“We’ve picked up a Russian that’s been snatching up girls in the Nevada desert. Ain’t pretty, Rain. A few have turned up burned and dumped, a couple others in the ER. Shit is escalating fast.”
“We got a similar situation here in Alaska.” Rain cleared his throat, the sound more like a croak. His throat had been slashed a few years back when he served time and it affected his vocal cords. His voice was more a hoarse whisper now. He was a tough bastard though, nothing fazed him. “We just buried a Russian asshole face down in the dirt so when he woke up, he was digging himself further down and into Hell where he belongs.”
“Shit,” Grim laughed. “That sounds like BP. He concerned?”
“Yeah, we’re looking into it but there’s some other shit that you should know.”
“Go on.”
“We just got word that the FBI has charged Rancid with the murder of 16 young women, all found in the bayou behind the old Jameson clubhouse in NOLA. He’s been trafficking bayou girls into Alaska through Seattle, but there’s other states involved too. Rancid had girls taken from Vegas and then channeled through Carson City into Northern Cali on their way up to Anchorage. You all know about this shit?”
“Not until recently,” Grim admitted.
Rancid wasn’t going to jail. No fuckin’ way. I had plans for that sick fuck.
I wasn’t going to lose my chance to take him down. Not after all this time.
“He’s been getting payouts from the Russians for years. That was why he was so motivated to go after his victims.”
A growl launched from my throat and I stood, trembling with rage.
“Rael? I’m sorry, brother. I know what Willow meant to you and Jameson.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“We’ve narrowed it down to something called the Black Market Railroad. This business is much bigger than we originally thought. Sounds like Nevada ain’t escaped any of the same shit either.”
“No,” Grim agreed.
“We’re looking into it on our end. I’ll meet with BP. Let you know what we come up with.”
“Thanks, Rain.”
“No problem, brother.”
Grim ended the call and practically tossed his phone onto the wooden table. He was pissed. Wasn’t hard to see that. I honestly didn’t care since I was about to lose my one and only chance to find Rancid and make that asshole pay for what he did to Willow. There was no way Jameson didn’t hear about this. He had to be as pissed as I was.
Patriot was looking between me and Grim, his eyes narrowed in confusion. “I don’t get how Acid or Razr got involved with the Russians. It’s the one loose end that doesn’t add up. The Scorpions don’t deal in porn and as far as we know have never done so. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I guess that’s the last question we have for Voltoy.” Grim sighed, picking up the gavel and slamming it down. “Church is adjourned. We have plans tonight, Reapers. Everyone shows up at midnight. No exceptions.”
Chapter 22 – Azrael
As soon as Church was over, I kept my promise and made my way toward Patriot’s room. My agitation over the news with Rancid was hard to overcome but I didn’t want to bring that to Nylah. I rolled my shoulders back and heaved a deep sigh, trying to clear my head before I walked inside. A soft voice stopped me as Snooki turned down the hall.
“Rael?”
“Yeah?”
“You alright?”
I guess I wasn’t doing a good job of hiding my emotions. “Club business.” I shrugged, hoping she’d take the hint and walk away. Snooki was the least of my worries. I wasn’t cruel but there was nothing between us. We’d fucked in the past, but that shit wasn’t happening anymore. Not now that I found my Nylah.
She swallowed hard, placing a hand on my arm. “I’m not trying to get into the middle of anything. I just care about you.”
Shit. I knew that. “I’m with someone, Snooki. What we had was always temporary.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “I hope she makes you happy.”