Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“Waverly, what’s wrong?”
“We need to talk. Now.”
He nods, and we’re out of the bar and into his office in a matter of minutes. Cohen comes in too. Briella shuts the door and locks it, and then they all look to me.
“He’s lost his mind,” I say, my voice a little shaky. “He’s got women, a lot of fucking women. Alarick, there’s got to be over fifty. He’s going to sell the lot of them, make a big profit, and disappear until they can find another cop and the heat off Bennett is gone. He’s got them all locked in this basement and . . . oh god, he’s just feeding them drugs and alcohol. He’s promising them all this amazing stuff . . .”
“Slow down,” Cohen says, handing me a bottle of whiskey. “You’re freakin’ out, babe. Settle.”
I swallow, nod, and then take a big sip of the whiskey. It burns the whole way down, but the moment it hits my stomach, I feel a little warmer and a little less panicked.
“How did he get so many women?” Alarick asks me.
“He just picked them up off the streets and from junkie dens, as he called them. He has sent a few of them out with rich men, and those girls have come back and talked, and now they all believe they’re being sent to this amazing place where they’re going to have a better life. Not to mention he has them that strung out on drugs, they probably don’t care. Right now, they’re all having their addictions fed for free. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
“Fuck,” Alarick growls.
“This is so bad,” Briella whispers, shaking her head. “We’re running out of time.”
“Bennett is the least of our problems,” Cohen grunts. “We need to get those fuckin’ girls out of there.”
“We need to send the cops in!” I say, my voice frantic. “Call Zariah. Have her send a team out there. They’ll see what he’s doing and that’ll be the end of him.”
“No,” Alarick says, shaking his head. “No, they won’t be able to just search his house; that isn’t how it works. It’ll take them time to get a warrant to do that. We need to get those women out so he can’t sell them and disappear.”
“What about Bennett’s body?” I ask, my voice frantic. “If they find the women, they’re going to find that, and I’m . . .”
“She’s right. They’re going to link the two pretty quickly and search, find that body, and it’ll be over with,” Cohen agrees.
“I need to think,” Alarick growls. “Fuck, I need to think.”
The cops are suddenly looking like the worst idea here. If we call them in, we’re risking so much.
“I think we stick to the plan,” Briella carefully adds, and Alarick looks up at her. “I think we get the body out, and then when it’s gone and it’s safe, we get the girls out. At least then, if and when the cops show up, the body is still gone and Waverly is safe.”
“You have a point,” Cohen nods. “If we can do both without interference, then we’ll be better off.”
“How the fuck are we goin’ to get in there, get a body out, and get over fifty girls out of that house without Dax knowin’ about it?” Alarick asks.
“Me,” I say, swallowing. “You’ll have to use me.”
Alarick looks to me, and I go on.
“He trusts me; he wants me. I just need to get him away for one night. Just me and him. We can go somewhere, and that’ll give you all time to get everything done there. He’ll lose it if he goes back and all those girls are gone. He’ll lose it and he’ll do something stupid; we’ll let Zariah take it from there.”
“How are we goin’ to get those girls out?” Alarick asks. “You know where he keeps the key?”
“I’ll pay attention. I’ll go over tomorrow night and I’ll stay. I don’t want to but I will. I’ll watch what he does, where he puts things and find out where the security cameras are. All we need to do is get him out, just for a night. I can do that, with the promise of things that he wants.”
“It’s risky,” Cohen murmurs. “It might not be safe for you, Waverly. A whole night alone with him . . . He’s goin’ to want things you’re not willing to give.”
I swallow, feeling sick. “I’ll be okay. Just worry about getting this finished so I never have to see him again.”
“It’s the best plan we’ve got.” Alarick nods. “I’ll talk to the rest of the club, sort it out tomorrow. For now, we just need to enjoy the night and try not to think about what a fuckin’ shit show this has become.”
I nod, and then rub my arms. “I don’t know about you guys, but I need a drink.”