Packing Heat(7)

“I’m not afraid.”

She looked at me seriously, frowning. “You should be afraid, Cassidy. Very afraid. That’s why I came today.”

“To warn me?”

“To warn you,” she confirmed. “Lie low. Don’t pry into anything for a little while, at least until this blows over.”

“What did you do?”

“Like I said, we saved some lives.”

“I can’t let this go. This is too big. There’s another gang of women out there saving sex slaves. It’s just unreal.”

She stood up. “It’s real, Cassidy. We’re not winning, but we will be soon. You need to take care of yourself. We’ll take care of everyone else.” She began to walk away.

I stood up. “Wait. Please. Tell me more. How can I contact you again?”

“You can’t,” she said, waving. “Good luck, Cassidy. Don’t ignore my warning.” She continued walking, and I watched her go, staring at her back.

My mind was practically reeling from that short meeting. I had assumed she was just another interesting informant. From our single conversation on the phone, I could tell she knew a thing or two, so I had guessed she had been a slave at some point.

But she was so much more. If she’d been telling the truth, she was some kind of freedom fighter. Not just her, but a whole group of these girls who were fighting for the freedom of sex slaves, fighting against one of the most powerful organized crime groups in the whole country.

That was so freaking badass.

I couldn’t help but feel nervous, though. She came to this meeting only to warn me, she had said. We’d set the meeting up at the end of our conversation, and I was guessing if my information had fallen through, she would have skipped. But she had come, and to tell me to lie low.

I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t know how to lie low, not now that I knew something so huge.

There was just no way I could back down now.

The Spiders. I sat back down, taking deep breaths. I wondered how many people in the city even knew about these people. I had never heard of them, and I’d read almost everything about sex trafficking in the city that I could possibly get my hands on. Nobody had mentioned any Spiders anywhere.

I had an incredibly important tip here. I couldn’t let it go; this story was just too important.

As I stood up to head home, my phone started vibrating. I pulled it out of my pocket and frowned at the number.

This had been a weird enough day already. I figured it couldn’t get any weirder.

“Hello?” I said.

“Jessica.” That voice. It hit me like a bite of ice between my teeth.

“Rafa,” I said. “Uh, hi.”

“I was thinking about you.”

“Were you?”

“I was thinking about our unfinished business. Have you been thinking about the way I pressed you against that door?”

“No,” I lied. “I’m pretty busy.”

“I’m sure you are. But I want to see you again.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“No, but I like bad ideas.”

I bit my lip, staring at the ground. This was exactly the sort of thing Dasha wouldn’t want me to do. I definitely shouldn’t be going out with a mafia man.

“Okay,” I said.

“Good. Tonight?”

“Fine. I can do tonight.”

“I’ll text you the details.”

“Wait. What are you going to do with me?”

He laughed softly. “You’ll see.”

And then he hung up the phone.

I let out a breath and realized my whole body was tense.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and knew I was making a mistake. I should definitely stay far, far away from this Rafa guy, especially considering the way he made me feel.

Pure, instant attraction. Maybe it was lust; I couldn’t be sure. Maybe there was something else there, too.

But I definitely wanted him, against my better judgment.

Still, I needed to be careful. Even though he seemed like he was only interested in the same thing I was, I still didn’t know him. He was probably mafia, but maybe he was just connected to them somehow. I had no real clue either way.

I could pretend like I was using him for this story, but that was stupid. I wasn’t really capable of that. Going to that bar with the intention of overhearing things and chatting up a guy had been total insanity, and I was thankful Rafa had snapped me out of it.

But now I was afraid of what else he was going to do.

I took a deep breath and hurried back home. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I knew it was Rafa telling me exactly what he wanted from me tonight.

I felt a thrill as I took my phone out of my pocket and read the message.





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