I lifted my cell to my ear and dialed. “Chaz, do it.”
Benj faltered a little but only briefly. “She’s not where you think she is.”
“You mean she’s not in the city? Yeah, I know. It did take a little bit to find her, but hiding her with your mother wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do.”
“You’re lying… you don’t have her.”
Chaz put the girl on the phone, and I handed it to Benj.
“Baby?” he gasped.
I could only imagine what was being said on the other side, but from here I could hear her whimpering.
“It’s okay… no, baby, I’ll take care of this.”
He handed back my cell without a word and opened the steel door to let me through. “I’ll get him.”
York and I moved inside, sitting on the cold seats near the table. Chaz wouldn’t hurt the girl. He was too much of a softy, but until I found another enforcer like York, I’d need him to do jobs like this. He seemed up to the task, but if it came to the point of torturing the girl, he’d probably pass out.
“Have you found any more men?” I asked York while we waited.
“Yeah, recruitment is ongoing, but I see some promising talent.”
The door opened and a heavily chained Aubrey came to sit down. He waited for the door to close and for Benj to disappear from view before he looked over at me. He had two black eyes and a cut lip.
“Thought you didn’t want to come to prison,” he said to me.
“What the fuck?”
I looked at his injuries, some of them looked worse than minor scuffs. He also sat in a way where he was leaning to one side.
“They took me out of isolation.”
“Benj did that?”
“No… the Governor did.”
“Look, Aubrey, I know you’re in pain and probably don’t want to help me at all given your state, but I need your help… again.”
“Sure. How’s Ebony?”
“She’s better… a lot better. The scars have healed more than I expected at this rate.”
“Good, that’s good.”
He was fidgeting with his hands.
“Something you want to ask me?”
“I’m sure you know how to look after her,” he said. “She needs to be protected.”
“Of course, you know I will. She won’t be out of my sight or the sight of someone I can trust. She’s with Ronni now.”
He nodded. “Why did you come here?”
“Who is doing this to you? I can get them to stop.”
“No, you can’t. I can take it… I just want to make sure you know to look after Ebony if something does happen.”