Page 276 of Unexpected Hero

“Fine. I’ll tell you what happened.” A shaky breath leaves her. “A few weeks ago, this guy came into the club. He was asking around about you. As you’d expect, I had nothing nice to say.”

I make a tsking sound. “You have no reason to hate me. I’ve never done anything to you.Never spoke about you behind your back. Never been unkind. Never—”

She cuts me off with her palms out and a calm voice. “I know. I know. It was me. Okay? I admit it. I was the one with the problem.”

Biting my tongue, I give her a curt nod.

After a tight swallow, she continues, “Once he knew you and I weren’t friends, he started working me over, I guess you could say. Next thing I knew, he was promising me things. All I had to do was get you away from James one night. He gave me a list of clubs to choose from.”

“That’s why you kept asking Freya to get me to go out? So they could take me?”

She nods, her eyes falling to her lap. “Yes,” she admits softly.

“You knew the guys from the club? The Russians?”

Again, she nods. “I’d met one of them a few times. We’d talk about ways to get you alone.”

If I had the energy, I’d scratch her blind.

When no one speaks — aside from the few gasps of disgust from the other girls — Vanessa finally finishes her confession. “That night, we planned the singing contest so you’d want to stay. Then I acted drunk so Freya would take me home.”

The contest too? That’s insane.

“The dance club was throwing that contest, though. I don’t...” My words trail off because it dawns on me that the entire fucking bar was involved.

Well, not the entire bar. But enough people there were dirty. That’s why they gave her a list of acceptable places.

She doesn’t explain because she sees the moment it clicks for me. “So yeah. I delivered you to them. Earlier today, I met up with them to collect my payment.”

“And instead of getting money, they grabbed you and brought you here,” I finish for her.

“Yeah. It seems they didn’t trust me to keep my mouth shut.”

“They were never going to pay you, Vanessa.” I uncross my arms and step back toward my mat. My chin and voice wobble in equal measure. “They just told you that. And you fell for it. Wonderful job. Now we’re both in here with no way out.”

The girls flanking me give me a wide berth. Tina squeezes my arm as I pass her, infusing strength into her touch.

She’s got so little to spare, and yet, she lends me some.

“I’m okay,” I tell the sweet kid. “Thank you.”

As I slide down the wall, I watch Vanessa break down in tears.

For herself. Not me.

Despite how much I’d love to rub salt in her wounds, I won’t. No one deserves this place. Not even her.

I don’t need to punish her. She’s going to get worse than I can give her from the monsters in the other room.

There’s nothing else I need to say to her ever again.

Karma will take it from here.

Chapter 52

The MFKL is getting longer

TOMER

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