2. Prologue

Prologue

T he club was right smack in the middle of Grand River’s downtown party district.

Izzy knew it well enough. He’d been to the gay club next door to the one they were staking out.

The place they were interested in was called Stars . The sign had tasteful gold letters and was a simple design. The less-is-more approach was still alive and well. Or maybe the Gianelli crime family didn’t care about trends. Their purpose was to use the business to launder money and traffic drugs and people. They didn’t actually care who bought a drink inside the club.

The building was one of many unremarkable buildings on the strip. It sat between the gay club Izzy frequented and a pub named Flannigan’s which, according to the small letters underneath the name was everyone’s favorite neighborhood pub. With the people spilling out of the front door, Izzy could believe it.

Only a few went in and out of Stars, and all but two wore suits. The two who didn’t, dressed in plain street clothing and carried guns underneath their leather jackets. They were either undercover cops or hitmen—Izzy couldn’t tell. One guy walked with his arms out from his sides as if he were airing out his armpits.

Everyone who was there to party steered clear. Probably because the place had this undercurrent of danger. Even Izzy felt it from where he sat across the street.

Izzy sat with Nash and Landry at a table outside and across the street. The restaurant had sectioned off part of the sidewalk with a nice waist-high iron railing which left the area open for observation.

They waited for the go-ahead from Daruss and the others. Their main job was to assess the area before actually rescuing the trafficked victims inside the Gianelli’s club.

The warm summer night caused the biggest issue because everyone wanted to take advantage of the nice weather. It was also about the time everyone who wanted to get drunk and laid started showing up.

With the river on the back side of the clubs across the street, it was no wonder why the Gianellis had chosen it. Private boat slips littered the river behind the buildings so the Gianellis could do whatever they wanted with no one being the wiser. Moving whatever they wanted by water was easy for them because the river fed into the big lake. The lake seemed as big as an ocean, which meant they’d be long gone by the time anyone suspected a thing. Duchester was on this side of the lake. Not that people could see it. The lake was so big not even the city skyscrapers were visible from the shore.

Seryn and Ronin waited in the shadows. Seryn could make himself and anyone he touched invisible. A fact only a few knew about but it came in handy for some rescue missions.

Nash nodded toward the entrance. “Have you ever been inside?”

“Nope. The gay club next door is good. I can always get a piece of ass there.” Izzy grinned.

Nash shook his head. “I didn’t ask because I wanted to know about your sex life. I wondered if you knew about the layout inside.”

Izzy pulled up a photo Jonik had sent him and handed his phone to Nash. “Stop slut-shaming me.”

“I’m not slut-shaming you. Just saying I don’t give a fuck about your sex life. That’s not slut-shaming.”

“Can we stop calling each other sluts please. That word bothers me.” Landry sipped pop and ate the most bougie fries on the planet. The menu made them sound as though they were coated in gold. Or truffles—the type that were super-expensive because pigs on leashes dug them up.

“No one is calling anyone a slut.” Nash sighed and handed Izzy’s phone back to him. “So we just sit here and wait for the victims to get trafficked by boat. Is that it?”

“Yep and then we take them right out from under the Gianelli family’s nose.” Izzy liked the plan as plans went. The liability was minimal, and that was important given the number of people milling about outside.

Izzy’s phone buzzed. It was Ronin. They’re moving people. Eleven with four guards.

“It’s a go.” Izzy didn’t wait for Landry and Nash to follow him. He sprinted across the road and then down an alley between the pub and the Gianellis’ club.

Daruss and the others were already there. Two guards were down. Izzy helped drag them inside. He didn’t like moving bodies but this rescue mission was one of the easiest ones they had ever been on, so they didn’t need him to fight.

The victims were almost all teenage girls with the exception of two boys who couldn’t have been older than fifteen. They huddled together and looked as if they were scared out of their minds. Poor kids.

Izzy wanted to kill the guards all over again. Instead, he did his job, moving the bodies inside when needed.

Izzy met Nash’s gaze. “Either we’re getting really good at our rescue missions, or someone is setting us up.”

“Maybe we’re just that good.” Nash frowned. “Nah. Shit will go down at some point. I can practically smell it in the air.”

Nash pointed to a camera in the corner of the room.

Izzy flipped it off. Not caring who saw him. “Let them come. They’re all dead if they do.”

It would probably bite him in the ass later, but Izzy liked to live in the moment. Despite his bravado, dread formed in the pit of his stomach.