I give him a bored look. “Well, he didn’t find me. Maybe he already left, which is what I’m going to do as soon as I’ve finished this.” I swig the rest of the coffee and rise to my feet. I leave without saying another word, which is exactly what they’d expect me to do. I’m a lone wolf, an unsociable bastard, and engaging in lighthearted chitchat will appear strange and out of character. Everything has to look normal, especially if I’m to succeed in saving Calla.
The van that takes the girls who fail the tests on to the next part of their journey usually leaves around six a.m., an hour from now. Some of the women might end up in a brothel in and around Denver, but most will end up scattered all over the country. A few are even shipped abroad, transported by container ship to Europe, the Middle East, and even Asia. This is my one chance to rescue Calla. If my plan fails, I’ll lose her forever, and I can’t allow that to happen.
I move my car to the lane that runs along the rear of the facility, then jog back to the main building. Hiding in the shadows, I watch as Davenport appears with his head buried in his phone, the blue light illuminating his face. He’s far too distracted by whatever he’s looking at to pay attention to his surroundings. He gets into his car, fires up the engine, and leaves.
I use the time while I wait to go over every single second of my plan, searching for holes and planning escape routes for the parts that might go wrong. I originally considered following the van and running it off the road, but that risked injury to Calla, and so I shelved it. After working through several scenarios, the one I came up with might look like the most ballsy but, in reality, carries the least risk. I’m simply going to wait for the security detail to start bringing out the girls and pluck Calla right from their grasp under the guise of a gift from Viper. The security detail they use doesn’t fraternize with the trainers, but they know who they are, as well as the trackers. I’m banking on them simply handing her over, shrugging, and carrying on their way. They get paid regardless of how many girls they deliver. I doubt very much they’ll even come into contact with Viper to check my story. As soon as they drive away, I’ll be forgotten, as will Calla.
I hope.
The clicking of a door opening reaches me, and a blond-haired man dressed in a pair of black jeans and a leather jacket appears. He holds the door open while another guy carries out the first girl. She’s unconscious, as they all will be. Whether the girls pass or fail the tests, they are drugged before transportation. The first they’ll know of their fate is when they are brought around, and they’ll either find themselves in an Elite-owned mansion where they’ll receive their assignment of two or three men whom they will service, or they’ll awaken strapped to a dirty, bug-infested mattress with a line of men already camped outside the room waiting for their turn.
And they’ll pray for the sweet release of death.
I almost don’t dare to breathe as, one by one, the women are ferried from the building to the waiting van. Calla isn’t among them. Oh, fuck, maybe she actually passed Typhon’s tests, as unbelievable as that sounds. Depression lowers my shoulders. If she did, then The Elite has her, and she’s lost to me.
But then I see her dirty-blonde hair draped over the arm of one of the security team. My heart stutters and my fingers tingle as I step out from the shadows when the guy reaches the van.
“Not that one,” I say, stepping forward.
He frowns, and then his brow smooths as he recognizes me. “Mr. Hawk, sorry, sir, didn’t see you there. What did you say?”
“Not that one,” I repeat, jerking my chin at Calla. Already I can see the effects of Typhon’s brutality with dark bruises covering her arms and legs, and my hands curl into fists. The fucking vicious bastard. I’ll need to get her to my place in the mountains to carry out a full assessment, but she’s going to require a hell of a lot of recovery time.
“She’s mine,” I go on to say. “Viper knew she’d fail, and he promised her to me.”
He shifts her slight weight, his frown making a comeback. “He didn’t say.”
“I wasn’t aware he had to explain himself to you,” I grind out, using a heavy, authoritative tone. “Now give her to me, or you’ll be late delivering the other women.”
He hesitates, but it’s for the briefest moment, and then he hands her over. I nod brusquely and turn away, but I keep my steps slow and deliberate, all the while praying none of the trainers appear. They usually stay behind afterward to talk through the evening, with those who got a pass raving about their superiority, and those who ended up with an abject failure putting it down to their thoroughness.
By the time I reach my car, my heart is pounding so fast I feel light-headed. I lay Calla down on the backseat and cover her over with a blanket. The entire time, I’m expecting a hand on my shoulder followed by the butt of a gun to my temple, but as I get in the car and slowly pull away, there’s no sign of anyone.
I haven’t gotten away with it. Not yet. I won’t believe I’ve saved her until the next time I see Viper and he mentions nothing. Then, and only then, I might start to believe she’s mine.
An hour into my journey and finally I start to relax. My mind returns to the six women who didn’t make it, and I smile as I recall the absence of fiery red hair. She passed, as
