friends be trafficked night after night. Nine years old.” He paused. “Until you get help, you’ll always be that little girl.”
“The men never touched me.” She didn’t look at him. “I had it better than the other girls.”
“That’s not true.” Jack studied her defiant face. “Not every victim of sex slavery is violated physically. Your mental abuse is as much a crime.”
Eliza seemed to resonate with that last part. Or maybe she was tired of fighting him, tired of trying to make sense of him. Whatever the reason, she rolled onto her side and faced him again. “Tell me once more. What I need to know.”
And Jack did.
Eliza’s part of the plan had changed only slightly. The raid was going down at seven forty-five now. “You need to get all the girls to a single first-floor room by seven thirty.” He searched her eyes. He needed her to pay attention. “Fifteen minutes early. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She clearly loathed him. For being a man, for giving her no choice but to work with him. For putting her life at risk. But here and now, she had to be on his side.
“The boardroom.” Eliza’s voice fell flat. “That’s where the older girls coach the younger ones. I’ll call for the session.” Her eyes looked dead. “Anders loves when we teach the children.”
Jack’s stomach turned. He asked Eliza to explain in detail where the boardroom was located. Eliza didn’t hesitate. This prison had been her home for far too long. “My job is to coach the girls on kindness.” She practically spit the word.
The irony was sickening. Jack studied her eyes, in case she was lying about the details. “Okay, then.” Stick to the facts, Ryder. “You’re sure? Back of the house, first floor?”
“Yes!” She didn’t answer at first. “Yes, Luke. I’m sure.”
“Good.” He ignored her attitude. “Once the girls are in the boardroom, slip a wedge under the door and open the window. I’ll put the wedge in your top drawer when I leave tonight.”
She was listening.
“Tell the girls to be very quiet because your friend is coming, and he’s going to take them on an adventure.” This had worked in other trafficking stings, and Jack believed it would work here. “Make it fun for them. If the older girls are unsure, give them a wink or a smile. So they want to go along for the younger girls. So nothing spoils their fun.”
Doubt crept into Eliza’s eyes. “What if they don’t believe me?”
“They will.” Jack hesitated. “I’ll arrive at that exact minute. I’ll help you.”
Jack would be sure the girls made it out the window, across the yard, down the stairs and into a waiting school bus—which would be driven by Agent Terri.
“Who’s Terri?” More uncertainty showed in Eliza’s expression.
“She works with me. You’ll like her.” Jack checked the time on Eliza’s nightstand. He had twenty more minutes. “Terri is kind and she’ll keep you all safe.”
“What do I do then, once we’re in the bus?” Venom flared in Eliza’s eyes. “How do I know you’re an undercover agent? You’re probably another evil ruler like my father, taking us to a new house. New customers. Instead of joining families, you’re taking all of us and making your own business.”
“No.” Only time would help Eliza understand. “I’m not like that. And I’m not making this up.”
Eliza closed her eyes for nearly a minute, as if she didn’t want Jack to see her afraid for even that long. When she opened them, the anger was still there. Same with her fear. But once again she’d made up her mind to help him. This time, no turning back. Jack could tell.
“Okay. I’ll do it.” She spit the words. “But I don’t trust you, Luke. I’ll only do it because I hate my father. And because if I don’t go along with his plans, he’ll kill me anyway.” She softened just a bit. “The way he killed Alexa.”
“Yes.” Jack ached for the girl. “You’re right.”
He had one more order of business. He explained that he wouldn’t be by tomorrow—Wednesday night. But he would arrange with her father to see her again on Thursday. The night of the raid. That way it wouldn’t surprise Anders’s men when Jack pulled up in his Porsche at seven forty-four.
“I have just one way to communicate with you.” Jack explained that he would be at the beach both Wednesday and Thursday around noon—the same time she would be there. “If I wear a navy swimsuit, the plan remains the