Page 51 of Tower

Chapter 16

Peter’s phone rang from his back pocket.

“What the hell is going on over there?” Ash’s unmistakable voice shot through the phone.

Peter glanced over at Azalea, who sat at a desk in his apartment over Tower working on her laptop. Enough renovations were complete that he could start occupying his own home.

“Hello to you, too,” Peter remarked, getting up from his spot on the couch and walking out of the room.

“Why the fuck do you have some woman hostage?” Ash asked.

“She’s not a fucking hostage, you ass. Aren’t you on your fucking honeymoon?”

“I am. Ellie’s taking a nap.” As though the mention of his wife was enough to soothe him, Ash’s voice lowered. “Tell me what’s happening. I call Daniel, and he tells me you have this girl all locked up at the house?”

Peter would have to kill Daniel. “No one’s locked up anywhere. Daniel and I went on a collection call, and the guy didn’t have the money.”

“So you took a girl?” Ash’s voice might have been level, but Peter could hear the anger starting to build.

“Yes, but not like you’re making it out. She was locked up in her room, Ash.”

“So?”

“From the outside. She couldn’t walk out if she wanted to. In her own home.”

Silence filled the time.

“She’s free to leave, now, though?”

Peter ran a hand across his neck. “No, not really. She’s staying with me until her mother gets back from business. Then I’ll reassess.”

“Working foster care?” Ash’s tone didn’t suggest levity.

“Do you remember a woman named Bellatrix Gothel?” Peter stuck to the facts.

“Yeah. My father dealt with her occasionally. She’s a fucking trafficker. I cut her off when I took over. At least three of the girls my father had in the Annex were bought from her. After I released them, I helped return them to their families. Don’t you remember?”

“There were a lot of girls we helped find their families, I didn’t pay attention to where they’d been purchased.” At least a dozen women needed to locate the families that they’d been snatched from by either Samuel Titon’s men or other vendors.

“Well, she was one of the vendors. Works pretty low-key, from what I remember. Does a lot of dealings with Jansen, now, I think.”

“Yeah. One of her men went to Jansen to get him to intervene on the girl’s behalf. Hunter was at the house a few days ago asking me to hand her over.”

“And you didn’t.”

“Fuck, no. I trust Hunter, but no way I’m handing her over to Jansen. When her mother returns—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll reassess. You think I don’t know you? You have no plans to hand that girl back over to her mother.”

“You just said she fucking sells women. Why would I—”

“You think she’d sell her own daughter?” Ash cut in.

“Yeah, I do.”

More silence stretched out.

“Jansen’s not going to like being denied. And Bellatrix isn’t a small player, either. She works with families across the country.”

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