Mila shrieked, “You fucking bitch!”
“Forget this shit!” I shouted, interrupting their fight. “Let’s get to the point. Were you ever even kept here, Mila?”
She turned to me with a defiant look on her face. Her lips trembled, but she held her head high.
“Yes, yourunclewas the first man who bought me. He got a thirteen-year-old girl pregnant, and God only knows what he did with my baby. He's a fucking monster. In case you failed to connect the dots, my baby girl is—was your cousin, by the way.”
“I'm sorry for your loss, Mila,” I answered, unwilling and unable to think about or accept her child as someone I could have loved and protected. I couldn't explain how sick I felt. I'd personally done none of these things, but with it coming from both sides of my family, could I really be any different?
Monster. The title fit.
“Is there anything for us to do here?” Claire slid her hand into mine, but her pitying gaze locked on Mila.
“No. I'm not surprised that rich men buy sex slaves, and they're not my problem,” I answered. My voice sounded normal despite the painful emotions I couldn't entirely stem.
“How can they not be your problem?” They are the problem!” Vick wrapped his arm around her in a protective and restraining gesture.
She shoved against him, and he tightened his grip. “Calm down.”
“I’m not going to doanything.Just fucking let go of me.” He sat back against the seat like he wasn't poised to grab her again.
“They're not my problem,” I continued as if nothing had transpired. “The buyers are just scavengers. Once the supply dries up, they'll have no way to get access to these girls, and we can take our time killing them. Hell, you can if you like.” I said it like a condescending prick, but I actually thought it was a good idea.
“I hope you're right and not just overconfident,” she muttered, making Claire tense even further.
“Just shut up before Claire makes good on her promise.” Vick reached over and squeezed her shoulder, “It's always better to keep your secrets.”
“Head back into the city,” Mila told Lawrence. “Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible.”
The drive was unbearably quiet. A few fat snowflakes fell as we got further from the water. And the next place Mila brought us was even more surprising. We all nodded our heads in unison when we arrived in front of the library.
“What?” Mila asked, noticing our shared understanding.
“Claire works in this library. We already know about the trafficking through here,” I said.
“I'm not taking you to the library,” Mila shook her head as she pointed a slender finger across the parking lot to the twin building: City Hall. “This is the first place they brought us after they took us off the boat. When they brought me in, I didn't see anything, but they were in a hurry the day I left and didn't fully cover my eyes. I couldn't read or speak English then, but this is definitely it. So, is this onealsonot your problem, Mr. Sharp?”
“No, Mila. This one is my problem.”
She climbed out of the car and walked up to the building in a trance, “Fuck, it was winter then too. Colder than today, though, so fucking cold. We need to go inside. There are a lot of things that happened here. I know it, but I can't remember them. I need to get inside.” Helplessness replaced her previous rage, making it very hard to doubt her sincerity.
I didn't have any way to comfort Mila even if I wanted to. Best leave that to Victor.
I got out of the car, turning to take Claire's hand as she climbed out of the vehicle. Victor followed Mila. I grabbed Claire’s hand firmly, stroking it with my thumb. I could practically feel the distress rolling off her.
“It's going to be okay,” I promised, “Whatever we find here, whatever is going on, I’m going to make everything okay for you.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly dashed it away with the back of her free hand. “I hope you're right, I do, but does it ever seem like we're cursed?”
I laughed once without humor, “Yeah, sometimes it does. But fuck luck, curses, or anything else that thinks it can get in the way of our destiny.”
She raised a slender brow. “You sound awfully confident about our destiny.”
I wasn't. I loved her with everything, though I had no idea what our future held. This one lie wouldn't hurt anything. “We're made for each other, baby. Of course we're going to be fine.”
Mila ignored us as she drifted closer to the building. She stood at the top of the steps, eyeing the door speculatively.
“Mila, the security system is armed, and we don't have a key,” Claire told her.