Page 13 of Liberating Mia
Turning her gaze back to Dylan, she found him watching her, like a predator watching its prey. A cold smile spread across his face. “Yeah, you’re starting to see it now, aren’t you, darling? To understand how much you’ve fucked up, yeah? I would have given you the world, but instead you chose to throw it in my face. So let’s see how much you enjoy being someone’s slave, their little fuck-toy, to do with as they please.”
“What are you intending to do with me? What do you mean?” Mia whispered, terror coursing through her. By sheer stint of will, she was barely hanging on – trying desperately not to give in to hysteria. She needed to stay calm. If she were to stand any chance of getting out of this waking nightmare, she’d need her wits about her.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Dylan, please—” she tried again.
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up!” he bellowed. “One more word out of you and I’ll put a bullet in that pretty head of yours.”
Mia jerked back, startled at his shouting. Scuttling backward, she bumped into the wall behind her, hitting her head. Christoff chose that moment to come back, a small brown bag in his hand. Removing a box from the sack, he handed it to Dylan.
“We won’t be much longer. Is everything ready for our departure?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very good. We’ll be out shortly.” With a nod of his head, Christoff returned to his post outside the door. Dylan looked over at where Mia was attempting to make herself as small as possible. “Come here.”
She didn’t move. Couldn’t move.
“Mia, don’t make me say it again. If I have to come to you, you will most definitely regret it. I will not ask again.”
There was no telling what Dylan would do if she pushed him, so, admitting defeat, Mia got painfully to her feet and dragged herself over to where he sat. He stood as she reached him, and she couldn’t stop herself from flinching away from him.
Eyes wide in fear, Mia watched as his lips tightened in annoyance. But he held his silence. Merely removed a tube from the little box Christoff had given him and began to slather some kind of gel on her face. The cold of the gel stung for a moment before blessed relief took over. The intense ache subsided.
“There, that should help keep the bruising to a minimum. Wouldn’t want to lose money over damaged goods, now would we?” His gave an ugly laugh that sent shivers down Mia’s spine. “Now get dressed and be quick about it. We don’t have all day.”
Chapter Ten
Silence fell as Larry stepped up to the podium.
He surveyed the group of people from around the world seated in the conference room. A dedicated group of individuals willing to do whatever was necessary to keep peace and restore order. He knew a number of them personally and was pleased to have them on the team.
“Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. This joint taskforce has been formed in a bid to bring down the Velasco Syndicate. We have new intel that puts us in a unique position to effectively go after them for the first time. I’ll hand over to Special Agent Kaden Finn to brief you.”
Finn took his place at the podium. A collage of photos appeared on a screen behind him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what you see here is the scourge of the earth. Beings so foul and evil that they don’t deserve to be called human. And it’s our job to remove them from society to prevent them from causing further harm.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
“As Deputy Director Keon said, according to the new intel, this group make up the Velasco Syndicate, responsible for a sex trafficking ring that spans continents and has been going for at least the past six years that we know of. Women and girls are snatched from all around the world, and, through the network, shipped to a compound in Mexico where they are auctioned off to the highest bidder.”
Finn gave them a moment to digest the information and take a good, long look at the faces on the screen before he continued, “Unfortunately, we suffered a setback in the last couple of day. Senator Forrester was found murdered a couple days ago. The loss of this source of information is significant, but not insurmountable. The intel we’ve already gathered has given this case a healthy boost. Now we just need to keep working the angles.”
He ran them through the rest of the presentation, sharing the evidence the late senator had given them in exchange for clemency and witness protection. Finn had worked exhaustively with a hand-selected team to verify as much of the intel received as they were able without alerting anyone in the syndicate to what they were doing.
After the presentation, he and Larry fielded questions from the agents.
Eventually, Finn held up his hands. “Time is getting on, and we have a number of final items to get through between the joint heads. We’ll pick up with the questions after briefing in the morning before announcing partners and assignments.” Looking around the room, he continued, “I suggest you take the opportunity during some downtime this afternoon and enjoy the beautiful sights around Cape Town. It will, most likely, be the last chance you’ll get for a good long while. Tomorrow, we’ll reconvene at oh-eight-hundred for a full day. Dismissed.”
Done for the day, exhaustion was settling in. All Finn wanted was a cold beer, a warm shower, and a good night’s sleep – a luxury he hadn’t had in too long. Added to that, he couldn’t get the mystery lady from the hotel out of his mind. Yes, she was beautiful, but there was something more. A vulnerability that spoke to the protector in him. Thoughts of her stayed with him as he made is way to the bar and through the much longed-for beer.
She was running from something. He just couldn’t figure out what. There was a vibe to someone on the run, and she had it in spades. What he couldn’t decide was, who – the law or maybe an abusive partner? Thoughts of their single night together popped into his head at the damnedest times.
Swallowing the last of his ice-cold beer down, Finn made the decision to seek her out. He knew her room number, so it wouldn’t be that hard to track her down even if he didn’t know her name. Putting the empty glass down on the bar, he nodded his thanks to the bartender and left.
While he waited his turn at the front desk, his thoughts returned, yet again, to the woman. In his mind’s eye, he could again see her sitting at the bar. The shy smile, the soft voice, and the haunted look in the coppery depths of her eyes.
