“What are you going to do?” she asks.
“Right now, I’m going to take you to the shower where I’m going to slowly explore every inch of your body. As for what I’m going to do about the church, I’ll deal with it later.”
A small smile creeps across her lips. “I like the sound of the first part.”
Nipping her bottom lip, I growl against them, “Hold on tight.”
With my hands on her ass cheeks, I get up from the stool.
Jersey buries her face in my neck as I walk us out of the kitchen.
“I’ll never let go.”
I smile at her softly spoken words, and plan to hold her to her promise.
Chapter 10
JERSEY
With my hands wrapped around my warm cup of coffee, I finish telling Detective Erikson about what happened to Sam and how he came to be with me.
“Sam said the abuse didn’t begin right away. It was close to a year before it started,” I tell Wesley’s friend.
Detective Erikson looks up from writing something in his notebook, his expression full of concern. I was surprised when he walked in the door, expecting someone younger since Wesley said he was a friend of his. It was through their greeting, when Wesley asked about Detective Erikson’s son, Bryan, that I realized it was through the detective’s son that they were friends.
“Is there any proof he was being abused? Photos?”
I set my cup on the counter and reach for my phone. Swiping my finger through folders of photos, I find the one labeled Sam and click it. I hand it over to Detective Erikson.
“These are the only ones I have. I snapped them the day I took Sam.”
He scrolls through the photos, his brows dropping lower and lower with each picture he looks at. Every time I see the bruises on the back of his thighs, his back, and his chest, they turn my stomach. I’ve never felt so much hatred toward a person until I found out what was happening to my baby brother. I’ll never understand how people can get off on hurting others in such a way. Especially a child.
“The wound on his thigh is still healing. It was pretty bad at first. There’s pictures of that as well.”
“Who cut him?”
My teeth gnash together. “Mark. Sam tried to get away the last time and Mark stabbed him.”
He swipes through the rest of the photos.
“I was afraid to take him to the hospital to have the wound looked at because I didn’t want them to call the authorities. I knew they would find out who he is and send him back.”
The detective pulls out a business card and hands it to me, along with my phone. “I need you to send me those photos. My email is on the card.”
I nod. “Okay.”
“Have you been in contact with the mayor since you pulled him out of the house?”
“A few times. I had to keep up the ruse that I didn’t know where he was, so I’ve called him a few times and asked for any updates. He called me the day I took him to find out if I knew where he was. I also went to the police station to talk to the detective overseeing the disappearance. I figured the more concerned I appeared, the less likely they would be to suspect me.”
Those phone calls with the mayor always turned my stomach because I knew what the man and his son had done to my brother. Each time, it was on the tip of my tongue to call him out on his evil doings, but I held the temptation back.
Detective Eriksom flips his notebook closed and slips it inside his jacket pocket. “I’ll be honest with you, Jersey. You taking Sam out of the house will be considered kidnapping.” My lungs freeze. “With just those photos and Sam’s statement, it would normally be a difficult case because of who we’re dealing with. He could have his lawyers spin it however he wants and most likely get away with it.” His expression softens when he sees the fear on my face. “However, it just so happens, the DA is already building a case against Mayor Beckett and his youngest son, along with several other well-known prominent figures. It hasn’t been made public, and I could get in trouble for telling you this, but something tells me,” his eyes slide to Wesley’s, who’s standing just behind my chair, “you’ll keep this to yourself.”
“I swear, I will,” I promise.
“Mayor Beckett and his son, Mark, are known participants in a child sex trafficking ring the state has been investigating for the last six months.”