Page 116 of The Devil's Pawn

“I’m sorry,” she sighs. “They killed mine too. My parents owed the Palermos a debt they couldn’t pay, so they took me when I was sixteen, along with my twelve-year-old sister.”

Her voice drops as she peers down onto her knees.

“Is she here too?”

She shakes her head. “She’s dead now. Murdered during one of their…um, parties.”

Fuck.

I can see from her expression that she doesn’t want to say more without knowing how much I know.

“The club?” I ask.

She nods again, her eyelids falling half-closed and her face bending in grief.

“Do you know where it is?”

“No. None of us do. When they need us, they clean us up, blindfold us, and take us there. I wouldn’t even know how to get there. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. We’ll find it.” I move closer. “So, how about we get you all out of here and somewhere clean?”

“As long as there’s a shower.” She cracks a small smile.

That’s our cue to break open every cell and release the children, mostly young kids under ten, and women no older than twenty.

My pulse thunders louder at seeing those tiny, tattered faces looking so terrified. Alone. I’ve seen a lot and I’ve done a lot, but finding them, knowing my brother was the same fucking age…it kills me.

“What’s your name?” the woman asks as I help her climb out of the cage.

“I’m Dante. My brother Enzo is the one on my left.” I gesture with a tip of my head.

“I’m Serena.”

“Nice to meet you, Serena. I’m glad we found you.”

Tears shine brightly in her eyes, sloping down her cheeks. “I am too.”

“Don’t worry about anything. We’ll make sure you all have a safe place to stay for as long as you need.”

“Thank you,” she trembles out.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you.”

Her lashes flutter, her lips set to a scowl. “Yeah.”

It’s a good thing we own hotels. Finding them a place to stay while we figure out what to do with them won’t be an issue.

“You think you can help me find someone?” She wipes under her eyes.

“Of course. We’ll do our best. Who you looking for?”

“While I’ve been down here, there were these two women, a few years older than me, but I haven’t seen them for a long time. I just wanted to know if they made it out somehow or if they were—”

The words cut roughly, and she’s unable to finish them, but I know what she wants to say. If they were killed.

“What are their names?”

“Uh…” Her gaze darts away, like she still isn’t sure she can trust me.

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