Page 45 of Spies Like Us

“Unless they are just putting them in shallow graves,” Lathan says flatly.

“Come on. It won’t be for long. We’re going to bust this ring wide open, and those kids there will be able to return to their lives.” I nudge him back the way we came.

“Not sure that’s any better if they were able to be taken,” Ryland grumbles.

“Percy will see that they have a good place to go, you know that. Sadie won’t leave him any other choice,” I remind him, and he grunts noncommittally.

We move back the way we came. Whoever was here must have left through one of the other tunnels. We know one leads back to the ranger’s cottage, but I’m not sure where the other one goes.

“Should we explore that one?” Ry nods in the direction we haven’t been yet.

“No, not today. It’s late, and Anders will be bringing the others back to the house to install Miller’s tracker. I’d like for us to be there so we can tell them what we found. We also don’t know which way whoever we heard went. I don’t want to risk running into anyone,” Max replies, vetoing the idea, and we follow his lead.

We stay silent as we hurry back the way we came, leaving the library basement how we found it and walking single file across the dusty ground in case someone comes down here.

I’m anxious to get home and see how the others’ night went. If it went as planned, then Anders and Mac will have secured her blackmail material. I’m not going to deny I’m curious about how it was. I’m dying to get some alone time with Mac, but I’m not sure it’s on the cards for us at the moment. The hot springs will be out now that Bishop’s body was found in it. I’ll have to see if there is somewhere else close by. Maybe one day after school, I can convince Mac to go for a drive with me. I’d like to claim that last kiss she owes me. I wonder if there is a drive-in cinema close by, because that would be fun. My parents used to take me and my sisters when we were younger. We’d all pile into the van and drive an hour to the one a couple of towns over from where I grew up. It was always a blast, and one of my fondest memories of growing up.

I bet she missed out on a lot of essential teenage stuff like making out in the back of a car. After all, she said our picnic was the first real date she’d ever been on, and I’m determined to change that.

Chapter 20

My stomach is sticky with Miller’s cum, and I’m sure people will be able to see it under the blue lights of the club, but when I pull my hot pants up, I find it sits below the waistline of the shorts. I quickly finger comb my hair the best I can before returning to the club. When I get to the bar, Anders and Miller have returned to serving, and both of them ignore me.

“Hey, Mac, take that to Matthew, will you?” Keith points to a tray of shots. “Sam and Meri are both busy.” I look around the club and can’t see either of them working any of the tables. Maybe they are getting high again like the other night. I pick up the tray and head toward the booth with most of our suspects. When I get there, Matthew, Brock, and Father Sweeny are the only people still at the table. Ted and James are missing.

I place the tray on the table before putting each of the shots in front of the men. “What about these two?” I point to the two remaining ones, looking at Matthew.

“Oh, they will be back. They are just taking care of something.” Brock giggles drunkenly at Father Sweeny’s words, so I shrug and place them on the table as well. “I was sorry that you didn’t get a chance to finish your confession today, Mackenzie. We will have to try again next week.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I hedge, shuffling like I’m uncomfortable.

“I’m sure that’s not necessary. Since she’s been working with me, I’ve found that she follows orders and directions perfectly. With the gentle guidance of James and Martha, I’m certain Mac is on the path to greatness.” Matthew pats my hand in a fatherly way, like he didn’t just watch two of his staff members spit roast me. All of us can hear the subtext, even though I’m not supposed to know what he’s talking about.

“I really like this job,” I tell him as he looks at something over my shoulder. I turn and see James and Ted. They are with Meri and Sam, and it looks like they are handing them something. I can’t see what, unfortunately, but they look up and see me watching, then they say something and head toward us. The girls walk back to the bar and out to the staff area.

James and Ted slide into the booth and grab their shots, throwing them back. “Mac, could you get us another pitcher of beer? I’m thirsty,” James asks, smiling at me and sliding over the empty pitchers with his empty shot glass.

“Absolutely,” I reply as I gather the rest of the empties, trying not to notice the smudge of lipstick on James’s mouth that perfectly matches the color on Sam’s lips.

“You’ve got a little something,” Brock says to James, pointing to his own lip. James’s eyes widen, and he quickly rubs it off. I pretend not to notice, but as I lean across Ted to get a couple of extra glasses, I catch a whiff of sex that’s not coming from me.

I guess I know what these two were doing. I wonder if they were paying Meri and Sam. Matthew didn’t seem surprised at all. Do they prostitute on the side to feed their habits?

“I’ll be back soon,” I tell them and head back to the bar, placing their order with Keith and cleaning the empty glasses before moving out back. Sam and Meri are both on the couch. There’s a line of coke in front of Sam as she leans over with a rolled dollar bill to snort it. She looks up at me but doesn’t stop what she’s doing. In front of Meri is just a rolled up note and some sprinkles of leftover powder. Her head is back, and she’s looking up at the ceiling while the coke floats through her system.

“Do you want a hit?” Sam asks, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “It makes the night go quicker.”

I look at the clock on the wall. It’s already half past eleven, so there’s only a little bit of the night left to go.

“Nah, I’ll be okay,” I tell her, and she grins as the coke hits her bloodstream.

“Okay, cool, but if you want something, let me know. We have the best hookups. Our guys really take care of us and make sure we’re looked after. They are so sweet. Sundays are my favorite day of the week. Their bitch wives have book club, and they come here to hang out,” she rambles, her gaze not really focusing on anything as she leans back like Meri.

“You guys like Ted and James?” I push, knowing their tongues are loose from the coke. I’m sort of confused. I assumed they were being coerced or pressured, but that’s not what this sounds like.

“Yeah, for sure. I just wish they could visit us at our place more often, but…” She trails off and looks around like she’s checking that nobody is listening. “They are married, so they have to keep up pretenses at home, and we only get to see them on Friday night after poker and Sunday nights.” The two of them must not realize that I live with James, otherwise I don’t think they would be so forthcoming with all this information.

“They promised us they are going to leave their wives.” Meri’s head rolls to the side, and she looks at me through bloodshot eyes. Holy crap, how many lines did she snort before I came in here? “They said they have one big shipment that needs to go out in two weeks, and they will have enough set aside for us to move to Mexico together.”

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