Page 21 of Regret

“Love you too, Miracle. Is this too much for you?” I question her, needing to know if she’s too overwhelmed because it’s happened in the past and the outcome hasn’t been good.

“No. Everyone is leaving me alone for the most part. I’m enjoying reading and listening to the boys fight over the game because I could beat them all with my eyes closed. They’re playing my favorite game and don’t think I know how to play. I’m just waiting to prove them all wrong,” she says, smiling even larger at me while looking over my shoulder at the boys who turn to face her.

“Miracle, if you think you can beat us, then get over here. I want to see you beat Dylan and Kingston. They’re the ones who think they’re unbeatable,” Carson says, laughing as his twin puts him in a headlock before turning to face my baby sister.

“Come on, Miracle. You know you can play games with us anytime you want. We’ll never exclude you because you’re family. You’ve always been family and that’s just how things are. Put your book down and come play with us,” Dylan says, not letting go of Carson as Kingston makes everyone move over on the couch so my sister has room.

I stand back up and watch on as she makes her way over to them and takes the controller Carson holds out for her. They get the game started and I don’t need to watch them play to know my sister will kick ass. Zach and her play this same game all the time. He got everything hooked up online before moving to Pine View just so he could keep playing with Miracle after he moved. I don’t understand why the kids love this game, but that’s okay. As long as they’re happy, who am I to question things?

Looking around the room, I finally find Chloe sitting with Wade. They’re listening to music on his phone, each wearing one earphone. My sister’s eyes are closed as she listens to the song before Wade looks over at me. He’s close to Chloe’s age and I know they’ve never had more than a friendship. They’re honestly more like brother and sister than anything else. It makes me happy to know she’s got a male friend who will watch over her when I’m not around. I just hate that I had to move here and pull them apart because she’s lost her friend and has no one at her new school when the other kids are assholes and try to bully her. Yes, it’s happened in the past and Wade has always stepped in to protect my sister. Now, it’s up to her to defend herself and I hope she’s doing that. Chloe isn’t ever one to back down from anything except when it comes to bullies. Then, she freezes and doesn’t know how to get them to stop for some reason.

Without saying a word, I smile at Wade before leaving the kids to what they’re doing in here. I thought they were going to watch movies all day, but maybe that’s after they get tired of playing games and everything else they’ve been doing in here. Making my way back to the common room, I find Shy, Gwen, and Annabell at a table together. None of the men are in the common room any longer. They must be in church. I didn’t know Vault was calling for a meeting, but with everything going on, it doesn’t truly surprise me either.

“Everything good with the kids?” Gwen asks me as I sit down with them and Martin brings me over a bottle of water. Everyone here knows I don’t drink and never will. I won’t turn into my mother.

“They’re good. The boys just got Miracle to play a game with them. Carson wants to see her beat Dylan and Kingston. She will. It’s the same game Zach plays with her on a daily basis. She’s almost as good as he is because he’s taught her almost everything he knows about the game and how to win,” I inform them as we all start laughing because none of the boys like being beat at anything. All of the kids are competitive, but the boys are so much worse than the girls.

“I’d pay money to see that shit happen,” Shy says when she can finally talk again as tears still roll down her cheeks from laughing so hard.

“Well, they’re right in the room beyond church. Go watch them,” Gwen says, a smile on her face because Shy is just as competitive and will get right in there playing with the kids. It’s so fucking funny to watch her do everything with them as if she’s there age.

“Nope. I’m not falling for that shit again, Gwen. I go in there and I’ll start playing and they’ll show me up because I suck at video games. Now, if we were gonna play pool, that would be a different story completely,” she says, making us all laugh at her because Shy truly is horrible when it comes to video games. Even most board games she’s horrible at. I don’t know what the deal is with her, but it gives the rest of us a good laugh.

