Chapter 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

MILO

I checked the address against the GPS on my phone. I couldn't speak Czech and I didn't try. The translation apps made navigating at least doable. Three days in Prague and our leads were thin.

Too thin.

In addition to not even getting a whiff of interest beyond the security Zhukovsky put on the theater and Ivy, Bodhi's "friend" had failed to show up.

"He'll be here," Bodhi had said over breakfast a few hours earlier. The confidence wasn't feigned. Until Hans showed up, we were still flying blind.

Then we got a call from—of all people—Margareta Waldemar. Well, Mayhem got a call from her. It had come in late the night before, not even five minutes after we arrived at the apartment we were renting. I didn't want to focus on how closely the woman had to be watching us.

Half of me wanted to ignore the information, but the rest of me understood it wasn't an option. Adam and Ezra had finally secured a meeting with the leader of a local Russian group.

At some point, we might have to pretend to be buyers to break into the rings. Cracking the cone of silence around the underground rings was proving even more difficult than I'd imagined.

"This is it," Lainey said as she threaded her arm through mine and leaned against me. She'd chosen thicker pants to combat the wind and a silk blouse that hugged her curves. Not that I got to appreciate it as much as I'd like.

The jacket she wore offered her more protection, it also provided camouflage for her weapons. The shop across the street was, of all things, a print shop of some kind. At least, that was what it looked like.

Phone in one gloved hand, Lainey rubbed the edge against her chin as she studied the storefront. "Should we get coffee and drift back?"

I scanned the street. It wasn't the busiest street we'd walked down and there were a number of other businesses. Sadly, there was nothing resembling a coffee or tea shop.

"No," I finally answered her question. "There's nothing out here to give us cover for why we're lingering." Speaking of which, we couldn't keep standing here. It didn't matter that I had my phone out as a partial cover for why we weren't just continuing.

That wouldn't provide enough of a distraction for long.

"Then Plan B," Lainey said, tilting her head back to glance up at me.

"Which is?" I didn't tighten my grip on her or make sure she stayed with me. Sunglasses hid her eyes from me, but I could read the rest of her body language. The waiting was taking its toll.

"Walking inside and talking to her."

Yeah. I had a feeling that would be it. "We don't know what's waiting for us in there."

"We don't, but I'm willing to find out. Do we go? Or do you want to call the guys and wait for them to join us?" Not an unreasonable suggestion.

"You're indulging me."

"Whenever I can," she said easily. "But Margareta would not have called with this woman's name and her former profession of being a ‘chaperone' without some cause. She knows why we're here or at least she suspects."

Yeah, that was the feeling I got too.

"Split the difference," I decided. Phone in hand, I sent a message to the group chat with the guys. I gave them our location and plan.

Second message went to Jasper. He and Kellan were here. They might be closer. Either way, backup was backup.

"Messages sent." I stuffed my phone into my pocket. I wanted nothing in my hands. "If I pull the plug, retreat. Understood?"

Her lips pursed, but she seemed to be struggling to suppress another smile. "Understood."

Chuckling, I checked for where the gun was secured. Weapons in the Czech Republic were not as easily obtained as they were at home. The guys all knew a guy. Bodhi had made arrangements for all of us.

Still, I'd rather not be caught carrying, especially since they'd covered my conviction up so I could get a visa to enter the country in the first place.

"Do you mind if I take the lead on talking to them?" Lainey asked as we crossed the street.

"You speak far more languages than I do. But I didn't think Czech was one."

"It's not, but the sign there indicates they also speak German." I followed her gesture to where the German flag appeared on a small sign in the window. I couldn't read it either, but I trusted her.

"All yours then. Just let me know if I need to punch someone."

That earned me a swift smile and a chuckle as she reached for the door. I got to it before she did and opened it for her. The bell overhead jingled, announcing our arrival. Not that anyone would be able to hear it over the racket inside the shop. The air was hotter than outside. Warm, humid, and it smelled of dust, paper, and something kind of burnt.

Everywhere I looked, there were stacks of paper, some printed, some not. The machine near the front was running and it was printing off large sheets with three or four pages per sheet.

Lainey made her way through the center of the shop toward an archway made out of more paper and boxes. Everywhere you looked there were boxes, not all of them stacked neatly. The precarious nature threatened bodily harm if they were bumped.

A woman appeared through the archway, a stack of hard covers in hand. She nearly ran into Lainey because her attention was elsewhere. Fortunately, her gaze snapped up at the last second. Stopping in her tracks, she let out a shriek.

Eyes wide and sweat decorating her brow, the woman stumbled back a step and Lainey caught her arm to keep her from falling. She said something in German. The rapid-fire speech sounded lovely from her, not that I could follow it.

Fuck, Ezra was right. She really was brilliant and beautiful. Her mind was sexy as hell. I was going to sign up for one of those language courses. While Lainey spoke to her, the woman shot me a look then her attention went back to Lainey again.

She answered in German, her speech not quite as rapid-fire. So, not a native speaker. She spoke enough to get by. I scanned the front of the shop. Then glanced past the woman toward the back.

"Is she here alone?" The question in English, just loud enough to make sure she could hear me, was a test.

Did our erstwhile target speak a third language as well?

