causing the coffee I drank to turn against me.
“McFadden sold her to Ivanov,” Mason said, “after the lady from the mission sold her to Dr. Miller.”
“I’ve been looking into that,” Reid said. “As far as the Dr. Miller connection goes, it appears that he was an equal-opportunity dealer. He secured merchandise for both McFadden and Sparrow before Allister’s demise. Maybe after the Sparrow side of the business ceased to exist, McFadden couldn’t support the mission too.”
“Did he support it?” I asked, still hitting keys. “Look. A bulk of the funding came from grants approved in the city budget. Five years ago, the grant was denied and the mission shut its doors.”
“McFadden didn’t orchestrate city funding at that time. He represented Illinois at the federal level of government,” Mason added.
The door opened again. This time Sparrow entered. “Having a party without me?”
“You’re going to see your mother?” I asked.
His dark eyes rolled. “Don’t remind me. I think she might know more about the block that’s been placed on Elliott’s tax breaks. A few questions, in and out.”
“I want to go with you,” I said.
His brow lifted. “There isn’t enough shit happening in your life, you want to put up with my mother for an hour?”
I didn’t, but I would.
I tilted my head toward the screen. “That’s the mission where Madeline and I lived. We can assume it was connected to Dr. Miller’s entry point since the pastor’s wife, Kristine, knew to take Madeline to Dr. Miller. Who knows how many others she delivered?
“The mission lost funding a few years after Allister died.” We all knew died wasn’t completely accurate. Yes, Allister Sparrow was deceased, but he had help from the man who had just entered the room, the man wearing the family crest on a gold ring. “The funding they lost was city, not state. Maybe Mrs. Sparrow knows something about it.”
“Maybe she knows if McFadden influenced the decision,” Reid said. “Because it wasn’t you. This never came up on our radar before.”
Sparrow’s gaze narrowed as he looked up at the boarded building. “No, if this place was still selling women and children after I took power, it was doing so out of our sphere. That leaves McFadden.” He shook his head and turned to me. “It’s fine by me if you want to join me. I’ll welcome ambushing her with more questions.” He looked at the watch on his wrist. “Genevieve Sparrow doesn’t entertain visitors before ten. I’d appreciate the company. Let’s kill two birds or one old one.” He took a seat. “Do we know more about Bykov and Gorky?”
“Are you seriously entertaining this alliance angle?” I asked.
“Entertaining, yes,” Sparrow responded. “While it goes without saying that the final decision is up to me, I think there’s merit to this course of action. We need to utilize our resources. We’ve already caused damage to Detroit and the bratva to us. Chicago is my responsibility. Is it in the city’s best interest to fuel this war or to come to an agreement? Killing Hillman was a crucial blow to Ivanov, even if none of us realized it at first. Say we eliminate Ivanov too; do we want to supply the manpower to take and keep control of Detroit? In reality, the manpower is already there. If we align ourselves with the right side of the equation and Ivanov’s men deal with him, then our hands are clean and we have a new ally in Detroit.”
I fucking hated that it was a good plan. “In your plan, Ivanov is ousted. I want him dead. Madeline and Ruby need to know that he’s no longer ever going to be a threat to them. Ruby is young. She’ll need to leave this tower, go to high school and college. They both deserve to know they’re safe, not only here but everywhere.”
Sparrow nodded. “Alliance would be with the city, not Andros Ivanov. Like the other women, their connection to you—to us—will never allow them that blanket sense of security. You knew that when you brought them here. That said, we will make them as safe as possible. Thus another reason for an alliance.”
I lifted my mug and took a drink of the lukewarm liquid. “Damn, I let this get cold.”
“Have you found the identity of Dr. Miller?” Sparrow asked. “I recall there being too many fires happening when we took over and closed shop to the Sparrow part of trafficking in Chicago. There was too much happening to track down the arsonist of each