“Copy,” he said. “You’re sure you’ve got a line on the girls? They’re in there?”
“You have no idea,” she said, sounding sick.
“I’m going to give you a phone number. Detective Johnson. Tell him what you relayed to me. Tell them to get their asses out here before it’s too late,” he said, pulling the card out from his pocket and relaying the number.
He made it to the front door with a quick stop at the limo, where he knocked out the driver. Inside the building, the rush of adrenaline of finally doing something made neutralizing the two men easy work. He stopped at one of the bodies and bent over it, taking out the guy’s earpiece and slipping it in his own ear. The chatter on the other end told him no one was wise to the breach yet, too occupied with the events at the back.
Voices came through the earpiece. The first two packages were being placed in trucks. A third was on the way. The back-and-forth conversation told him that one truck was heading to St. George. Another would be heading to the private landing strip. They were awaiting further direction.
Shit. He didn’t have time to wait. He was going to have to delay those trucks from leaving in any way he could.
…
“Don’t move another muscle, or I’ll shove this blade into your throat.” Meredith leaned forward, and Peter followed her movements until his back was pushed against the couch.
“Now that I have your complete attention, I’m going to tell you what you need to do. And don’t try anything, Peter. You have to realize I don’t give a shit what happens to you, so if I feel the least bit anxious about your intentions, I’ll have no qualms about killing you. None.” Aware of his sharp eyes watching her every movement, looking for some weakness, she pushed the blade against his skin until she saw a trickle of blood. Then she slipped her hand into his front pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Now, I want you to call whoever you need to and tell them you’ve received an offer on Darcy—who I’m guessing is your item number nine—and you want her delivered to your limo right away. I’ll wait.”
His gaze remained on her, only broken for a moment while he made the call. “Yes, Nick. Change in plan. Number nine won’t be included in tonight’s show. Yes, I know, and don’t forget who you’re talking to. Payment has already been secured. Just have her delivered to my limo. All right. Call me when it’s done.”
He hung up. “Done.”
The smug smile tugging at his lips made her uneasy, but from what she’d heard from him as well as the other voice she’d been able to make out, he’d done what she said.
“And our final bid now stands at two hundred and fifty thousand…and sold.” The young girl was whisked away, and another girl stood in her place a moment later.
“What happens to all these girls you’re selling? Do you even know? Or care?”
“Like I explained, this is business. It’s not my concern what happens to the merchandise once it leaves my possession.”
“They’re girls. Human beings,” she almost yelled. “With families who love them, with dreams and a whole life ahead of them. Don’t talk about them like they’re anything less.”
“Of course,” he said. “But what am I really taking them away from any of them? A life of uncertainty? Of heartache and angst? Poverty? I’d bet half of these girls would be turning tricks in six months’ time even if we hadn’t intervened. Let me share an interesting fact with you, Meredith, about the girls I have with us tonight. All of them desperate and in need of some love and attention. With the exception of your daughter, not one of them has been reported as missing by their parents. Can you believe it? Many of them are runaways, living on the streets. The only thing saving them from this fate and the fate of the other girls that you might have seen at the house last night is that they managed to keep their virginity intact. The truth is, no one wanted these girls. I’ve found a place for them.”
“But Darcy is wanted. You know that now.”
He had the nerve to smile. “That’s the funny thing. Even though I hadn’t realized Darcy was part of our lineup until the other day, if anyone had asked me, I would have thought you’d have been relieved to have someone take her off your hands for you. Come on, Meredith. You’re not exactly the most nurturing of mothers. I always got the impression she was more a thorn in your side than anything.”
Meredith’s hand shook, wanting to throttle this smug bastard for saying the same things that had been haunting her these past few days. Her daughter was everything to her, and she’d make sure that no one—Darcy included—ever doubted that again.
She worked to keep her voice even. “And now you know differently. You don’t have to do this. You could have two million dollars now if you just let us go.”
“I already explained this. I’m a businessman, and you don’t go jerking the chains of your clients. You say a girl is part of the lineup, she stays part of the lineup. Otherwise I lose their trust.”
“But I can pay you. Right now. What’s the difference between my money and theirs?”
“The difference is there’s a system. All clients are registered and follow with some interest who bids on each item, who goes home with merchandise. You’re not in the system. How are they to know that I didn’t lie about this girl’s availability? You’re not in the system, they can’t see you bid. The bid won’t be legitimate in their eyes.
Like I said, I’m willing to lose whatever you can pay me to keep their goodwill.”
“But all these girls, you’re taking away their freedom. Do you give them any choice in this life you’ve set up for them? Or from what I can tell by their doped expressions, you drug them so they can’t fight you. They can’t say no.”
“The drugs just take the edge off. Makes things much easier for everyone involved. They may even come to enjoy it. The majority of these girls, if they play their cards right and don’t screw things up, will have an easy life. They’ll live in style, with nothing to worry about.”
“At least until they’re no longer wanted.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, if they play their hands right, they’ll possibly be given something for their time. Something to help them get started.”
Peter’s cell phone rang, and he looked at her with amusement. “Shall I answer it, or you?”