Chapter Three

Cameron

Icrept down the stairs, Konrad in front of me and Ace at my back. Shaw was upstairs dealing with the security guards with Jax and Arlo. Anatoly's men were upstairs as well, waiting for word from us that we were ready for help getting the victims out. According to the security feed, only Richard Carney was down here, personally checking over the victims himself.

It was disgusting.

Konrad held up a hand, and I came to a stop, my breathing slow and steady as I listened. Konrad peeked around the corner at the bottom of the staircase, his gun raised. After a moment, he moved forward, and Ace and I fell back into step behind him.

My gut churned at the sight of the girls and boys in the cages. They stared at us, not uttering a single word. But still, I held my finger up to my lips, instructing them to remain silent. If one of them made a single peep, it could blow this whole operation out of our control, and some of them could get injured or killed in the process.

We needed to maintain the upper hand.

I began counting the number of victims as we crept further along the space, finally coming to a hallway. I'd counted thirteen, though I didn't know if there were more than that in the hallway. Konrad made a motion for us to remain where we were. I silently sighed but remained still as he crept down the hallway. He stood to the side of a door, and a moment later, it opened, and a man with thinning, red hair stepped into the hallway. He only had time to widen his eyes before Konrad was on him, slamming him to the floor and pressing the barrel of his gun to Carney's neck.

I leaned a shoulder against the wall, watching as Konrad got his revenge. A low growl rumbled from Konrad's chest. "This little fucking operation you're running ends here," Konrad snarled. He slid the barrel of his gun down Carney's chest and over his stomach, stopping at his dick. I winced. Ace snickered from beside me. "This is for Blu," he snarled. He pulled the trigger, barely any noise following the shot thanks to the silencer twisted onto the end of his barrel. Carney screamed and vomited. I grimaced.

Konrad pressed the gun to Carney's forehead, a cruel smirk tilting his lips. "And this is for my boy." He pulled the trigger, and Carney slumped, his chest going still. Konrad stood and shoved his gun into his cut. I did the same as he turned to face me. "Let's get them out of those fucking cages," he said as he passed me and Ace.

"Sir, yes, sir," Ace mocked.

Konrad shot him a dark look, but Ace only shot him a fake, sweet smile and fluttered his lashes. I snorted and stepped around Ace. "Stop being a brat, kid. Let's get this shit over with, yeah?"

He snorted. "Had to make light of the situation." He sighed and stared at the girl closest to him. "I'll get the cages open and let you two handle helping them out, yeah?" No doubt, he was thinking of touching them or having them touch him. Ace's touch phobia was already bad with us, but letting strangers touch him was a huge no. He would spiral and lash out, and the end result once his spiral was over would be catastrophic and a goddamn mess.

"Sure, kid," Konrad told him. "Let's get them out of here."

"Easy,"I murmured to the last boy as I helped him into the back of the van. He was weak, his legs wobbly beneath him. I'd had to carry him up the stairs, but once we got outside, he'd started crying and asked me to put him down so he could walk. I knew it had to be a momentous moment for him. Fuck knew how long he'd been trapped in the basement, curled up in a damn dog cage.

"Thank you," he told me softly once he was safely sitting down. One of Anatoly's men put a blanket around his shoulders, and another handed the boy an open bottle of water.

I smiled at the boy. "You're welcome, kid. Take care."

I closed the doors and turned to see Shaw and Konrad heading over to me. I arched a brow at Konrad. "Surprised you're not rushing home."

"You're sure you don't need me or FAME to go to the hospital with you to handle this?" Konrad asked.

I shook my head and patted his bicep. "Nah, brother. Go on. Get home to your boy and girl. I can handle this. Once it's over, I'll call and head home."

Shaw sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, his burner started vibrating in his pocket. Frowning, he pulled it out and then heaved a very heavy breath, annoyance flashing across his features.

"What?" he griped. He paused before tilting his head back to stare up at the dark sky. "Amaliya, no. I'm not picking you up chocolate. It's almost three in the morning. Why aren't you in bed?" I rolled my lips into my mouth to hide my laugh. "Fucking hell," he growled. "I didn't need to know all—" He scowled. "Amaliya," he snapped, "please stop describing your menstrual cycle to me. Fuck, if it'll make you stop, I'll buy you some fucking chocolate."

I barked out a laugh. Even Konrad looked a bit amused. Amaliya had Shaw so fucking whipped, and she knew exactly how to play him. It was highly amusing.

Shaw ended the call and scowled at both of us. "Fuck both of you," he muttered before spinning on his heel and heading for his bike. Konrad patted my back before following him. I slid onto my bike, which was parked near the van, and shot the driver's side mirror a thumbs up to let the driver know I was ready to ride out.

It was time to get these kids some medical care so they could hopefully be reunited with their families.

When I steppedinto the clubhouse, it was quiet. Everyone was in bed. No doubt, we would all be sleeping in. Hell, it was already daylight outside; I was practically dead on my fucking feet.

I quietly made my way up the stairs so I wouldn't disturb anyone. As soon as I reached the top step, I heard Blu moan. I groaned and quickly headed to my room near the end of the hall before shutting myself inside. Once she got started, Grey usually followed behind not too long after. They were noisy as hell.

Konrad needed to redo his room to soundproof his fucking walls.

After toeing off my boots, I quickly stripped out of my clothes as I headed to the bathroom, letting the clothing items fall wherever I stripped out of them. By the time I had the shower going, Blu's moans had increased in octave, and Grey was joining her.

Christ.

I quickly showered and dried off before padding barefoot to my bed. I grabbed my headphones and turned on music, blaring it at top volume to block out Konrad fucking Blu and Grey before I face-planted on the bed, not even bothering to cover up. My eyes slid shut, and I was out, my ass bare to the world.