Page 69 of Heathen

"Burke," I growl. "Her last name is Burke."

"KayleeBurke," he says after a long exhale. "She seems like a really nice person, but you have to consider how she appears on paper because that's what the jury is going to see when Dima's attorneys get a hold of her. The organization is set up as a sort of dating service which isn't illegal in Nevada. They don't even have to register as a brothel because we have no proofthey're selling sex, which, even if they were, they'd probably meet all the requirements."

"Except for the fact the women have to be working there free of coercion," I argue. "They threatened Kaylee's friend if she didn't comply."

"According to a woman who is always late on her rent, doesn't have any money in savings, and went there and signed the paperwork of her own free will."

"That's not—"

"That's what the jury will see," he argues.

My jaw aches from how hard I'm clenching the muscles there. He has a point.

"So we can't just go in and shut them down with her as the only witness," he says as his phone chimes in his pocket.

"We have to find more evidence," I say, knowing he's right.

He shakes his head, turning his phone around to me so I can read the screen.

Kincaid: Get with Casper in Tennessee. He found the loophole we needed to raid the Vegas warehouse.

"Seems our wait is over," Rooster says as he walks out of the room.

Unease begins to settle inside of me. Only minutes ago, I was arguing that this is exactly what needed to happen. I needed this so I could put distance between Kaylee and myself.

Now that we have the all-clear to take those pieces of shit down, I'm left wishing I had more time to get to know her better before she's safe enough to return to her normal life, one that doesn't include me.

My reluctance won't stop this from happening, so I rush up the stairs and grab the gear I'll need from my bedroom closet.

Kaylee isn't in the room, and I don't know how to feel about it. Not that I have much time to worry in the first place.

The next several hours are a blur. I really thought that it would take more than improper disposal of chemicals to take down DimaTkachenko, but that's what Casper found that allowed us to do the raid on the warehouse.

I wore a mask, as did all the other guys from the Vegas team, along with many others from several different agencies local to the area.

As much as we considered ourselves helping the women at the warehouse, none of them seemed to be happy we were there. They aren't the first group of women I've encountered in my work with Cerberus who have been conditioned to see anyone in a policing type of position as the enemy. They don't want our help because they think we're just there to hurt them more than the men holding them hostage.

Of course, Dima is too smart to keep all of his paperwork at the warehouse, and there's nothing there that would give us a legal position to raid his home or the home where the women have been living. He claims a fire destroyed all of his company paperwork, and although he was able to prove a small fire at a local storage facility, we fucking know better.

The women at the warehouse had to be moved to a holding facility until lCE could figure out who they were and if they were legally in the United States. They wouldn't be getting much help from the women. Each one remained silent when questioned in both English and Russian.

When I leave the warehouse and get back to the villa, I feel like I've done more harm than good today.

Despite the fact that Dima is being held in jail currently, I have no doubt that he'll see the sun rise from his own front porch tomorrow.

Chapter 28

Kaylee

"What happened?" I ask the second he walks into the room and I see the look on his face. "Did someone get hurt?"

I rush off the bed and across the room until I'm standing right in front of him.

I'd never forgive myself if the job they did today got someone on his team hurt or killed. It would be my fault. I know he'd have no other recourse than to blame me because I'm the reason they went there in the first place.

In the silence, I question every decision I've made since leaving my hometown, regret swimming inside of me for it leading me here, putting me in a position in his life that would bring tragedy to someone else.

"It's fine," he mutters, his eyes darting away from mine, as if he can't stand the sight of me.

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