Page 104 of Líadan's Code

Taking a deep breath, I stare at the brick warehouse in front of me. It has no affiliation with auctions, trafficking, or anything of the sort, and Mickey brought them here until more appropriate housing could be found.

Jana, his sister, stayed the night with them, and they all slept on sleeping bags with heaters blasting warm air into the room. It’s a far cry better than where they were, sadly.

“We can do this,” Brendan says next to me, intertwining his fingers with mine. “Rory even did all the heavy lifting for us.”

My lips twitch in amusement as we begin walking with Mickey inside. Rory got on the phone to the family, calling all the empty nesters whose children have grown up. He spoke to them about what was needed, how these kids would require a lot of love and support from whoever they live with, and six families stepped up to help.

There are two groups of children that are siblings, which means doing our damnedest to keep them together.

The other men and women we’ll discuss their options with, whether they want to go back to their families, or start new lives with new identities. I am the poster child for having an abusive family. I totally understand if they decide to go with option B.

It’s silent as we walk into the warehouse. It’s clean, warm, and oddly quiet. My fingers spasm around Brendan’s fingers as I see a woman standing just inside.

“Laura, sorry to keep you waiting,” Mickey says. “I just had to bring Líadan and Brendan inside.”

“Of course,” she says, before glancing over at me. “Wow. People talk about you as if you’re ten-feet-tall.”

“Apparently, appearances are deceiving,” I tease her, reaching out to shake her hand. I’m not naive enough to think Laura hasn’t heard things about me.

Laura shakes my hand with a nod, her deep-blue eyes trying to figure me out. It must be the therapist in her, but I’m fifty shades of fucked up, so I wish her luck.

“Thank you for coming today, I want to make sure we have a good safety net for everyone as we plan where they want to go from here,” I say as we start to walk further into the building. “It won’t be perfect, but at least it’s something.”

It’s more than I ever got, that’s for sure.

“You sound pretty self righteous,” she says. “Moving people around like puzzle pieces, offering to help them. What does a little mafia princess know about sex trafficking anyway? Outside of what you are responsible for?”

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. Sometimes, you can’t win for losing. I’m sure it looks like that from her side.

“Are you sure you’re the right person to help these people?” I ask, stopping and turning to face her.

I’m dressed for the viewing tonight, because I had a feeling I wouldn’t get a chance to go back to the hotel. Mickey and Brendan are both dressed in black clothing, while I’m wearing a long black coat over my black dress which has a slit up the right side.

If Brendan really wants to enact his fantasy of fucking me at the viewing, I want him to have easy access to me. I finished up the outfit with tights that he can easily rip off me and high heels.

The ice and snow is beginning to melt surprisingly with the much warmer day.

“You know nothing about me, and yet you’re judging everything you can possibly assume,” I say. “I am not a woman you want to be on the wrong side of, so I will forget you said that. Assist me in this transition, ensuring everyone will get a happier ending. I can’t change the last few hours, days, or months in their lives, however I can change what happens from here on.”

“Líadan isn’t the enemy, Laura,” Mickey growls. “I’m going to tell Cara she must be getting senile in her old age to trust a misguided snake like yourself if you don’t straighten the fuck up.”

Laura straightens, blowing out a breath. “Miss Cara isn’t senile,” she grumbles. “You look so well put together in the midst of everything. I don’t know how you expect to be taken seriously.”

Shrugging, I think about the knife I have strapped to my inner thigh, and the sharp hair pins that are holding my chignon in place.

“I needed a hiding place for my weapons,” I say easily. “I have a busy day, ending with a funeral viewing with a bunch of sharks, so I have to look the part. Judging a woman for her outfit seems beneath you. I am who I am, which means I have money. It doesn’t mean I haven’t bled for the pleasure to exist. I have a lot more in common with the people I’m trying to help. My motivation is none of your fucking business.”

“I think you look pretty,” a small voice says, drawing my attention. A girl who appears to be about fourteen is standing in front of me, and I force myself to keep a smile on my lips. Her eyes are dark and haunted, telling me a lot about the things that she’s seen. I want to burn a lot of shit down.

God, there are children here. Planning, moving puzzle pieces, setting things into motion is very different from being smacked in the face with it.

“Thank you,” I murmur. “Want to walk me to where everyone else is? The warehouse can’t be the best place to sleep.”

The girl shrugs as she begins to walk with me. “It’s much better than other places,” she mumbles.

“Then that’s thanks to Mickey. We had to scramble a bit to find a place for everyone,” I say. “We didn’t know how many people there would be.”

“Are you going to sell us?” she asks. “Why would you treat us so well if you weren’t?”

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