Page 29 of Tinley's Daddy
“How do you know so much about all of this?” The plane leveled off and turned to the left. “Why do you care about this so much?”
He leaned forward.
“A few years ago, Kyler and I were scoping out a hotel we wanted to buy in Florida.” He rubbed his hands together. “We spent a few nights at the hotel. Really getting a feel for it. And three nights in a row, we went down to the bar in the lobby and noticed in a corner, kind of cut off from the main area, women were brought into the bar from a back hallway by the same two men every hour. They all looked young and lost. Confused. I just knew there was something wrong. I caught one of the girl’s eyesand although she didn’t say anything, didn’t move her lips, her eyes were screaming at me to help.”
“Did you help?”
“Well, I tried. I mean, I didn’t walk up in there and demand to know what was going on, but we spoke to the hotel security. They thought we were asking to set up something with a girl. Kind of clued me in that everyone knew what was going on, but everyone looked the other way.” He rubbed his face. “That girl’s eyes still haunt me.”
He leaned back. The air grew heavy. I waited for him to continue.
“We had a friend in DC who put us in touch with someone at the FBI in Orlando. It’s the first time we met Agent Stanley. And we’ve been working with him ever since.”
The bell rang through the intercom and the flight attendant appeared a few minutes later.
“Here’s your menu for the flight.” She handed one to me first and then to Josh. “Can I get you a drink while you decide?”
Josh grinned at me.
“I’ll just have some orange juice and water.” I bit my lip to keep from giggling.
“I’ll have a scotch on the rocks.”
I scanned the menu. They had four choices for entrees. Steak and fish and even a kid’s menu of chicken tenders and mac and cheese. My mouth watered and my stomach growled.
The flight attendant brought our drinks.
“What can I get you?” She tapped her hand on the back of Josh’s chair.
“I’m not that hungry.” I tried to play it off. “Can I have the tenders and mac and cheese from the kid’s menu?”
I peaked at Josh, he smirked but didn’t say anything.
“I’ll have the steak, medium, and the loaded mashed potatoes.” Josh handed our menus back to her.
She bobbed her head and disappeared.
“Do you know what happened to the girl?”
The waitress reappeared. She inserted a table between our seats and set it for dinner. She came back a few minutes later with a cheeseboard and some little napkins. “Let me know if I can get you anything else.”
“Thank you.” Josh’s patience was running thin. When he was sure she wasn’t about to return, he answered me.
“No. They did end up busting that group, though, and found out they had been running a brothel in the hotel for years. Once we learned more about how they did it, Agent Stanley asked us to help uncover other possible operations like the one in Florida.”
“I bet you’ve helped so many women.” I plucked a piece of cheese off the plate. “I saw so many girls come and go without knowing what ever happened to them. When I was first taken, I would try to make friends with someone, anyone. We were all going through the same thing. But most of the girls I met didn’t speak English. They were as scared as I was, and they gave up hope so fast.”
“That’s why you’re brave.” He grabbed a cracker from the board and popped it in his mouth.
“Oh, no. I gave up hope, too. Lots of times.” My heart thumped loudly in my chest. “But I was still alive, so that was something.”
I looked up at Josh. His expression softened. I didn’t see pity in his eyes. He didn’t know what exactly happened to me. If he knew, he might think differently. It was another reason why I was hesitant to tell him, but he would understand more than most.
We sat in silence for a while, picking through the cheeseboard. Our dinner was served shortly after.
I picked up a piece of chicken. “Ouch.” I dropped it and blew on my fingers.
“Careful.” He cut into his steak, blew on it, and took a bite.
