Savage Queen (The Dark Elite #3) - Eva Ashwood Page 0,50
of Hale’s syndicate.
My mother is as fucking clever as she is ruthless, and I hate her for it. This kills two birds with one stone—she’s building up her organization by doing one of the worst things I can imagine, and if her plan works, the Novaks will be the ones to take the fall for it.
The FBI’s investigation of Brian led them to Leland. From Leland, they made a connection to the Novaks… a connection that led them to believe that Leland was still loyal to us, and that the human trafficking ring was ours instead of the Rooks’.
The FBI is going to pin this on us, but they’re wrong. They’re preparing for a war with the Novaks, and meanwhile, the real enemy isn’t even on their radar.
Fuck. I’ve got to tell Brady.
“I want you to come to the safe house with me tomorrow,” Hale murmurs, tilting my chin up a little. “These women are in rough shape. Ciro’s been through something similar enough that he at least knew how to deal with them, but they’re never going to truly trust any of us. They might trust you. They might feel better having another woman around.”
“Okay,” I agree quietly. My body has gone tense in his arms, and I force myself to relax, not wanting to betray any of my thoughts.
I can’t tell Hale about Brady. Not now. I know it would only cause a blowup, endangering my men and all of the Novaks. But a plan is forming in my mind, the only way out of this that I can see.
“Thank you, Grace.”
Hale pulls me closer and kisses me, breathing me in the same way I did to him, as if he’s drawing strength from my proximity. Then he rolls onto his back, resting my head on his chest. We stay like that for a long time, and slowly, his breathing evens out. His hold on me relaxes a little as he sinks into sleep.
I keep my body soft against his, pretending to fall asleep alongside him. But my eyes blink open every once in a while to steal a glance at his face.
Once I’m sure he’s asleep, I slowly draw away from him, slipping out of his embrace. He shifts slightly, his head settling against the pillow, and I release a slow exhale as I slide off the bed.
I wait another long minute to make sure he’s still in a deep sleep before I tiptoe into the bathroom and pull out the burner phone Agent Brady gave me. I quickly flip it open, thankful that the battery still has some power.
My hands shake as I find the only number saved in the contacts, an innocent set of digits that I know will connect me to Agent Brady.
He picks up after only one ring.
“Grace.” His voice is rough with sleep, but his tone is alert and professional, as if he snapped from asleep to fully awake in the space of that single ring. “Are you all right? What’s going on?”
Everything feels wrong right now. So fucked up. The last time I had a phone in my hand, heard another human voice over a phone was the last time I talked to Brian. Right before I escaped.
This isn’t the same, I tell myself, trying to squash down the unpleasant twisting of my stomach. You’re not trying to run from these men. You’re helping them. Not betraying them.
“I’ll help you.” My voice is firm. “But you’re going to help me too.”
There’s a pause on the other end before Brady says, “All right.”
“I don’t want to explain myself,” I say quickly, “but I don’t need to be rescued. I’m not leaving here, and I’m not going back to Washington.”
“All right,” he repeats, drawing out the words as if he’s not sure where this is going.
“Here’s what I want.” I glance toward the bathroom door, gripping the phone tightly in my hand. “I’ll help you track down information about the human trafficking ring. I’ll help you bring it down. But if I can prove to you that it’s not the Novaks who are behind it, you’ll back off your investigation of them.”
“What are you talking about?”
I quickly tell him everything I know—about the Rooks, the human trafficking, all of it. I tell him he was right that humans are being bought and sold, but wrong about who’s responsible for it. I get it all out in a rush, trying to make sure the details are as clear as I can make them.