“Possibly, yes.” There were some voices in the background, and then Armstrong spoke up again. “I have to go. My partner needs me forsomething.”
We ended the call, and then I reached over and pulled Laney into my arms. “There you go,” I murmured against her ear. “That’s exactly what we’ve been waitingfor.”
I felt her lips curve into a smile against my chest. “I can’t believe it,” she said breathlessly. “Just a few hours from now, it’ll all beover.”
“Yup.” I drew back and kissed her on the forehead. “All those girls are gonna be safe and free now, and it’s because ofyou.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Stop giving me all the credit, Hunter. I really couldn’t have done it without you or theothers.”
I grinned. “No, I know you. I think you could’ve found a way if you neededto.”
We lay down for a while, relaxing in each other’s arms and stealing each other’s warmth. Then we finally returned to our homework, filled with newfound enthusiasm thanks to the good news Agent Armstrong haddelivered.
At four o’clock, I peeked out my window. Two cars were on their way down the driveway—one black sedan and a Royal Falls policecruiser.
“It’s happening,” I said, reaching out to take Laney’shand.
We crept downstairs and stood on the right side of the double staircase. From there, we had a clear view of the mansion’s main entrancehall.
Adam joined us a moment later. “I saw the cars outside,” he whispered. “Is this what I think itis?”
“Yup.”
He snorted. “Wish I brought a bag ofpopcorn.”
One of the maids answered the front door and stepped aside to let in two FBI agents wearing navy-blue jackets with yellow lettering. An officer from the Royal Falls police department followed closelybehind.
The maid hurried down the hall, presumably to let my father know that he had company. He appeared a few minutes later, forehead wrinkled withconfusion.
“Hello,” he said with a polite smile as he stepped into the entrance hall. “If this is about the case at Larimer Corp, you should know I already spoke to the guys from the SEC, andthey—”
“Charles Connery, you’re under arrest.” The female FBI agent loudly cut him off and started reading him hisrights.
Dad’s eyes bulged as she spoke. “What?”
The agent kept reading his rights as her partner pulled out a set of handcuffs. “We can do this the easy way, and you can come quietly,” she finally said. “Or we can do things the hard way. Up toyou.”
“This is preposterous!” Dad shouted, taking a step back. “I know my rights, and I know I’m entitled to be told what the chargesare!”
The male agent smiled tightly, as if he’d been waiting to hear that. “We’re arresting you on suspicion of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, sexual exploitation of minors, and creation and possession of childpornography.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Dad’s face had turned purple now. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talkingabout!”
“Give it up, Dad,” I called out from the staircase landing. “We know about theNetwork.”
He turned to look at me, face paling. “What?”
“I said we know about theNetwork.”
He took a short, faltering step backward. “You… you didthis?”
“Yeah. So don’t even try to lie about it,” I said, taking a few steps toward him. “We knoweverything.”
His nostrils flared as he stared over at me. “How could you?” he said in a low voice. “After everything I’ve done for this family… how the fuck could you ruin it like this? Do you have any idea what you’vedone?”
The female FBI agent spoke up again. “Mr. Connery, I have to advise you not to speak until your lawyer ispresent.”
He glared at her. “Shut up!” he said before whirling back around to look at me. “Answer the fucking question, Hunter. How could you do this to your ownfather?”