For the next few hours, we sit and talk while the guys are in church and the kids remain in the room they’ve taken over for the day. Martin walks around asking us all what we want on pizza before placing a large order for delivery. I’m sure the guys are trying to give the ol’ ladies a break from cooking because that’s all they’ve been doing since they got here. Unfortunately, they’re not taking into account the kids all together and their need for snacks of all kinds. So, we still end up in the kitchen making all kinds of desserts and other snacks for the kids and men when they get out of church. I spend the day laughing and just relaxing with my chosen family because this is where I’m meant to be. If Conrad thinks he can take this away from me, he’ll find out really quick how wrong he is.

Chapter Fifteen

Valor

SITTING IN CHURCH with everyone, I wait for Vault to call our meeting to order. He’s talking to Fox, Buzz, and Kingston about something and I can’t hear what they’re saying. Vault does keep looking over at me and I know whatever they’re talking about involves my girl and I’m not going to like what they have to say when the meeting starts. Killer, Playboy, and Court are directly next to me. I have a feeling this is a strategic move on my brother’s part based on whatever is going to be said in this room. I’m not sure what the fuck is going on, but one way or another I’ll hear about it as soon as Vault determines they’ve gone over what they have to so we can get started. Honestly, I want to be back in my bed with Savannah. I left her sleeping after getting up with the girls and sending them to school with the guys. I took them this morning so my wife could sleep in for once. She’s always up so damn early and doing everything for those around her.

“Church in session,” Vault finally says, pulling me from my thoughts of Savannah laying in bed without me. “This meetin’ is gonna be as quick as possible. It’s about Conrad, the sick fuck who beat the hell out of Savannah and left her in the house for the girls to find. Fox, why don’t you share what you guys have found.”

Buzz hates speaking in front of others and we have both clubs gathered in our meeting room today. Fox is a good one to take point since he doesn’t give a fuck about what anyone says or thinks. I am kind of surprised Vault is allowing Kingston in here since he’s not started Prospecting yet though. I mean, we all know he’s been helping Buzz and his dad work to dig up as much information on Conrad as possible so maybe that’s why he’s been invited into church. No one else would get the same courtesy which makes me wonder if there’s more going on than what I’ve been told so far.

Tension fills me as I sit in my seat and give Fox my full focus. He stands as the screen we use slides down and Buzz presses a few buttons on his laptop so it goes to the screen and we can all see what he’s looking at. I still don’t look because anything they want us to see is only going to piss me the fuck off.

“As you know, we’ve suspected Conrad and his father, Governor Riley, of bein’ involved in the traffickin’ ring since Savannah was attacked and we started lookin’ into him,” Fox begins as Kingston sits watching his dad and I keep my eyes locked on Fox. “We were right. Not only are they involved, they’re the ones who started it. Governor Riley has been sellin’ people since Conrad was a young boy. He made some bad investments and came up with this as a way to make fast money to pay off his debt and retain his political seat. I’ve heard he has ambitions to become higher than a governor.

“What we couldn’t find was a link. Not until Kingston started diggin’ and usin’ the wife’s maiden name. He’s found three warehouses in her name in three different states. One isn’t too far from Pine View, the second is close to Benton Falls, and they’ve got another one further south. The warehouses were bought years ago and plans were put in place to make them apartments but that never happened. We all know why. I’m not sure if the wife has any involvement in this operation, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she does. Mrs. Riley comes from old money and lets her husband walk all over her.

“Governor Riley has a heavy hand and has been arrested multiple times on domestic abuse. The charges never stick and there’s always a reason why he’s not held. Mrs. Riley refuses to press charges against her husband and she’s never the one to call the police on him. Most of the time it’s neighbors who hear shit they shouldn’t be hearin’. A few times the hospital has called the police when her injuries were too severe and she had no choice but to get looked at. She’s been admitted to the hospital multiple times and still refuses to press charges or go against her husband in any way.”

