Page 94 of Taken Off Camera
“Nolan was frantic. We used every resource, every connection to find him.” Sebastian’s profile hardens, the scars on his left side more pronounced from the tension in his jaw. “When we tracked him down, what we discovered wasn’t just about Leo. It was an entire operation. An Omega trafficking ring withconnections that reached into police departments, courts, and even state government.”
My stomach clenches at the thought. Omega trafficking isn’t new, but its persistence despite supposed legal protections reveals how vulnerable we remain, and how many people look away when profit is involved.
“Leo was lucky…but Phoenix was not. He lived as a test subject in a cage for over a year. And Jade…” Controlled rage simmers beneath his words. “He was taken trying to destroy the trafficking ring who tried to auction off Milo, and we didn’t save him as fast as we did the others.”
My hand finds his on the stone railing, fingers intertwining in silent support. Sebastian squeezes back, his grip tight but not painful.
“The victims who survived bear scars you can and can’t see,” he continues. “Jade never smiles anymore. He only lives to hunt down the people who held him prisoner. Phoenix still wakes screaming some nights, convinced he’s back in the doctor’s lab. Milo can’t be seen in public because those who sold him can’t discover he’s not with his owner.”
Each name carries weight, each story a horror I can barely comprehend. These people I’ve met, shared breakfast with, whose lives are now tangled with minethrough Sebastian’s Mark, all carry wounds beneath their polished exteriors.
“After Leo, after all of them, my family changed.” Sebastian turns to face me. “We’ve waged our own shadow war against these networks ever since. We blur the lines between justice and vengeance because the system is broken, corrupted by the same money that used to fill our coffers. We do what the law won’t.”
“So when Jade offered to ‘take care’ of Travis this morning…” I begin, connecting the dots.
“It wasn’t casual cruelty,” Sebastian finishes. “It was the response of someone who’s seen what predators can do if left unchecked. Someone who carries those lessons in his flesh.”
The realization settles over me, shifting my perspective. The Rockfords aren’t simply criminals draped in silk, maintaining power for its own sake. They’re soldiers fighting a war most people don’t even know exists, protecting their own because no one else will.
Their methods remain extreme, their morality questionable, but the motivation comes from wounds rather than greed or bloodlust.
“I understand now,” I say quietly, and mean it.
I’m still unsure about taking my blinders offabout the ramifications of my hacking, or in taking such an active role in dealing out justice.
But something tells me it won’t take much more of a push.
Not if it means stopping men like Travis before they can hurt anyone else.
25
The sound of vibrations wakes me from a deep sleep, and I fumble across the nightstand until my fingers close around my phone. The screen’s glow cuts through the dimness, flooding my vision with light and noise. It’s nearly noon, which means Sebastian let me sleep half the day away, and guilt pings through me.
I’ve been a night owl for all of my adult life, half by preference and half because of my job, which I’m not currently doing.
Hundreds of notifications blink from my camming app, each one a reminder that every day offline costs me, and I open it before I can think better of the action.
As I scroll through the messages, a knot grows in my stomach.
CHAT COMMENTS
DaddyBrooks:When are you coming back online?
BlueJay77:You okay, Elliot? You just vanished
SkyKing69:I’m done. Not wasting my time waiting around anymore
SweetTooth44:hope you’re okay babe
Anonymous:fucking loser, treating us fans like trash
GoldenTipper:We miss you. Come back when you’re ready
The last message hurts more than the angry ones. I’m failing my real fans. As I drop the phone onto the nightstand, face down, the quiet ping of another notification fills the room before my screen locks.
Turning my head, I see sunlight filtering through a gap in the curtains, painting a single stripe of gold across the empty pillow beside me. I reach out, my hand brushing only cool cotton where Sebastian should be.
Of course, he’s already been up for hours, working.
