Page 98 of Rugger: The Huntress

My brow pulled closer together. “For one man?”

“Brothers. They’re responsible for smuggling undocumented immigrants into four different countries with promises of employment. They later find themselves in compromising positions and strange men in their hotel rooms with money and dick in their hands.

“Sex work becomes their way of life. While some adapt well and accept the conditions, others want out. However, they have no way of escaping, even with the money they’re making.”

“No passport. No connections. No knowledge of their location.”

“They don’t even speak the same language. They’re foreigners.”

“Six months to a year and a half for them to learn, adapt, and find their own way home.”

“They’re in shock for the first three months, so nine at minimum.”

I nodded, doing the math in my head.

“Then there’s establishing relationships and fostering connections they can trust.”

I was considering it all.

“And, imagine the connection you made going to the boss with your plans because you won’t service him any longer or because their freedom will never be revived if it happens to be a woman.”

“Making you start from ground zero.”

“It’s a never-ending cycle. Viscous and inhumane. They make a good penny. However, they stuck their nose in a pile of shit and scooped up the black sheep of the Ruso family. Freddrick is desperate to find his grandaughter and–”

“Interrogation?”

“The job has already been done and they have been freed.”

“By?”

“The Therapist.”

The cold, blank stare of Psalms said everything he wasn’t willing to. There were so many unspoken truths about us, our occupation, and our family. But, he made it perfectly clear he knew I was connected to the woman who’d likely tortured both men within an inch of their lives, making our jobs much easier.

“They’re still breathing?” Partly surprised, I questioned.

“Barely, but breathing.”

“So, four hundred and fifty?” I needed clarity.

“Each.”

The toast stopped mid-air. I’d heard Sonnie clearly, but the comprehension of it all slowed my movements.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“Them to locate her and make the arrangements for their operations to end. Today.”

“Three more hours, huh?” I smiled, realizing those three hours would be needed because once I exited his doors, my studies would consume me.

Psalms had told me almost everything I needed to know about the brothers. They were vile, disgusting humans and there was a hefty price on their heads. Now, the contract itself, I needed to study as well as the plans I knew he had already designed.

“Um hmm.” He nodded, biting into the sandwich in his hands.

I took a bite of the egg whites he’d scrambled before piling them on top of one of my toasts.

“I have a plan.”

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