Tame Me (Broken Heroes 5)

“How many girls? Where are you keeping the ones that aren’t ready to go yet?” I demand. Sophie would want me to ask these questions, to help set them free, just like her.

“The girls are scattered around within the community. They just live with different families, among everyone. None of the girls know any different. When it’s time, or a specific look is needed we send for them, bring them in and then ship them off. There is a list in my office, with all the adoptive girls names, and ages on it,” Joseph explains. “It’s next door, I can show it to you if you’d like.”

“If we would like,” I snort. “You’re going to show it to us, or I’ll blow your fucking brains out, how about that?” I’m going to blow his brains out anyway, but I keep that little tidbit to myself for now.

“Lead the way old man,” Ivan points his gun at Joseph. He hesitates for a moment and then gets to his feet. Ivan and I follow him out as he leads us through a backdoor.

As soon as we are outside, Xander’s men are at the door.

“Kill the ones inside,” he orders one of his men, like he just placed a dinner order. “Search the rest of the building for anyone else. If you find them bring them to me. Do not hurt anyone else unless I give you an order.” The men nod in unison and walk past us. Seconds later we hear five gunshots one right after the other…I don’t even blink at the thought of those men losing their lives. Anyone who knows about, or is apart of this should be killed.

Joseph takes us to the church next door, and then into a large office located at the back.

“The folders are in the filing cabinet behind my desk.”

“Well, get them asshole,” Damon orders. Just as Joseph starts to dig through the cabinet, two of Xander’s men walk in tugging some teenage looking guy.

“Boss we found this one upstairs. He wasn’t armed.”

The guy looks past us and into the office.

“Dad, what’s going on?” He asks like he is genuinely surprised to see us all here. I stare at him for a long moment, he’s got dark brown hair, and eyes that are the same blue as Sophie’s.

“Just shut your mouth Luke, you are the one that got us into this mess in the first place.”

What? I blink, clearing missing a piece to the puzzle.

“If you hadn’t talked me into marrying Sophie off instead of selling her as soon as she turned eighteen, we wouldn’t have these devils on our doorstep now.”

“You’re the one who is the devil for trying to force her into something. I simply told you to marry her off so she might have a better chance at living an enjoyable life.”

“Hate to break up the family bonding, but I still don’t have that list in my hand.” Xander taps his gun against his imaginary watch. So many things have happened in the last couple of minutes that I’m a little dumbfounded. Sophie isn’t this vile man’s daughter…which means she adopted.

Joseph opens another drawer, and that’s when his son yells, “He has a gun in that drawer!” Everyone springs into action, pulling out their own guns. Damon who is standing the closest to Joseph, lunges toward him, a glint of metal catches my eyes, but Damon has him on the ground, before he can get a good grip on the gun.

Xander steps on the man’s hand and he cries out in pain, releasing the gun instantly.

“I know where the list is,” Luke, who might have just saved one of our lives announces. “It’s over there, bottom drawer on the left side.” He points at a cabinet in the corner without us even asking.

“Let him go,” Xander orders his man and they release their hold on Luke’s arm immediately.

Hero waltzes over and, pulls the draw open taking out a thick folder, with pieces of paper bulging out the sides. He throws it down on the desk and opens it. I step toward the desk, and start fingering through the papers. My stomach rolls, and the breakfast I shared with Sophie threatens to come back up.

“Where is it?” Xander growls, grinding his foot into Joseph’s hand. I can hear the bones crunch, and it’s music to my ears.

“It’s…it’s there…” He wheezes through the pain. I eye the papers once more, there are pictures, dates, and times, money arrangements, and then the list with detailed names, and birthdates. I can over the piece of paper that has the names and dates on it to Xander. My eyes move back over the pictures, the ones of Sophie that were recently taken and some from when she was younger.

The one from where she is younger has a boy her same age and size standing next to her. They’re both smiling, and look oddly similar.