Good Girl(36)
“Was Felipe there yesterday?” he asks, with a hint of distrust in his voice. I know what Vince told him yesterday at the docks, that Felipe had just left, so I answer honestly.
“He was. He wasn’t happy about her new collar.”
Abram’s voice carries a hint of relief. “Yes, I can imagine. He’s rather fond of those.” He clears his throat. “You do realize that Ava is special? The others won’t be as trained as her. They’ll be newer, and not broken in.”
Fucking sick bastard. I have to bite back my disgust. “I figured that much.”
“We’ll keep them drugged though, so they’ll be easy to handle.” I want to ask him about Ava. About his plans for her, but he cuts me off.
“I haven’t heard from Felipe since he told me that he was going to the Valettis’ shipyard.” He states it simply, without a hint of emotion.
“I haven’t either boss, but if you’d like me to give him a call, I will.”
“No. I’m certain he’s dead, Kane.”
His words chill me to the core. “The Valettis?” I ask.
“I can’t imagine it would be anyone else. We’ll have a meeting tomorrow.”
“A meeting?” I have a real fucking bad feeling about that. “Is this staying between me and you, boss?” What I’m really asking is, is this an ambush?
“No. I need you to set it up. Let’s do it at the docks so I can have a good look around.”
“You really think they took him out, boss? That’s not at all a good sign.”
“I agree, Kane. But I’ve had better men killed for no reason. He’s replaceable.” He pauses and I think he’s finished, but then he adds, “And so are the Valettis.”
“I see.” I answer simply, unsure of what he’s looking from me.
“I’ll decide tomorrow. I’ll bring enough men to make sure that if I decide we’d rather go forward without them, it’ll be easy to handle right then and there.” I nod my head imagining the fucking bloodbath it would be. I can see it happening, and I don’t fucking want it to.
“So you think it will work, then?” he asks, and I’m completely thrown off by the question.
“Taking them out? Of course, boss, there aren’t many of them there at a time. Maybe six total yesterday.” I’m sure as fuck giving the Valettis a heads-up. I’m not letting this shit go down like that.
“No, no. Working with them. I’m not certain I’m ready to take them out just yet.”
“I do,” I answer quickly and confidently. “Also, I think everything will be ready soon. If you decide to do business with them, that is.”
“Even if I don’t, we’ll continue as planned.”
“How many do you have ready?” I ask.
“Nine right now, but we’re gathering the other three tomorrow.” No. I need to stop that shit. I can’t let that happen.
“Oh, boss.” I have to think fast. “The boxes may not be able to carry more than eight.” I’m met with silence.
“The other end can do 12. There’s no reason the Valettis shouldn’t be able to meet the same requirements.”
“We can’t do the large crate, boss. They’d only be able to fit the large crate one day a week. But that’s not going to work ‘cause of the guards that day.” That’s absolutely true. Or at least it’s what Vince told me.
“Ah, shit.” He sounds pissed. He starts cussing in Russian and I have no fucking clue what he’s saying beyond the basic profanity. Part of me is worried Vince did lie to me and that he’s in deep shit now with Abram because Abram knows better. Another part is freaking the fuck out that Abram can tell I’m trying to save those other girls. I just need a little time until I can figure out what I have to do to stop this shit. I can’t let it happen. I won’t.
“There’s no way, Kane?” he asks, after a moment of calming his shit down.
“We could split the shipments,” I offer. I need this to sound unappealing. “We could do eight on Monday, and then try for the other four the following Thursday.”
“Only twice a month.” I grit my teeth wishing I could lie and say yes. But I can’t. He’d know. I’m sure he already knows this answer.
“Technically there are four. But like I said, the one is the verification day. I wouldn’t risk that, boss.”
“What about the fourth?” he asks.
“It’s a longer trip, two stops before hitting Russia. It has more risks in getting caught, but also in losing some of the shipment.” Some of the shipment. By that I mean the women will die. Being trapped in a box, sleeping in your own filth. Jesus, the others are only 10 hours. But even that thought makes me fucking sick.