37. Trap

37

TRAP

I grumble as I answer my phone. The ringing has been persistent, no matter how many of our guys know I've been in meetings all day.

"What?" I snap at whoever is on the other end.

"They're moving two more this afternoon," the voice on the other end says dryly. "If you don't intercept ASAP, they'll be sold into the ring with the Bratva and never heard from again.

I nod, realizing it's my informant. He didn't know I was in meetings, so I'll let this one slide.

"Where are they moving them to and from, and when will they be at the interception mark?" I ask, reaching for a pen and pad of paper to jot down what Tag has to say.

"They're being moved from the upper east side location to the brothel. The only stop they're making is to look at fresh inventory at 235 West Broadway Street around six this evening," he says before hanging up abruptly.

I run straight to Grizzly and Dart to relay the information he handed me. We have to plan this perfectly or else these girls might slip through our fingers. We can't allow that to happen when we're at war with the Bratva now. We have an obligation to these girls. The night we saved Meredith was supposed to be the beginning, so we need to follow through.

Four hours later, the guys and I are hiding out across the road from the address Tag gave me. This place looks just as suspicious as the brothel itself, and it irks me to think they might be housing women on the other side of the red door. It might as well be glowing in my face.

"I fucking hate this," I say, looking back and forth between Grizzly and Dart.

"I don't think we're going to get used to this type of thing, brother," Dart says with his own grimace.

"I know I never will," Grizzly adds. "I mean, when we saw Mer in that place I nearly shit my pants. We know her. Can you imagine how many women go through these places and don't get saved? The ones we don't know or get told about?"

I don't want to think about it. I can't. For now, we fall into silence as we sit and wait for the van with the girls in it to show up. Sure enough, at six on the dot, it pulls up in front of the house.

Dart, Grizzly, and I stay put, out of sight out of mind for a few moments as the driver and his passenger get out of the white van with no windows in the back and make their way up the front stoop of the house with the red door. We continue to watch as they go inside and close the door behind them after looking out both ways to make sure they're alone.

It's such a stupid mistake leaving the girls out here like this…one that will cost them their inventory. As long as my informant keeps up the good work, we might be able to keep saving more than what will slip through the cracks.

"Come on," I say, waving at the guys. We slink across the road, and for now, the van hides us from view.

"You go that way, I'll guard the door," Grizzly says, motioning for Dart to go to the head of the van for lookout. "You get those girls and get to the alley across the way quickly," he says to me as we all nod.

It's a great plan.

I do as instructed and head to the back of the van. I take the bolt cutters I have in my hand and line them up with the chain on the back door. It's padlocked…something I anticipated. These guys like to keep their women under lock and key.

I place the cutters just above the lock and add leverage, allowing them to snip through the thick metal. I flinch when it makes more noise than it should, but I don't let it fall all the way to the ground as I catch the shards of chain and the lock halfway down.

I lower the chain and the lock to the ground and at the same time I throw open the back door. I'm horrified at what I see. There are two girls in here, but there's also a dead man lying in between them.

I can tell from here that he's been tortured badly. Both women look horrified but are gagged. I jump in and pull their gags, helping to free them from the binds that tie them. I reach for the first's gag, and the moment I do, she begins talking.

"They say you can have us, but we'll be the last," she cries as I haul her out of the van and begin working on her friend.

"They say you will have no more since your informant is dead," the second girl sobs as I help her out of the van.

They both are dressed in very little, but it's clear they have a message for us. They both point to the dead body in the back of the van. Other than seeing that he's been abused badly, I ignored who he is until now.

Lying there, battered and dead, is Tag.

Fuck. They must have figured out he was a mole.

"Shit," I say under my breath as I usher them toward the ally. "We just lost our guy," I say to Grizzly and Dart as they come out from where they've been hiding.

They both glance back at the van, seeing the guy lying in a pool of his own blood. They turn toward me with a grave look on their faces and we continue to run until we get back to our bikes.

With one girl on the back of my bike and the other on the back of Dart's, we head back to where both the girls can feel safe and comfortable. We're taking them home.