Page 4 of Savage

“I want to stay up with you.”

Shaking my head, I say, “Get some rest. We have a lot to do today, and I need both my girls attentive.” I press a kiss to her forehead before I turn and head into the walk-in closet where I pull on a pair of gray sweatpants and a T-shirt.

Harper is slipping under the covers beside Rayne when I walk back into the bedroom. Leaving them to rest, I make my way to the office where I settle behind my desk.

My men are out looking for our targets, and I know I can call on The Fallen to help out if need be. Crow, Hawk, and Falcon will no doubt be up for a fight, but I want to wait to see what my own team find first.

There are already a number of emails waiting for my attention. We have ten investigators scouring numerous cities around the world. Places where we know there’s been trafficking activity. When we get a hit, we’ll head there next.

The first message I open seems to indicate our key mark is closer to home than I thought. After Malcolm and Thanos were killed, Bane fled to France, so the girls and I decided we would set up base in Italy to make traveling around Europe easier.

Moving to Rome has given us an opportunity to track my father’s previous associate, and it seems he’s attending a gala that’s coming up in a couple of weeks in Paris. It will be the perfect opportunity for us to come face-to-face with the bastard.

I reply to the email, letting my contact know we’ll need three tickets for the gala.

Money isn’t an issue. I’ve taken my half of the inheritance, and I use it to seek revenge on all the sick bastards my father called friends and associates. Drake and I have both donated to charities helping those who’ve been rescued from trafficking rings around the world. We’ve made sure the money my father accumulated—as a result of his evil deeds—goes to those who were hurt by him, and other assholes like him.

Hitting send, I lean back in my chair and shut my eyes. The next few weeks are going to be long and tedious. We can’t rush into Bane’s home or business premises without careful planning, and besides him, there’s a handful of other leaders who need to be taken down. They will pay with their lives for the atrocities they’ve committed.

I grab my phone and quickly send a message to Drake. I haven’t been back to see him in months, but he knows I need to do this. If he didn’t have River and Caia, I’m sure he’d be here by my side.

When the door opens, I remember my brother isn’t the only one with a family he needs to keep safe. The two girls now standing on the threshold of my office need me as much as I need them.

“Are we going to have a meeting?” Rayne asks as she strolls into the room.

She’s barely dressed. The short shorts she’s wearing gift me a tempting view of her long legs, and the camisole top does nothing to hide her perky tits and nipples. She’s making my mouth water.

Harper is equally fucking distracting in her tank top and boy shorts. I’m pretty sure these two have something up their non-existent sleeves, but we need to focus on work first. The fun can come later.

“Yes. I have some news. Bane is heading to Paris. He’s attending a charity gala that’s taking place in two weeks, and we need to be there. I’m done waiting around. It’s time we go to him. We need to suss out what the fuck his next move will be and then make our move before he organizes another auction.”

“Do you think he’s got more women and children coming in from Thailand?” Harper’s voice is low, but the panic is clear in her tone. She was abused by him and her father for years, so she has a personal stake in this.

“I believe so.” I nod. “But with our contacts, we can get ahead of the game. Once the route of the ship is confirmed, we can intercept it.” These assholes don’t use air travel to move their human merchandise, because there has to be a paper trail. It’s much easier to conceal stowaways on a ship at sea.

“Well, it looks like Harper and I will have to go dress shopping,” Rayne says.

“Yes, that’s a great idea. We can work out our plan later.”

One way or another, there will be blood.

2

HARPER

They say therapy helps. Talking about your problems is meant to allow you to work through them. The person listening to you offers advice and anecdotes, or whatever they’re called, and once you’ve finished the course of treatment, you’re supposed to feel better. Freer.

I don’t know if I agree with that, but I’m not here for therapy today. I’m here for the therapist who used to do business with my father and Bane. He doesn’t know who I am, but I know all about him.

When I first asked Dante if I could do this job alone, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. But in the end, he’s allowed me to do it on one condition—he has to be in the clinic reception every time I have a session.

Our backstory is that he is my partner, and he’s supporting me through my issues. The gullible Dr. Sterling bought it and said it was good I had someone there for me.

The doctor is now seated opposite me, in a large wingback chair that’s the color of a lush forest. His impeccable designer suit has been tailored to fit him perfectly. If you didn’t know the truth about him, you’d think he was an upstanding citizen. A good man trying to help those in trouble.

“How are you today, Solange?” he asks as he sits with his ballpoint pen and notebook poised at the ready while his dark eyes watch me intently.

The name I offered when I booked the sessions came from a movie we were watching one night. I’ve known for some time what I want to do, and I’ve asked Dante to help me. I plan to confront and punish the people who knew what my father and Bane were doing but didn’t try to stop them.

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