Chapter Fifty-three

The next few days flew by. They had booked the whole party at the arcade, and scheduled times for all the different events they had available. Izabella had taken the planning upon herself. Which freed Bram up to play with Devon for a while. Well, at least watch him play with his new game. Tyler stayed with them the next night too. He was walking by the end of the night, and they had moved the furniture around in the living room so there was enough space for them to all sit out and wrap the presents Devon had picked out for the kids through the day.

That’s how they all spent their time the next day too. Though Bram took a break to catch up on some much-needed calls and work he had to do. While he was doing that, he seemed irritated and angry. Tyler had offered to assist, but Bram had refused him. He and Gavin had caught up on what was going on. Bram had learned there was a sale going on tonight. But there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Gavin would go. He would learn what he could. He’d already bought one of the children. Tyler and Bram were awaiting news now. Still wrapping everything up. Bram had gotten Tyler a new phone while they were out that day, and both waited for the call. Once the child was procured, Gavin would let them know. He would pretend to kill the child and they would pick it up. Bram wasn’t excited to be bringing home another child, but what else could he do. Devon was going to be really excited. But he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this to Izabella.

He watched her across the room. She leaned over to help Devon with a particularly hard present to wrap. Bram and Tyler were doing their best, but neither looked as good as Izabella’s. She had pretty much taken over the ribbon tying. “We need to be closing in on the end of these. I can’t believe you wanted to wrap them all ourselves.” Bram chuckled. “Oh, there’s something I need to talk to you about, Izabella. Could I steal you away for a few minutes?”

Smiling up at him, she laughed. “Did you finally decide you’re done helping with the wrapping?”

“Gotta try something to get out of it.” He stood, going over to offer her a hand up.

“Geesh, I’ve been sitting too long. My legs are about numb.” She said, as Bram kept hold of her hand and pulled her into Devon’s room. “Oh, it’s a secret?”

“Until tomorrow, yeah.” Bram closed the door behind him, pulling her over to have her sit on Devon’s bed. “So, I have something that I need to explain before anything happens.” She made a nervous face at him but waited patiently for him to explain what he was talking about. “It has come to my attention that there is a sale tonight.”

All the light fled from her face, and for the first time Izabella looked at him with rage in her eyes. “And you’re going to call the police or do something to stop it?”

“I can’t.” He looked away, “Not yet. I don’t have what I need to stop it and calling the police will only force them underground. I have one chance to make a difference here and stop it all for good. So, I need you to trust me and do as I ask. Can you do that?”

“What’s the plan?”

“Do you remember the short, brown haired lawyer of mine that showed up after the corner shop incident?” Bram asked, kneeling beside him. She nodded, “Well, his name is Gavin. He went on a job for me at the DAS, and they just so happened to think he was the perfect candidate for whatever is going on inside the system. When the offer was made, he immediately called Tyler to find out if we wanted him to go through with it.”

“You’re playing into the system? Bram, do you realize that you bought a child?” Her large green eyes were scared. “And what about the other children?”

“I can’t do anything about that.” His shoulder’s sagged as he looked away. “But I will be able to stop it forever after tonight. If I hadn’t been looking into this, all those kids would have been bought anyway. Not to mention that I’m saving one of them.”

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do with another child?” Izabella asked, touching his hand.

“I mean,” Bram rubbed the back of his neck, “it’s not exactly how I planned it, but I always wanted for Devon to have a brother or a sister. For now, they’re young enough that I can have them stay in the same room for a while. He’s always so lonely, it’ll be good for him. This is definitely better than being sold for god knows what. And I already know Gavin can work the system and make it all legal and binding. He did it for Devon. He can do it now too. I’ll need to buy a bunk bed.” He looked over at where she sat, but he wasn’t really looking at her.

“And you’re ready to be a father to another child?” She frowned.

He stopped and stared at the door, as if questioning it himself. “I don’t know. And I’m scared as shit they’ll be a girl.”

“Are girls so awful?” There was that look, and her arms crossed. She was annoyed with him again.

He threw his hands in the air. “No, I actually quiet enjoy women in general.” He almost blanched at himself for that one, and Izabella didn’t look impressed. “But I’m barely holding it together with Devon. I have no idea what I’ll do with a girl. The thought of periods…” Was. Terrifying.

