Page 21 of Into the Woods

“I just need to collect the deposit, and then I’ll be out of here.” It took serious work not to tell him just how vile his establishment was.

Henri slunk behind the desk, his goon following close behind. Fool left me an easy way out. Not that I planned on needing an escape, but the lack of physical security displayed blew my mind. It was something I’d need to fix sooner as opposed to later.

A fine sheen of sweat glistened at Henri’s temple as he pasted a tense smile on his face. “I… You’re not who I expected. Give me a minute, let me go and uh, make sure we’ve got enou—” He caught himself, but it was obvious he was scraping the bottom of the barrels to make the payment.

Shaking his head, he glanced at the screen of his computer. His eyes went wide and he mumbled an apology before hoofing it out of the office.

Whatever he’d seen spooked him.

Curiosity got me and I rounded the desk. The security camera at the back of the club showed a man talking to my driver. Off to the side stood a girl in her mid-teens awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. She was nervous, and she should’ve been. Nothing good happened in the alley behind the Honey Pot and she was way too fucking young to be standing there with those two men.

Henri shoved through the back door as the man handed a folded wad of cash toward the girl as he wrapped his meaty hand around her upper arm. It wasn’t a protective gesture but a controlling one. Henri swiped the cash from the girl’s hand and as she spun I got a good look at just how young she was, how pissed she was at him.

I watch as she argued with Henri, hands flying in the air as if she was trying to make a point. What I saw when she turned to fully face the camera had my blood running cold.

Winnie L’Ourson was standing behind the shittiest strip club in town exchanging cash for God knew what. And her father, her fucking father, was facilitating the entire thing.

My molars ground as I watched the three men argue over what I could only hope was a huge misunderstanding and not the sale of a young girl. But I knew better. The only thing that kept me from storming through the club to rectify the situation was seeing Winnie stalk off and climb into the car at the end of the alley, her best friend, Tru, behind the wheel. Tru boldly flipped the men off as she peeled away, hopefully stealing Winnie away to safety.

My driver got back into the car as the man argued with Henri, obviously demanding his money back. He reared back to swing before Henri’s man stepped in and caught the man’s fist twisting it behind his back and shoving him against the trunk of the town car.

I counted the minutes until Henri reentered the office, shoving what looked a lot like that same wad of cash into a duffle before he handed it to me.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked still standing behind the desk.

Henri glanced from the monitor to a spot on the wall behind me. “Just a last minute transaction to pad the deposit. Nothing for you to concern yourself with.”

“Oh, I’m concerned, Henri. You selling underage girls in broad daylight?” Time of day didn’t bother me; the age of the girl was an issue. The specific girl he was trying to sell was a big fucking problem, but I wasn’t ready to lay down my cards just then.

He scoffed as if none of that was reason to be concerned. “My daughter is my business. It’s more than time to bring her into the family business, start earning her keep.”

My vision went hazy with thoughts of murder. “What?”

He shrugged. He fucking shrugged as if she meant nothing to him. “She’s been doing drops for me for a while, but she’s worth some serious money now. It’s about time to bring her in to work with Claudette’s girls.”

“Who was that out in the alley with her?” I needed a name so I could make sure he knew that she was untouchable.

“Paulo? One of the Italian’s men. Likes ’em young but not inexperienced, you know? Likes the illusion that he’s showing them the ropes without the bother of having to truly break them in.” He turned and slunk away down the dark hallway, disappearing before I could put my fist through his face.

I searched the main room, down a handful of hallways and into rooms I’d never had any desire to visit, but Henri was nowhere to be found. Not that he was going to tell me anything good or honor any promise I might have been able to squeeze out of him. He wasn’t an honorable man.

Instead, I returned to the car, tossing the duffle into the backseat and climbing in after. I grabbed my phone and hit Teague’s number.

“I thought you said she was safe,” I barked in lieu of a greeting.

“She is. I just checked in on her last week,” he replied.

“Yeah? Well, I just saw her doing a deal for her old man and that fucker is getting ready to put her out there on the market.”

“Christophe, I swear to God?—”

“Hold on.” I dropped the phone to the seat next to me and directed my driver, “Pull over.”

I pushed out of the car and was on the guy from the alley in a matter of seconds. I’d assumed he’d gotten in a car and tookoff after Henri dismissed him, but there that fucker was walking down the street like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Blood flew from his lip as he stumbled back from the impact of my fist. Before he had a chance to recover, I had him tucked away around the side of a building, my hand at his throat holding him in place.

“We have a fucking problem, Paulo.” I said it conversationally, like we’d known each other for ages. Like we were equals, when we were decidedly not.

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