had made plans to get involved with that type of business but he pulled out at the last minute," Kincaid continues. "We believe it's why Damien had him killed."