“And that statement right there, is why this may not be the best idea.” She frowned deeper, clearly not as on board as Bram had thought she would be. “Why can’t you call the police again?”

“Their rules and regulations. They won’t be able to do anything until they have the proof. By the time they get what they need, those who are doing this will be underground and gone. The same thing will start happening elsewhere.”

“And you can do better than the police?” He didn’t like that skeptical look. Maybe he should have just told her he wanted to adopt another child so that Devon could have a sibling.

Bram wound his fingers in his hair and grunted in frustration. “Yes. In this instance, I can.”

“How?”

He looked back at her, and worried. If she didn’t trust him, he was running a real risk about telling her any of this. “I…” he looked away, not sure what to say. “I just can. Money works in ways you don’t understand, and hopefully never need to.” Her eyes narrowed at him, but she was clearly thinking about that statement. “The point is, if I get what I need tonight, maybe I can’t do anything. Maybe I will need to bring it to the police. But before I can even think about doing that, I need proof so that they’ll believe me. I know I can procure that tonight. The money used to buy the child was my own, and if I do it this way, and the kid is safe, I’ll have the documentation of what has been going on. In the DAS and the orphanages.”

“And you’ll only be incriminating yourself. Is that why you don’t want the police involved?” Her words were softer this time. Bram would take what he could get.

“I suppose that’s part of it.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” This time, her eyes were hard, and he knew she was looking for any reason to believe him. Or any reason not to. “I know you didn’t have to.”

Bram sighed, sitting beside her as he took her hand in his. “You asked me to be more honest. So, I’m trying. You said you wanted to help. And as of tonight, you’re going to find yourself with an extra charge.”

“Who else knows what’s happening?” She asked, squeezing his hand. That was a good sign, right?

“Just you, me, Tyler, and Gavin.”

“And you know you can trust Gavin one hundred percent?” She rubbed his thumb, looking at where their hands were clasped together between them.

“I know I can trust Tyler’s judgement. And he’s the one who set it all up. He trusts Gavin. They’re kinda a thing.”

Her mouth fell open. “Tyler’s gay?”

“Well, he’s bi. With an affinity for men over women.” Bram watched her facial features, hoping to figure out what she was thinking. But they were stone cold at the moment.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” She buried her face in her hands.

“Please, please, tell me that you will help me do this? I’m terrified of what we’re going to find, and I need to know there is someone here who will take care of Devon and the new child about to come into my life. I can’t do this alone.”

“How do you know you can even trust me with this?” She questioned; her voice was very small as she asked.

“Because you were one of those kids. I made everything worse by starting the DAS, and I regret it. Immensely. That was never my plan, but I do need to fix it. I don’t want any child on the streets. I also don’t want to see them sold off to anyone. You know if someone is spending a million on a child in a night, they’re not doing so to bring that little boy or girl home to give them a happy life. I don’t want this to keep happening right under my nose, and right now, I have a rare opportunity to stop it.”

“Well… there is you.” She smiled up at him, and he finally felt like this might work. “I understand what you are trying to do. But I can’t look away, knowing the other children being bought will be harmed. Is there nothing you can do for them?”

“Do you really want a dozen children running around my apartment? I have nothing I can do with them here.”

“Would this not be better than a dozen dead children? A dozen being sold as sex-slaves? Is your apartment not a better option for them?”

“I’m going to need a bigger house then.” His eyes narrowed at her. “If you want me to try to save them all, I should leave now and figure out where they’re going. Tyler will try to come, but I would rather him stay here with you and make sure that Devon and my new son or daughter is safe. He can do the pickup with Gavin, but I need him to come straight back here. I cannot have him in the field in his condition.”

“I think we can work with that.” Izabella smiled up at him.

There was a knock on the door. “Hey, Bram. I just got the call.” Tyler said through the door. Both Bram and Izabella stared a moment. It came earlier than expected. The sun had only set about twenty minutes ago, and vampires rarely made any movements this close to it setting.

Bram swiveled back to look at Izabella. “I can trust you, right?”

“I’ll be here. Any children that show up, will be welcomed, and we’ll make a night of it. If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know.”

Bram couldn’t help himself. He leaned over, kissing her. She hadn’t let him since the other morning. When she kissed him back, everything felt like it would be fine. When he broke away from her, it wasn’t because he wanted to, but he was now on a timed schedule. Especially if he wanted to try to help the other children who were being hunted.