Page 72 of Duke
“Anyway,” Mason continues, “they forced him to admit that because of his relation to me, he had a massive conflict of interest in representing Murdock. I’m sure money swapped hands and who knows what else to get him out, but he was released after serving thirteen years.”
Kingston sits forward, elbows on his thighs with his hands clasped together. He lowers his forehead to them, as if he’s thinking the deepest of thoughts.
I can’t afford to wait for him to get his head screwed on straight, so I forge on. “Honestly, that’s the least of our problems.” My teeth clench as all eyes focus on me. “We’ve also discovered that our fathers, among all sorts of other dirty deeds… are likely running a sex trafficking ring out of the Hawthorne Country Club. Their poker nights are a cover for it. They bring girls in to wait on them, and then…”
Lennon curls herself into a ball. “I got caught up in it.” Her eyes flick to Kingston’s. “Your sister did, too. We were both drugged, and I was raped.” She hesitates, wiping her hands on her thighs. “I’m really sorry to tell you this, but I believe Juliette was, too. Then they dumped us in the parking lot of the diner.”
Kingston gives Lennon a blank look at first. “Stella’s.” He swallows hard, eyes shutting as what she’s said hits him. The room is dead silent for several beats before he looks up. His eyes are glassy as he holds out his hands. “Who?”
I hate that the emotion in his eyes is digging right inside my damn heart.
From beside me, Mason rasps, “They were drugged. Lennon remembers very little. She’s only today remembered enough to confirm who assaulted her.”
Elliot lets out a ragged breath, on the verge of tears. She reaches for Kingston’s hand before searching my eyes. “If it’s a sex trafficking scenario, how—?” She blinks, her face coloring as she glances at Lennon. “I’m so sorry, I know this is probably difficult.”
Lennon bites down on her lip before murmuring, “It’s okay. We knew there would be questions. I hate that I don’t have all the answers.”
I exhale hard, running my hand through my hair. “The only thing I can think of is that they probably realized Juliette was just way too high profile to mess with.”
Bear rubs a hand over his jaw, eyeing me over Lennon’s head. “That theory makes sense to me. Family with big money that can put pressure on law enforcement to look into a disappearance. Maybe they didn’t realize who they’d gotten hold of until she was there. The diner is where she got the offer to come to the club. They drugged them, sampled the goods, but then upon looking at their IDs, realized Juliette’s from money, and they can’t sell her off. Not unless they want to attract attention. And they can’t keep one girl without the other, in case she talked, so they dumped them both.”
Lennon shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut. A low, moan whispers from between her lips. I pull her to me and let her burrow into my chest. Her breath hitches. “I-I think this is why Hunter was nosing around the diner. He was probably trying to see if we remembered anything. Juliette was scared of him, but she never said why, if she knew.” A sob rips from her throat. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
Bear puts a strong hand on her thigh. Squeezes. “It’s okay, baby. You’re okay.”
While he’s doing that, Elliot hops up and leaves the room, clearly affected by Lennon’s upset. She comes back a minute later and squats down in front of Lennon and offers her a bottle of water. “I’m sorry you went through this. It’s awful.” Elliot’s lip trembles, but she doesn’t say anything more as she gets up and returns to her seat on Cannon’s lap.
Lennon heaves out a breath and sits up a bit, tears in her eyes. “Thank you. Kingston, I understand how hard this must be for you to hear. We were so fucking scared. And then she died and—” Her face crumples again.
Kingston’s face falls as he observes Lennon’s breakdown, and he shoots off his chair, eliciting a startled gasp from Elliot. He paces back and forth, jaw clenched as angry hands grip the nape of his neck. She goes to him, tugging him aside and speaking in quiet tones the rest of us can’t hear.
Archer raises his brow, staring pointedly at me, “So do we assume this is why Juliette killed herself? Not necessarily because of anything K did or didn’t do? For years, you’ve blamed him for not taking care of her.”
I blow out an aggravated sigh. “What the fuck was I supposed to think? We didn’t know.”
Kingston comes back, his gaze fiery as it sweeps everyone in the room before landing on me. “Let’s get this straight right now. I will always blame myself for not knowing what was happening with her. I’m sure, deep inside, you’ve been doing the same.”
“Maybe it’s time we stop blaming each other and look for the truth,” I murmur quietly.
Kingston swallows, then nods. “I need to know who thought they had the right to touch her. I need to know who is responsible—”
I stand up, facing him, and let my eyes bore into his. “If you want in, we’re going to take them down. Friday night. And we have a hell of a lot to figure out before then.”
“How are you going to do it?” Kingston’s green-eyed gaze probes mine, like he’s picking around in my head.
Mason shrugs. “We’re not completely certain. But I think if we get the evidence into the right hands, then maybe we can figure something out. The question is simply how we get them to confess.”
Archer holds up a hand, shifting on the arm of the chair. “Sounds like maybe this is something that should be monitored. Recorded.”
Bear nods. “For sure.”
“If you can get me into that club, I’ll install state-of-the-art cameras that’ll catch everything—both video and audio.” Archer aims a good-natured smirk at me. It’s more than clear that this shit is right up his alley.
“You’re sure?” I arch a brow.
Kingston nods. “Archer’s on it, so it’s as good as done. What do you say we figure the rest of this shit out over a few drinks. I have some honey whiskey you might like.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