My vision is filled with red as Fox’ words come out slightly muffled and distorted. We knew Conrad and his father weren’t good men. To know how much of an asshole his father truly is makes rage fill me and I know Conrad has been trained to treat women the same way his father does. If Savannah had dated him for any length of time, she would’ve been dealt with the same way. Conrad would’ve tried to break her and it would’ve happened. One threat is all it takes against her sisters and Savannah will do anything in her power to protect them.

“We all know they’re pieces of shit. What else do you have, Fox?” Court asks, resting his hand on my shoulder because he can sense that I’m about to lose my shit.

“We’ve been monitorin’ everythin’ from the Riley’s. There’s been a sight posted on the dark web auctionin’ off girls, boys, women, you name it. At first we were just workin’ to take the site down. Kingston is the one who found pictures of Savannah, Ava, Chloe, and Miracle. These pictures are old and the listin’ indicates they’re from when we intercepted the shipment and rescued everyone on the truck. The bids for those four alone are in the millions of dollars. That’s a lot of money for Conrad and his father to lose and they aren’t happy.

“Kingston hacked both of their emails and found communication between each man and several others interested in buyin’ the girls while bypassin’ the auction completely. They’ve seen the pictures and don’t want to risk someone else gettin’ their hands on the girls. Kingston has been workin’ on trackin’ down these four individuals and he found them. Their information has been turned over to the authorities and from my contact I’ve been informed these men are gettin’ picked up in the next hour. They’ve already been on the agencies radar and now they have valid reasons to grab them. I made sure the charges will stick and they won’t be gettin’ out of prison anytime soon. These aren’t good men. Three of them have murdered women in the past and the last one has been embezzlin’ money from his company for the last five years.

“This means that there’s only gonna be more interest in the girls. Kingston has several alerts up regardin’ all four of them and he’s taken down the site so no one else can bid on anyone. I’ve personally been in contact with the victims we rescued that night and they’re all accounted for. Even the one who is in rehab is still there. Slim and Shy will be goin’ to see her in two weeks when she can finally have visitors. They’re all grateful for what we’ve done to help them and are gonna stay vigilant and make sure they keep an eye out for anythin’ suspicious. They aren’t gonna do anythin’ to get caught again even though their pictures also have gotten a ton of bids and the price is almost as high as the girls. Conrad and the governor aren’t gonna let them go easy and will try to get them one way or another.

“Conrad gets his hands dirty while his father does nothin’ on his own. He sends men out to do the jobs for him. Conrad has no choice in the matter. If he doesn’t comply with his father’s demands, he’s tortured and then he has to put his work on hold until he heals. He’s a grown ass man and allows his father’s security to beat him whenever it’s deemed necessary. It’s happened his entire life and I’d say Conrad has been forced to become the asshole he is today to suit his father’s needs,” Fox states, his voice hard and cold as he relays the information they’ve been digging up over the last few days.

“What’s the connection between Conrad and Savannah’s mother? Have any of you found that shit out yet?” I question Fox, knowing there’s one there but no one’s said anything to me specifically about how they found one another so many years ago.

“The bitch went to Conrad for drugs. He was sellin’ for a while as part of his father’s other ventures and she ended up owin’ him a ton of money. As a way to not only pay off her debts to him, but to get her hands on even more drugs, she sold all four girls to the fucker. Conrad saw pictures of them in the house one day and that’s when he stepped up to get even deeper into business with his father. Saw it as a way to impress the stupid fuck and stop gettin’ beat daily. Conrad made sure she had a burner phone once we intercepted the truck and saved the girls from bein’ sold. He contacted her every other day tryin’ to find the girls again. When he discovered Savannah and the girls moved to Pine View, he met with the mother and sent her here to get Savannah and her sisters away from the compound. Conrad was sittin’ around the corner waitin’ for her. At this point, he’d take Savannah on her own because he knows he can get the girls once he has her,” Fox informs us as I slam my hand on the table in front of me.

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