Dulce

“Ask your questions.”

“How did the others avoid the sting operation that brought the rest of you down?”

“Some rats were smart enough to flee. Other had enough pawns to do their dirty work that nothing could be traced back to them. On paper, they were squeaky clean, even if in real life their hands were dirtier than most.”

Griff grunts from beside me, but he doesn’t say anything.

“I already know about Aslanov and Garin. I assume this is sanctioned by the Bratva. I know these girls are being shipped abroad, mostly to Europe. It’s brave and stupid, but I understand it. It’s a change from the norm. Usually, it’s the other way around. The young girls from poorer European countries being trafficked this way to the states, but I guess that’s what the authorities are looking for right now. Large cargo ships coming in, not going out.”

“Perhaps, but that wouldn’t stop customs from searching shipping containers, no matter their destination. Though they’d likely be expecting drugs, not people. No, you’re still thinking too small. Their setup is more sophisticated than that.”

“How does Cain play into it?”

“Cain?” Edward looks generally confused for a moment before I see recognition flash in his eyes.

“Ah, Cain Eveson. The heir to the throne.”

“So I’ve been told. As far as I can tell, he has no ties to the Bratva. He is all-American born and bred.”

“Indeed. Two factions would never work together unless it was mutually beneficial for them.”

“Wait, heir to the throne…you’re not talking about Eveson’s church, are you?”

He laughs before wincing, wiping his hand over his lip, smearing his blood all over the place.

“Oh, it’s so much more than that.”

“The church is a cover?” I shake my head, disgusted.

“It’s a church. It does exactly what it says it does, but yes, it’s also a cover. Tell me, how often do you think an aid convoy gets checked? Or a Red Cross relief transport?”

I scowl, feeling sick at the cogitations.

“Sick and wounded people who have either survived war or natural disasters are being preyed on, too, as if they haven’t been through enough?”

He waves my comment off, his metal bracelet clacking against the table.

“Another bleeding heart. In this world, it’s survival of the fittest,” he spouts out his bullshit.

Griff wraps his hand around my leg. I’m not sure if he’s trying to comfort me or himself, but his tense fingers do little to ease me. They only serve to remind me of all that happened to him when he was nothing more than a child.

“So that’s how the girls are being shipped out then. The recruiters select them and once the buyers have made their purchases, they are lured to the cliffs under the pledging pretenses of Cassandras fucking elite society bullshit. Failing that, you straight up kidnap them and get them to the bluff where one of Eveson’s drivers is waiting?”

“For the most part, yes, though the vehicle would be plain to not draw attention to itself. They drive to the church, hide the girls while they make the arrangements, and have them off the property within forty-eight hours. You can’t tell me you thought Eveson made his fortune just by spouting drivel to the masses. Hell, half his congregation is likely involved.”

Griffen curses and jumps to his feet as if he can’t stand being near him a second longer.

I stand too, slower, as I take Griffen’s hand and look up at him.

“You’re going?” Edward looks between Griff and me, surprised. I’m wondering if this man is on drugs. How the hell can us leaving be such a surprise?

“Yeah, and finally, I can lay this shit to rest. You know, I had so many questions I wanted to ask you. Was it my fault? Was it something I did or said or the way I looked at you? But then I realized that’s exactly what you wanted me to think. That you were some innocent victim in all this, and I was to blame. I know now that it had nothing to do with me. I was just a fucking child, and you took advantage of that. I already had a mother who hated me. I didn’t want you to hate me too. I needed a father, but you were never my father, were you? You’re a piece-of-shit predator who preys on the weak. Well, guess what, Dad, I’m not weak anymore. We’re done. You’re dead to me. Do not think about me or say my name. I hope you die here in as much pain as possible. It’s only a fraction of what you deserve.”

Griff storms across the room. He knocks on the glass and waits for the guard to let him through without a backward glance at the man who stole pieces of him.

“You thought you could control him, but he used all that pain and anger to fortify himself. He’s stronger now because you tried to break him, wiser now because you tricked him, and he has so much love to give because you once starved him of it. Part of me feels like I should thank you. But mostly, I just want to gut you and watch you die slowly.”

He looks at me in shock. I guess I’m a far cry from the girl I portrayed the last time he knew me.

“You think you’re so high and fucking mighty, but it was your pussy I was pounding. My name you were screaming, my—”

I lift my hand and cut him off.

“Firstly, Mr. Two-Pump Chump, if you thought that was a pounding, you are really going to struggle in here. Secondly, I never once screamed your name. Hell, I never thought of you at all, even when, as you so crudely put it, you were inside me. I was thinking about what I needed to do when you were finished. What my next step was. I was thinking about your son.”

I step closer and lean over him.

“The trouble with men like you is you believe your own hype. You have no concept of what rape and torture are. Or what it feels like to be sold to someone who will likely be your demise.”

“Well, this is your lucky day because, Dick, you’re about to get an education. See, by the time you head back down to your cell, everyone will know what you did. What sexual cravings you have and the atrocities you’ve committed. Now, I understand that there might be one or two here that get off on the same thing, but I can guarantee you that most, especially the ones missing their own children, will think you need removing from this earth.”

“What? No, you can’t do that,” he snaps, looking from me to the guard.

“Sure, I can. If you don’t think you did anything wrong, then what does it even matter who knows?”

I walk toward the door and tap on the glass. Griff’s eyes burn into mine as I wait for the guard to open it.

“Fuck you, you fucking whore. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill everyone you care about.”

“You hear that?” I say to the guard as the door swings wide.

“I sure did. It’s not nice to threaten people now. I’ll be sure to let the warden know of his behavior.”

“Thanks, Ray, and make sure you say hi to the missus for me.”

“Will do, ma’am. You head on down there. George is waiting for you. I’ll escort Mr. Young back to his cell.”

I give him a wink and grab Griff’s hand. He stares through the glass at his father for a second longer before turning toward me. I lead him back out. We wait for George, who lets us through the next set of gates and escorts us back to the entrance with a smile.