Page 89 of My Temptation

“What did he do?”

“Nothing,” I interjected. “But he didn’t seem surprised by Ethan’s answer or that I went along with it.”

“He pegged you as the submissive one.” Nick came to the same conclusion I had. “He knows if he can get you in that room, he can manipulate you.”

“I think that’s why he invited us back tonight,” I admitted. “He knows there’s not much I’ll say no to because of where I danced before, but he also knows I can be controlled.”

“The only issue I see for Samson is that you already have a dominant partner.” Nick frowned and focused on Ethan. “You just became an obstacle for him, which means at this moment, you could be in a worse situation, safety-wise, than Mila is.”

“You think this is sex trafficking, don’t you?”

Nick frowned. “Unfortunately, I do. From everything you’re telling me, there isn’t a doubt in my mind he’s selling women to the highest bidder.”

“Which means he needs to get me out of the picture to get her,” Ethan surmised.

“Maybe, but that’s another reason I’m here.” Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “We have some theories about Samson’s intentions for tonight. If he’s running a trafficking ring and he gets the sense that you’re interested, Ethan, he might start by trying to get you on board with what they do, see if you’re willing to be an active participant, maybe even offer you a girl who needs a dominant to train her. If you agree, you’re safe, if you disagree, he’ll resort to plan B.”

“Which is?”

“Elimination,” Nick stated matter-of-factly. “He won’t do it on-site, though, if there are that many people. He’ll find a way to get you out of the building.”

“How do you know this?” Ethan asked.

“Worked an undercover case at the beginning of my career with the FBI. We were in pretty deep when we discovered we were dealing with the sex trade. They were finding the perfect girls, usually submissive, always vulnerable, and selling them to the highest bidder. If they’re not submissive, they have men willing to train them before they’re sold. Our guess is that’s exactly what’s happening behind that door, and if it comes down to choosing between you or the hefty sums of money they’re making, they’ll take you out. I can only assume they have a picture of Mila, probably taken by Jenny at the hotel, showed it around and found a buyer willing to pay a lot of money for her. That got you the invitation to the bar. Once inside, you were likely watched, and whatever the buyer saw in Mila sealed the deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were recorded while you were there. Buyers have deep pockets, but they want to know exactly what they’re getting before they agree to pay the asking price.” He looked back and forth between Mila and me. “If Samson’s willing to give you time to persuade Ethan to let you dance tonight, the buyer is paying top dollar, and he really wants you. Otherwise, Samson would’ve tossed you out and moved on to the next girl. The payout for Samson needs to be worth the risk he’s taking by letting you back in.”

“This is so fucked up.” Ethan ran his hand over his forehead. “So what’s my role, then?”

“Talked with Brody about that. You were against all of this last night, so you need to convince him that you’ve reconsidered. If he lets you back, stay close to Mila if you can, but I doubt that will happen. He’ll likely separate you, and that’s when you’ll have the opportunity to talk about business if he’s willing.”

“If he’s not?” Ethan asked.

“Then he’ll likely find a way to incapacitate you until he can get you out of the building.”

Ethan held up his hands. “I don’t understand why he would want to recruit me if they already have a buyer for Mila? I can’t imagine they need dominants willing to train that badly.”

“They could. Don’t underestimate the scope of this if it’s what I think it is. Sex trafficking networks can be huge, and because of that, they need a lot of people all doing different jobs to make it successful. They need dominants, but if they don’t like you for that, they may like you to be one of the men on the outside to lure women in. You’re young, good looking, and have proven you like to be in control of women and situations. They’re most likely looking for a certain type who will bring in more money, and you may be what they’re looking for.”

“This is a business,” I concluded. “It makes sense that he’ll use us both if we have the potential to make him a lot of money.”

“But if he senses you won’t be willing to play ball, he’ll just get rid of you. At that point, you’ll become an obstacle.”

Ethan put his hands on his hips. “How do I make him believe I’m interested?”

“Do more listening than talking, which shouldn’t be a problem for you.” Nick grinned, and I finally saw Ethan’s shoulders relax some. It wasn’t lost on anyone that Ethan was quiet and liked to observe before participating. “Keep your expression neutral and make him believe you’re open to what he’s saying.” Nick shook his head. “It’s not easy. Especially if he gives you details of the business. He’s looking for certain cues from you. If he doesn’t get them, it’s done.”

“This is so fucked up,” Ethan repeated.

“This is the underground shit Mila and I lived with for a long time. It’ll make you sick to know what people will do for money and power. Everything we’re doing here makes a difference, even if it seems small. You’ll need to remember that so you can stay focused and ignore everything going on around you. With any luck at all, we’ll be able to shut down this operation.”

“Haven’t gotten close enough yet to even breach their network, let alone shut them down,” Ethan stated.

“We’re gonna do whatever it takes to get close tonight or, at the very least, get enough information to hand this over to the FBI.”

“What happens if tonight fails?”

“We regroup,” Nick replied. “But it isn’t going to fail, Ethan. I can’t tell you much, but I can tell you that Jax and Brody have been in contact with the FBI. This is on their radar. Between us, the FBI has never stopped working the Sullivan case. Daniel Sullivan wasn’t running his operation alone, and there are some major players out there that the FBI would love to get.” When Ethan didn’t reply, Nick and I shared a look. “If you don’t want to go in, you don’t have to.”

“I’m going in.” Ethan narrowed his eyes. “We’re getting what we can and then getting out of this fucking place.”

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