Page 45 of Little Bird (Advantage Play 3)

Jack

The pile of paperwork in front of me is mind-numbing. With a groan, I roll my shoulders and rock my head back and forth before hunching forward and reading over the confession another time. I still haven’t gone home after arresting four of the top five human traffickers in the region. There’s too much to sort through. Too many lies I need to make sure are hidden. Too many tracks to cover. And it’s all because I made a deal with Kingston Romano and his girlfriend, Ace. Part of me wonders if I should regret my decision to give them false documents that incriminated Burlone to be working with the FBI. Then I look down at the images that were taken early this morning. A handful of girls’ faces shine back at me. Some are pretty. Some aren’t. Most are bruised and battered with a sloppy amount of makeup to cover the damage. But all of them are free now because I made a deal with the devil that prevented them from being sold.

So, no. I don’t regret my decision one bit. I can’t.

“Connelly!” my boss bellows down the hall, causing my head to snap up. Stalking through the doorway, he slams my office door behind him and stabs his forefinger at the images on my desk.

“You said you brought them all in!”

Brows furrowed in confusion, I reply, “I told you Burlone got away—”

“Not him! The girls! You said you brought all the girls! Some are missing! Where are the other girls?”

I shake my head, convinced I heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I didn’t stutter, Connelly. Where are the other girls?” His face is red with anger. “And where the hell is Burlone?”

Probably dead, I think to myself before smoothing my expression and answering, “We’re still searching for Burlone—”

“That’s not good enough. Who are his contacts? Where did he go?!”

Frustrated, I slam my hand against my desk and stand to my full height. “We’re doing the best we can. I haven’t slept in almost thirty hours and am elbow deep in paperwork right now, but we’re going to figure this out. You just need to give me a little more time.”

“You’ve had enough time! Now, answer the damn question. Who wasn’t arrested today that worked for Burlone? What do we know? And how can we find the other missing girls?”

“What do you mean, the other missing girls?” I ask, still misunderstanding how he would know that Ace and Kingston’s sister got out of there before we showed up.

“Moretti’s statement mentioned six girls. We only have four.”

There were seven girls, I want to correct him. He’s missing Ace, but I bite my tongue. I don’t know what Kingston did with his sister, or the blonde that Moretti mentioned offhand in his statement, but it doesn’t stop the walls from closing in. I’m gonna get caught. I’m gonna be raked over the coals for being a double agent when I was only trying to help.

I’m so screwed.

“We don’t know where they went,” I mutter.

“And do we know who’s still out there with Burlone?”

“His right-hand men weren’t brought in,” I finally admit. Dex was never meant to be arrested. Kingston made sure I knew he wasn’t supposed to be touched. And Sei, the other sonofabitch, wasn’t on the premises when we stormed the estate. I have no freaking clue where he is.

“And do we know where they are?” Mr. Reed asks condescendingly.

We know where one of them is.

“No.”

“Then find out. Now. And get me those girls.”

“They’re innocent. I assume they got out during the chaos. I doubt we’ll be able to—”

“That’s an order, Connelly,” he sneers.

Then he’s gone.

And I’m screwed.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Regina

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