The room once again hangs on his next words.
My first impression of Forest Summers was that he is a formidable force, but I see the tender, and defenseless, child he once was. There’s weakness beneath his strength. He takes in a deep breath and continues.
“We both suffered PTSD from what we endured. It’s taken us years to heal. Skye found an amazing man to love her, and with time, he helped her heal. My journey took a turn for the worse before things got better. While we were free from the horrors of foster care, John Snowden was still out there in the world.” Forest takes in a breath and shudders. “I made it my life’s work to take him down. I created the Guardians. Hired Sam to run the whole thing. Had to hire him away from the FBI, but he came.”
“After he explained his vision for Guardian HRS, I had to be a part of what he wanted to build.” Sam glances at me. “There was not one hint of hesitation.”
Sam’s words carry weight and meaning. It feels like he’s trying to tell me something, but I can’t decipher that right now. I’m too entranced by Forest’s story.
“Sam brings his FBI connections to the Guardians. Our Delta team works mainly with the FBI in domestic hostage rescue scenarios. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie are our main hostage rescue teams.”
“Don’t forget The Facility.” Mitzy reaches out to lightly push on Forest’s arm then turns to me. “He built this amazing place.”
“The Facility is a rehabilitation halfway home for those we rescue. They’re given the counseling they need to heal and the skills needed to survive. I gathered what I needed to take Snowden down.”
“By what,” Mitzy makes finger quotes and shakes her head, “he means people. He gathered the people he needed.”
“Whatever, Mitz.” He gives her a playful grin. “Mitzy came to me through a mutual friend. She worked one case with me and never left.”
“You can’t get rid of me now.” Mitzy folds her legs beneath her and beams at Forest.
There’s real love between those gathered here.
“Snowden was … a monster.”
I take particular note of the tense Forest uses.
“If he wasn’t sending young boys to fight to the death in his fighting rings, he sold them. It wasn’t just young boys either. He sold girls as well. But where he really made his money was in the acquisition, and sale, of young women. He didn’t do that alone. In the vacuum left behind after his death, his business thrived. Since then, we’ve rescued scores of those who’ve been taken and discovered the range of … acquisitions … offered has expanded.”
Forest pauses to sip at his drink. His brows pinch together, and he stares at the amber liquid swirling in his glass.
“Mitch Lancaster, one of our clients, hired us to rescue his daughter who went missing during Spring Break while she was in Cancun.” His expression darkens. “When we did, we were made aware of the newest offering for those willing to pay.”
“What does that mean?”
For some reason, that name sounds familiar. I make a mental note to look into it.
Something happens to the atmosphere in the room. Tension builds until it vibrates with barely restrained hatred.
What could be worse than selling women? Sending boys to fight to their death is one, but I sense there’s something worse. I feel it in the suffocating weight of those gathered around me.
It’s in the way they lean forward and listen to Forest. It’s in the tension girding their frames and in the tiny movements they make. A tic of their jaw. An eye that twitches. Lips pressed tight together.
Forest’s gaze hardens, and I sink back into my chair.
“Do you know what a snuff film is?”
I asked what could be worse and Forest delivers.
There goes the room again, spinning around me. That sinking sensation returns with a vengeance. While my stomach goes into free fall, I wet my mouth, because somewhere along the way, it got incredibly dry.
“Y-yes.” I answer his question with a shaky voice.
“Zoe Lancaster is the only survivor out of seven women kidnapped, then brutally murdered. We later discovered it was a special request. Since that day, we’ve been looking for not only who that client is, but who fulfilled that request.”
“And that brought you here?” My hand flies over my mouth. The depravity and evil that exists in this world is unbearable.
“It did.”
“And the girl? Zoe?”
“Fortunately, she survived. By pure chance, another young lady was kidnapped with Zoe. Eve Deverough was taken to a compound buried deep in the jungles of Colombia.”
“Deverough?” Now there’s a name I recognize.
“Yes.”
“There was something in the news about her father.”
“Correct.”
“He was executed.”
“Correct.” Forest nods. “When we rescued Eve, she had the foresight during her captivity to keep her eyes open. That resulted in us acquiring a ledger which details every transaction going back years. There’s more to the story, more than we have time for in the very few minutes left to us, but that ledger brought us to your doorstep.”
“Mine?”
“To Carson Deverough. From him to the Belvedere and subsequently to the Rossi’s.”
“My family.” My shoulders slump.
The gravity of what these people fight against overwhelms me.
“I’m not privy to my uncle’s business dealings.”
“No, but you have access to his most personal space. That’s an opportunity we can’t ignore.”
“Tell me what you need me to do.”
I’m in. I’m all in.
“First and foremost, you must draw attention away from the three women we rescued tonight. Your security team saw Liam pull you into that van. My hope is they didn’t see the three women get inside of it first. We send you and Liam back.”
“How does that help?” My brows scrunch together.
“It takes their attention away from who was in that van. This is very important. I can’t emphasize it enough.” Forest pauses to cough into his fist. “Having Liam in a position close to your family allows us access we wouldn’t otherwise have.”
No one wakes up one day hoping to find out their entire life is a lie and those closest to them are monsters.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t know these people, but their connection is overwhelming. Their mission to make this world a better place is beyond admirable. Their dedication to helping others is a palpable force.
Today, after Sybil was taken, I no longer knew who I could trust.
Now, after Forest’s tragic story, I know one thing without any doubt.
I want to be one of them.
I want to be a Guardian.
19
LIAM
The tension in the library is at an all-time high. I’ve heard Forest’s story before. Who hasn’t in Guardian HRS? But this is the first time I’ve heard him tell it.
Chills race down my spine when he mentions Snowden. That operation was a Clusterfuck with a capital C. Not Guardian HRS’s finest hour. We went in, guns blazing. We left, tails tucked between our legs.