He stares at me. “That’s not for you to worry about. All I need you to do is help me. Help me get these women sold.”
“You want me to . . . help you?” I swallow, my stomaching twisting.
“Yes.”
“Can we get out of here? I don’t feel well.”
He nods, and just as he’s about to step out, a woman stumbles up to him. They’re all attractive women—not stunning, but they’re not bad to look at. The one who comes over to us is high as a kite, and clearly drunk. She smiles at Dax and puts her hand on his arm, slurring, “Where have you been, big boy?”
He puts on the most dazzling smile I’ve ever seen and gently takes her shoulder in his hand. “I’ve been getting some supplies. I wouldn’t want my girls to miss out.”
She giggles. “You’re so nice. I can’t believe we found you. We’re lucky.”
Honey, you’re not lucky. You’re fucked.
“You should stay. Party with us?” she asks.
“I will, I promise. But right now I’ve got to get some things. I’ll have you all brought down some food soon. What would you like?”
“Pizza!” she cries, throwing a hand in the air.
“Pizza it is.” He turns, leading me out of the room. The door is closed and locked, and that’s that. Those women, even if they start to fight, aren’t getting out of there. What if, though, they do figure it out and band together? He’d never be able to take more than fifty women down. Has he even considered that? I’m not sure I want to ask, because quite honestly, the answer will probably terrify me.
I just want to get out of here.
I need to get the hell out before my composure cracks and I lose it.
I need to get Alarick.
The club.
And we need to fix this.
Now.
I HAVE TO WAIT FOR a lift into the club, and I’m like a cat on hot bricks as I do. When one finally arrives, I get in and order the older member to take me there as quickly as possible. He does and the second we’re safe, I launch out of the truck and run inside. It’s nighttime now, and the guys are clearly having some sort of party because there are skimpy women walking around everywhere.
Great.
I shove through the people to find Alarick standing at the bar, Briella by his side, laughing with Cohen. They’ve got beers in their hands, and they seem to be having a grand old time. That’s about to change.
I shove past a woman who is currently making out with Kendric by the bar. She’s got her hands all over him, and he’s got a handful of her ass. No doubt they’re going to disappear into a room very soon. Or not. I’m fairly certain these women don’t care. That’s what they’re here for—a good time, not a long time.
I finally make it to Alarick, and the moment he sees me, the smile falls from his face.
“Waverly, what’s wrong?”
“We need to talk. Now.”
He nods, and we’re out of the bar and into his office in a matter of minutes. Cohen comes in too. Briella shuts the door and locks it, and then they all look to me.
“He’s lost his mind,” I say, my voice a little shaky. “He’s got women, a lot of fucking women. Alarick, there’s got to be over fifty. He’s going to sell the lot of them, make a big profit, and disappear until they can find another cop and the heat off Bennett is gone. He’s got them all locked in this basement and . . . oh god, he’s just feeding them drugs and alcohol. He’s promising them all this amazing stuff . . .”
“Slow down,” Cohen says, handing me a bottle of whiskey. “You’re freakin’ out, babe. Settle.”
I swallow, nod, and then take a big sip of the whiskey. It burns the whole way down, but the moment it hits my stomach, I feel a little warmer and a little less panicked.
“How did he get so many women?” Alarick asks me.
“He just picked them up off the streets and from junkie dens, as he called them. He has sent a few of them out with rich men, and those girls have come back and talked, and now they all believe they’re being sent to this amazing place where they’re going to have a better life. Not to mention he has them that strung out on drugs, they probably don’t care. Right now, they’re all having their addictions fed for free. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
“Fuck,” Alarick growls.
“This is so bad,” Briella whispers, shaking her head. “We’re running out of time.”
“Bennett is the least of our problems,” Cohen grunts. “We need to get those fuckin’ girls out of there.”
“We need to send the cops in!” I say, my voice frantic. “Call Zariah. Have her send a team out there. They’ll see what he’s doing and that’ll be the end of him.”
“No,” Alarick says, shaking his head. “No, they won’t be able to just search his house; that isn’t how it works. It’ll take them time to get a warrant to do that. We need to get those women out so he can’t sell them and disappear.”
“What about Bennett’s body?” I ask, my voice frantic. “If they find the women, they’re going to find that, and I’m . . .”
“She’s right. They’re going to link the two pretty quickly and search, find that body, and it’ll be over with,” Cohen agrees.
“I need to think,” Alarick growls. “Fuck, I need to think.”
The cops are suddenly looking like the worst idea here. If we call them in, we’re risking so much.
“I think we stick to the plan,” Briella carefully adds, and Alarick looks up at her. “I think we get the body out, and
