tell the girls. “You’re safe.”
Ignoring the burn in my back, I arch my arm and throw the iron key. The next thing I know, Sammy falls to his knees and puts his head in my lap.
“Sammy, I stink,” I cry, just as happy that he’s here. “I haven’t had a shower since I’ve been here.”
I rub my fingers through his short hair, loving the feeling of the heat coming off his body.
“You smell amazing,” he says, standing. “You look amazing, you feel amazing and you taste amazing.”
Sammy leans down and kisses me like I’ve never been kissed before.
He pulls back and looked me up and down.
“Let’s get you home,” he says. “Well, to a hospital first, then home.”
The other men walk into the cell with some new men I’ve never seen before. They’re all wearing suits and I can see their badges shining on the side of their pants. These must be the feds they were talking about.
“What the fuck was going on here?” One of them asks.
“These kids don’t speak English,” I say. “They’re going to need a translator.”
One of the men walks over and glances at Sammy before landing his eyes on me.
“I have some questions, ma`am,” he says.
I’m about to speak when Sammy stops me.
“She’s going to a hospital,” he demands. “Your questions can come later.”
He nods reluctantly.
“Can I pick you up?” Sammy asks.
Man, that sounds like the best idea I’ve ever heard. But I shake my head.
“As much as I would love that, I honestly don’t think I could handle the pain,” I admit.
His face is hard as he walks behind me and starts pushing the chair.
“Hey Sammy,” I say. “I think I’m ready for that tattoo now.”
Tilting my head back, I watch as the corner of his lips tilt up.
“When you’re better, we’ll talk about it,” he says.
I close my eyes and relax as Sammy pushes me outside. I’m in a pair of leggings and a bra, having given my shirt to the youngest girl I met. They were all naked, but I couldn’t clothe them all.
When we reach outside, I look up and bask in the sunlight. It looks like the day is almost over, but the sun isn’t willing to let go of this side of the world just yet. The sky is dancing with beautiful waves of blues, oranges, and a bit of pink.
“Oh, god, baby,” Sammy sighs. “Your back. You have to be in so much pain.”
The next thing I know, I’m being placed stomach down on a gurney and shoved into an ambulance. Sammy right next to me.
“Don’t forget to pick up that package,” I hear Sammy say.
“Already taken care of,” Brick answers through my ear.
Knowing that Sammy is here beside me, I gently dig in my ear and pull out the smallest listening device I have ever seen. It’s been plugging my ear for hours now and it’s nice to have full listening range in both ears again.
“Can I take a nap now?” I ask no one in particular.
Before anyone can answer, I close my eyes and sleep the deepest sleep I have slept in a very long time.
Epilogue
Ink
It’s been two months since we rescued Rachel and those children from the Hernández compound. Detective Dick said he found thirty-seven men and one woman in the basement. All dead from Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Which was ironic, considering that’s how Rachel tried killing herself and Roman and how Carlos inevitably did kill his son.
We gave the police the list of names that Slim found. We’ll let them handle tracking the rest of those damn members down.
Except for three of them. Rachel told us an about location on where to find the men that held her down and raped her.
We have Mike, Antonio, and Frankie at an undisclosed location where they will slowly die the most painful and horrific death I can think of. I haven’t thought of it just yet, I’ve had other things on my mind. But in the meantime, Trigger was more than happy to make sure they’re not comfortable. He leaves that building daily with blood on his body and a smile on his face.
It could take me a really long time to think something up and I’m not sure Trigger minds that in the least.
All of the children were rescued and returned to their families. Slim found a list of previous children that the bastard sold. There were hundreds. I’m not sure what’s happening with that, but we’ve been assured that the police are doing their best to