“What if we don’t find the Leydon evidence?” the FBI agent asks. “A confession alone may not be enough to convict him. I thought you wanted to wait until the missing evidence was located?”
“We don’t have time for that now. Sinner is expanding his business, and the last thing we need is the streets flooded with kidnapped sex slaves. He is too dangerous to sit on this any longer. Especially now he’s wiped the board with his competition. If we must put him away for the drugs and firearms charges while we build a more stable case for other crimes, so be it.” He puffs out his chest. “The objective now is to get him off the streets. By any means necessary.”
CHAPTER 43
NEWS OF THE Arrows arrest is all over TV screens and splashed across internet headlines on Saturday. While full details are only emerging, the reports confirm that several members of the board were responsible for the brutal Roark family slaying all those years ago.
Caz comes with me to visit Sean after breakfast, and I explain how Bry had the evidence proving involvement of The Arrows and how a friend helped us get it into the right hands within the FBI.
But the arrest is not just for the cold case.
When FBI agents raided The Arrows warehouse, they found a ton of dead bodies—casualties from the shootout with The Sainthood. Although The Arrows didn’t kill their own guys—and they are no doubt pointing the finger of blame at The Sainthood—with no weapons and no traceable bullets, there is no evidence to haul The Sainthood in for that.
Darrow’s body was among the bodies found in the warehouse, but I feel zero remorse. Darrow dug his own grave.
It plays out how we planned it with reports confirming Taylor Tamlin assassinated the commissioner and ended up dead when her partnership with Darrow Knight turned sour. Media speculation suggests The Arrows retaliated by killing one of their own because he risked the entire crew through his actions.
“The power these men have is sickening,” Theo says while we lounge in the main living room in Galen’s house on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s scary as fuck,” Caz agrees, helping Galen to load more logs on the fire. Galen spends a fortune on heating this old house, and it’s still cold as fuck. I’d wager it’s colder inside than outside today. My pebbled nipples prod against my hoodie, and I pull the blanket higher over my body, snuggling closer to Saint on the couch.
“What we’re doing tonight is risky as fuck.” Saint peers distantly into the flames. “Who’s to say they won’t arrest us too?” he adds before taking a swig from his beer.
“Diesel won’t let that happen,” I reply, plucking the beer from his fingers and lifting it to my lips.
“I trust Granddad, but—”
“That’s a sentence I never thought would leave your lips,” I admit, cutting across him.
“Pay up.” Caz shoulder checks Galen. “Told ya.”
I arch a brow as Galen plops down on my other side. He leans forward, glaring at his cousin. “Fuck you, Saintly. You’ve just cost me a fifty.”
Saint glares at him, because he doesn’t like to be reminded he’s changing. Also, he fucking hates being interrupted midsentence, and Galen is bearing the brunt of that frustration.
Saint’s jaw tenses and then loosens. “As I was saying, before you all decided to be buttheads, I trust the perv, but we don’t know the others won’t double-cross him. His boss is a self-serving prick who’d throw anyone under the bus if it got him what he wants.”
“I don’t disagree,” I say. “I didn’t like him either, but what choice do we have? This is our best opportunity to end this, and no plan is without risk.”
“We have to trust in Diesel and the plan,” Theo says. “It will work.”
“What are you doing with your mom?” I ask Galen.
“Locking her in her room until it’s over. Mrs. Murphy will stay with her. I’ll warn her not to come out, no matter what she hears.”
“Maybe we should move them to the barn,” I suggest.
Galen shakes his head. “We can’t be sure Sinner doesn’t know about our place, and I’d prefer to keep her near.”
“You don’t trust her not to ditch Mrs. Murphy and look for a good time,” Saint says, and Galen nods.
“We should check the ballroom,” Galen suggests, rubbing a spot between his brows. “Make sure the stash is still there.”
“I thought you checked yesterday.” I hand the beer back to Saint.
“We did, but we weren’t here last night. We should double-check to be sure it’s still there,” Galen adds, standing.
“Sit,” Theo says, his fingers tapping over his tablet. “I’ll check the camera feeds for the last twenty-four hours.”
We absently watch the TV reports while Theo works his magic, and I run my hand over the ink on Saint’s hands while snuggled into his side.
“Holy. Fuck.”
We all sit upright at Theo’s outburst, sharing wary looks. “What is it?” I ask, almost afraid to look. “Is it gone?”
Theo lifts his head from his tablet, shock splayed across his face as he shakes his head. “It’s worse. Look.” He turns the screen around, and we watch with mounting horror as at least twenty young girls are frog marched into the ballroom and shoved into the hidden compartment under the floor. The timestamp on the screen shows this happened at four a.m.
The girls are disheveled—their clothes torn, skin dirty, and hair greasy and knotted. Their fear is palpable as they cry out in Spanish, their bodies trembling, lips wobbling, and tears streaming down their faces, as they cling to one another, clearly terrified.
I jump up, and the blanket falls to the floor. “We have to get them out of there.”
Saint tugs on my arm, pulling me back. “Babe.” Strain etches across his handsome face. “We can’t.”
“They could die!” I don’t know if there’s enough oxygen down there, and from the state they are in, it’s obvious they haven’t eaten or drank in some time. “We need to help them.”
“Angel.” Galen cups my face as Saint pulls me on his lap. “The best way to help them is to let the FBI find them tonight. They can identify Sinner and his men as the ones who put them there. It helps solidify the case against him.”
“They can still do that even if we release them now!” I argue, needing to do something.
“Sinner could check before the party, and if they’re gone, it will tip him off,” Caz says, pinning me with a sympathetic look.
“I know this kills you, Lo,” Theo says. “It’s killing all of us, but they will be free in a few hours. We’ve got to let this play out.”
“We should at least give them some water and food.” I plead with my eyes.
“We can’t risk it. They might try to escape if we open it up.” Or they could already be dead, and I don’t want you to see. That’s what I read in Saint’s eyes as he begs me to understand.
I climb off his lap and pace the floor. “This feels wrong.”
Caz stands, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “We know, queenie. But we can’t risk everything at the last minute. We will get those girls out of there as soon as we can, and then we’ll take care of them. The authorities will see they are returned home. This is the best way of handling it.”