Page 182 of Devil's Bargain

I straighten. “I’m aware!”

She stares at me for a moment longer as if gauging if I’m serious or not. “Okay,” she whispers after a while, nodding as if convincing herself that this makes perfect sense. “Your dad bought a girl.” She picks up a sheet of paper and scans her eyes over it as I upend another drawer. This time it’s one of the many drawers in the cabinet behind me.

“Human trafficking,” she mumbles under her breath.

I drag in a breath and swipe at my tears.

“What made you believe this about your dad?”

I pick up a paper at random and scan my eyes over it. It’s a receipt for a business trip to London. “She told me. I didn’t believe her at first, but she’s gone. And where the fuck is Dad? Another business trip abroad?” I dig inside my back pocket and pull out his passport. My mom stares at it, her eyes as wide as saucers.

“It was in his desk drawer. Tell me, Mom. Where is he?”

Her eyes meet mine. One beat, two. She drops to her knees and starts reading the sheets on the floor with renewed zest.

I’m about to give up when she rises to her feet, scanning her tear-filled eyes over a sheet of paper in her trembling hand. “I can’t believe it!”

Papers crumple under my feet as I walk over and peer down over her shoulder.

“It’s been in his family for generations.” She looks at me. “I never knew...”

We stare at each other.

There’s banging on the front door. Insistent, loud banging. I look away from my mom’s glassy eyes and frown. “Are you expecting anyone, Mom?”

The banging doesn’t ease up.

“No.”

I leave her in a sea of paperwork and jog downstairs to open the door. Six people tumble through, soaking wet and covered in blood. “What the…?” I stare at April’s friends.

Ben charges me before I’ve had a chance to comprehend what the fuck is happening. “Where’s your fucking dad?”

“What the fuck happened to you?” I ask as I push him away and stare at the blood on my hands. It’s a lot of fucking blood!

“Tell us where he is!”

I tear my gaze away from my red-stained hands. “I’ve found something. A property he owns.”

Matt barges forward and shoves Ben out of the way. “Where?”

“We need to think about this.”

“Fuck you! You just want to protect your fucking dad!” Ben shouts from behind Matt. Josh is holding him back.

“That’s not fucking true!”

“Then tell us where to find him!”

I glare at Ben and ball my hands. My jaw is hard as concrete. “I don’t know what the fuck you’ve done tonight, but it’s going to get you into a shitload of trouble. You can’t go anywhere looking like you’ve stepped out of a slasher movie.” I walk upstairs without another word, and they follow close on my heels.

“You better fucking talk, rich boy!” Matt sneers as I open the door to my room and usher them inside before my mom sees the state of them.

I root through my drawer and get a set of clothes for the guys each to change into.

Only one girl, Steph, has blood on her, so I grab a set of Emily’s clothes that she left behind.

Steph stares at it when I hold it out. “What’s that?”

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