"She is being evasive," Lainey said. "I startled her and she has a large order. Do you want to go check the back?"

"Stay away from the windows?" Compromise offered.

"I can do that," she said with a smile. Compromise accepted. I cut around the woman who suddenly let out a shrill amount of words.

Yeah, she didn't want me going to search. Too bad. The back of the shop was worse than the front. There were literally boxes upon boxes. Books and magazines spilled over from large, unbalanced stacks. I'd never seen so much paper.

It was hotter back here than it had been out front. More equipment rumbled and hummed as it ran. The sound of paper crinkling and rolling carried. It was loud, too damn loud.

I was just about to head back up front when I spotted a photo on a desk. Stalking over to it, I tugged the photo off the pinboard. Pivoting, I headed back to the front of the shop. I bypassed the women to head to the door. It didn't take me any time to secure it, then close the blinds and flip the light off to indicate it was closed.

A burst of excited, and aggravated, chatter burst out of the woman. She'd put down the covers she was carrying and gesticulated wildly.

Lainey never turned away from her. Good girl. Don't give her your back. When the woman started forward, Lainey stepped back into her path. I crossed to them and the woman shut up abruptly, though she glared daggers at me.

Saying nothing, I held the photo out to Lainey. She glanced at it. The stiffness in her posture seemed to harden even further as though she were becoming stone.

The woman spit something out in German. Lainey took the photo from me and turned it around to show the woman. As abruptly as she'd begun her new tirade, she shut up again. Her pallor gave her away.

I didn't need to speak her language to read her physical reactions. Lainey's next question was phrased so carefully, I could almost taste the anger vibrating between the words.

The photo was of Andrea. She was with another girl. The fact the photo was here confirmed some of our worst fears. It was also a solid lead.

"The door is locked?" Lainey asked over her shoulder.

"Yep."

Our host tried to bolt and I caught her before she could make it three steps. She whirled and tried to hit me, but Lainey blocked her fist and wrenched her arm down and around.

"Then we're going to have a chat with Katerina. Could you let the boys know?"

Armlock firmly in place, Lainey marched the woman into the back. I scanned the front again. The printer was still generating a stack of pages so I left it to that.

When I followed them into the back room, I found Lainey directing Katerina into her desk chair. The woman argued, then snagged something off her desk to use as a weapon. She never touched Lainey. In a move that I had to admire, she disarmed her, then smacked her across the face with the—what the hell was that? It looked like a heavy ruler.

Katerina let out a cry, clutching at her face as she staggered back into the desk. Lainey pointed the oversized two by four shaped ruler at the chair. This time, the woman obeyed.

It didn't take me long to find tape. It wasn't duct, but packing tape. Still, it would do. I secured her arms to the chair arms and her feet to the base. The woman kept protesting, but then she tried to spit on me.

Yeah, I'd be fighting too but the language barrier was getting old.

"You got this?" I could easily inflict the pain to get to the answers, but I didn't have the language. Lainey could communicate.

"I do." She glanced down at the photograph again. It was like a ripple of force passed over her as she studied it, then her expression went fierce and her eyes flat.

I messaged the guys while she spoke to Katerina. Adam wanted to see the photo, so I snapped a picture of it and sent it to him. While I did that, Lainey went through the woman's desk and found a scissors, a file, another two-by-four shaped ruler, a rotary cutter and a pair of pliers

Katerina paled again when Lainey returned to her. Pliers in hand. Whatever she said in a rush did not make Lainey happy.

Lainey asked her one more question.

Apparently, she got the wrong answer… again.

She pulled one of the woman's fingernails off. Yeah, that would fucking hurt. Katerina's screams agreed with me.

It took Lainey an hour.

And most of her fingernails, but Katerina finally admitted something while sobbing. The words came out far more rapidly, but Lainey was wholly focused on her.

When she finally went quiet again, Lainey turned away from her and paced three steps. Her brow drew together tight, and her eyes pinched.

"Mayhem." I kept my tone even and quiet. I didn't want to surprise her.

The torment in her hazel eyes gutted me. "She's alive."

"That's good."

I was waiting for the but.

"But there are auctions coming up and she's fresh, and new. Perfect for the right clientele."

My upper lip curled as I stared at the pale sobbing woman in the chair. "How is she a part of this?"

"A chaperone. Exactly what Margareta said she was. She goes to Germany regularly for her shop, so she brings back girls when they need a ride. She's also ‘safer' for them because she seems so friendly."

Disgust filtered through him.

Katerina snapped something out and Lainey whirled. In one smooth movement, she struck her across the forehead. The blow cracked audibly. The second came out meatier. Then Katerina sagged as blood spattered the paper beyond her.

It was a wild burst of rage, directly focused on the shop owner. Lainey's arm lowered, the two-by-four dangling from her fingers. I closed the distance, checked Katerina's pulse.

Dead.

My phone buzzed. I let it go unanswered for a moment as I took the heavy strip of wood from Lainey. She closed her eyes and when she reached for me, I dragged her close and just held her. Dropping the wood to the side, I pulled out my phone.

Bodhi was here.

I eyed the dead woman and then the shop.

Good, we were gonna need help with the body cleanup.