Page 38 of Entangled in Them

Dillon’s green eyes narrowed. “You mean she’ll be handed over to the next old man who decides he wants a pretty, young, subservient woman who will do all the things his wife won’t?”

I hated to think of Rue being put in that situation again, but that was her life, wasn’t it? It wasn’t our place to try to change it.

Ryan spoke up. “We couldn’t just give her a passport and money, anyway. She wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

I frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

He twisted his lips, as though he was feeling awkward about something. “She won’t do well on her own in the real world. She’s never had to experience life on her own. I’m not sure she’d even find her own way through an airport and onto a plane.”

I still didn’t understand. “Why not? It’s not too complicated.”

“She’s just never had to do that kind of thing before.”

“We can give her instructions. We could even book her tickets for her. She’d just need to make her way through the airport.” There was something else, I could tell. Something he hadn’t told me. “What is it?”

“She can’t read.”

“What?”

“She can’t read,” he confirmed. “Her mother never bothered taking her to school, and when she became a teenager, she was sold into this life. She wouldn’t be able to figure out how to live out there on her own. She wouldn’t even be able to rent an apartment because she wouldn’t be able to read the lease. We could forge her as many documents as she’d need—fake references, as well—but chances are we’d be sending her to live on the streets, and she’d probably end up prostituting herself.”

Dillon dragged his hand through his thick, dark hair. “Jesus. Is that better or worse than ending up dead?”

Slowly, I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

We all looked back toward the closed door, and I was sure each of us was picturing Rue sitting on the couch on the other side, holding the books she was unable to read in her lap. My heart clenched for her. And I thought my life had been fucked up.

I couldn’t think about this now. I only had a couple of hours before I needed to leave for my flight, and we had orders we needed to complete. I couldn’t waste any more time worrying about the girl. At some point in the next couple of weeks, or hopefully sooner, the Capello brothers would come and collect her.

Even though I told myself this, I couldn’t focus. Normally, while we were working, we joked and ribbed each other, but the atmosphere in the room was different this afternoon. We were all lost in thought, trying to figure a way out of this situation, trying to find a solution.

“We could teach her,” Dillon announced suddenly.

I lifted my eyes from my work. “Teach her what?”

“How to survive in the outside world. We could teach her how to read and how to handle day-to-day situations, like signing contracts or catching a flight.”

I exhaled a breath. “That doesn’t solve the issue of the Capello brothers. You know what they’d do if they figured out we’d helped her.”

Dillon’s upper lip curled, and he thumped his fist down on the table. “Fuck.”

“Chill out,” Ryan snapped. “That’s not helping anyone.”

Dillon was worrying me. He was getting attached to the girl, and this was only the second day. What would he be like after a few more days, or even a week? We joked that he would fuck anything that moved, but Dillon was deeper than he acted. It was easier for him to pretend as though he wasn’t capable of getting attached to anyone, though I knew he was loyal. After he lost his parents, he shut himself off from anyone, but once he cared about something, he would fight anyone who tried to challenge him. He was stubborn while still oozing that sexy, Irish charm. That was our Dillon.

We fell into silence again, continuing with what we were doing. An hour or so passed, and I checked my watch and put down the passport I’d been working on.

“I need to get going.”

“You want me to give you a ride to the airport?” Dillon asked.

“Nah, thanks. Having even a small case on the back of your bike isn’t exactly practical.” The case I was talking about didn’t only contain a change of clothing and my toiletries. It would also contain the forged documents on the way out there, hidden in a secret compartment specially built within the outer layer of the case. The airport security could search the case all they liked, but they’d have to tear the whole thing to pieces to find the documents, and even then, they’d probably discard the part containing the documents as one piece, and still not find them. I didn’t want to take any risks, and that included getting busted. We weren’t flashy with anything, and that was how we went without getting noticed. We were businessmen, not gang members or gangsters, and that was how we stayed under the radar. That was, until Dillon decided to get involved with the wrong people.

“I can drive you,” Ryan offered.

I smiled at his offer, but I knew he’d been struggling recently. Even though his car was modified, it was still an extra effort for him. “It’s just as easy for me to grab a cab, but thanks.”

Ryan nodded, but I could see the relief in his face. “As long as you’re sure.”

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