CHAPTER 125
The warehouse district looked exactly like what it was - a perfect place to hide things you didn't want found. As we sat in the stolen van Lucas had acquired that morning, watching the loading dock of what was supposed to be a textile import business, I felt my stomach turn with each truck that pulled up to the bay doors.
"Third truck in two hours," Jax murmured from the driver's seat, his voice tight with controlled anger.
I lowered the binoculars and passed them to Harry. "Same pattern every time. Two guards escort the driver, truck backs up to bay seven, they unload for exactly twenty minutes, then the truck leaves empty."
"Except textiles don't require armed escorts," Lucas said from his position monitoring radio frequencies in the back. "And they sure as hell don't unload themselves in twenty minutes."
Through the scope mounted on Harry's rifle, we'd been able to see enough to confirm our worst fears. The "textile" containers held young women, probably drugged, definitely terrified. The operation was bigger than anything my father had run before - more organized, more professional, and infinitely more cruel.
"I count at least fifteen girls from just what we've seen today," Harry said, his knuckles white around the binoculars. "And this is just one location."
I closed my eyes and tried to push down the memories that threatened to surface. I'd been one of those girls once, just not transported in containers. The fear, the helplessness, the desperate hope that someone would come to save you... I knew exactly what they were feeling.
"Skylar?" Jax's voice was gentle, concerned.
"I'm fine," I lied, opening my eyes. "What's the guard rotation look like?"
"Shifts change every six hours," Lucas reported. "And there's a pattern. The new guards always do a full perimeter check when they arrive, which gives us about a ten-minute window when the loading dock is completely clear."
"That's not enough time to get all the girls out," Harry said.
"It's enough time for me to get inside and assess the situation," I countered. "We need to know the layout, how many girls are being held, what kind of security we're dealing with inside."
"Absolutely not," all three of them said simultaneously.
I turned to face them, my jaw set. "We've been through this. I'm the only one who can get close without raising suspicion. A scared-looking young woman in the wrong part of town doesn't attract the same attention as three armed men."
"A scared-looking young woman also fits the profile of their merchandise," Jax said coldly. "What if they decide to grab you?"
"Then I deal with it. I'm not helpless anymore." I pulled up my sleeve to show the knife strapped to my forearm, then lifted my shirt slightly to reveal the gun tucked into my waistband. "And I'm certainly not unarmed."
Harry's expression was pained. "Skylar, I can't watch you walk into that place. I can't sit here knowing you're in there with those animals."
"Then don't watch," I said simply. "Trust me instead."
The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken fears and the weight of what we were about to attempt. I understood their reluctance - God knows I'd feel the same way if one of them was proposing to walk into a trafficking den. But understanding didn't change the reality of our situation.
"There's something else," Lucas said quietly. "I've been monitoring communications all morning. There's chatter about a big shipment coming in tonight. Something special, according to the radio traffic."
"Special how?" I asked, though I dreaded the answer.
"Young. Really young. And the buyer is apparently someone very important. Important enough that William himself is supposed to be here for the handoff."
My blood ran cold. William coming here could only mean one thing - this was a trap. They suspected we were onto them, and they were using innocent children as bait.
"It's not a coincidence," I said. "They know we're watching. This is meant to draw us out."
"Or they're just conducting business as usual and we're being paranoid," Jax suggested, but his tone suggested he didn't believe it either.
"No," Harry said grimly. "Skylar's right. This has setup written all over it. The question is, do we walk away and let those kids get hurt, or do we spring the trap and hope we're faster than they are?"
I looked at each of them, seeing my own determination reflected in their faces. We all knew what the answer was. We'd known it the moment we learned children were involved.
"We can't save everyone," Lucas said slowly, "but we can't walk away from kids. Not when we have the chance to help them."
"Agreed," I said. "But we do this smart. We go in after dark, during the shift change. I create a distraction on the east side while you three hit the loading dock. Get the girls out first, then we deal with William and whoever else shows up."
"And if it goes wrong?" Jax asked.
I met his eyes, seeing the love and fear warring in his expression. "Then we improvise. Like we always do."
But even as I said it, I could feel the weight of what we were about to attempt settling on my shoulders. This wasn't just another rescue mission - this was the beginning of open war with William and my father. After tonight, there would be no going back, no pretending we were still playing by their rules.
"There's one more thing," I said, pulling out my phone. "I found something in my father's old files. Something that might explain why William wants me so badly."
I showed them the document I'd discovered buried in the encrypted data Lucas had pulled from the financial records. A contract, signed in my father's neat handwriting, dated three months before my supposed death.
"It's a partnership agreement," I explained. "My father promised William exclusive access to his distribution networks in exchange for protection and financial backing. But there's a clause at the bottom..."
Harry read it aloud, his voice deadly quiet. "In the event of Jack Mitchell's death, all assets including his daughter Skylar Mitchell will transfer to William Kane as compensation for services rendered."
"He sold me," I whispered. "Before he even tried to kill me, he sold me to William like I was just another piece of property."
The rage that followed was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. It was clean and cold and absolutely focused. My father hadn't just abused me, traumatized me, tried to murder me - he'd literally sold me to another monster.
But as I looked at the faces of the three men I loved, I realized something that my father and William had never understood. I wasn't property to be traded or a prize to be won.
I was a weapon they'd created without realizing it.
And tonight, they were going to find out exactly how dangerous their creation had become.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
