Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,83
as he predicted. Years of practice in those shoes are not enough to outrun two physically fit men on a mission. We corral her easily, Elias linking her arms with his behind her back as gently as he can.
“Just settle, girl. Settle,” he croons, always the one for composure and care to my brutishness. Though I suppose some of that has changed a bit for me.
A car door slams. My spine goes rigid as Shelby waltzes out of my car and pauses in front of the hood.
“Clarissa.” The crack in her voice pulls at me to go to her, but I stay put.
“C-Chloe?”
She shakes her head. “Not anymore. It’s Shelby now.”
“W-what are you doing here?”
Shelby looks behind her at Elias. “Will you let her go?”
“That depends on if she’s gonna run or not.”
Shelby shakes her head in exasperation. “You’re not going to run, are you? We’re here to help you.”
“No,” the broken woman mumbles. Elias releases her, and she immediately takes two steps forward, nearly crumpling on her trek to Shelby.
Shelby takes her own strides and catches the lost woman in her arms.
“Shh. I have you. It’s okay,” she soothes.
Elias and I stand back and watch as Shelby takes over and comforts her. Her hand runs along the length of her back and into the woman’s hair. She whispers and urges and cajoles until finally they both stand back up and walk to the SUV.
“I’m going to get her changed,” she calls as a warning over her shoulder for the men to stay away.
With the girls out of earshot, I ask the question that’s been burning at the back of my mind.
“Anyone see you?”
“Sure, but that’s expected. Did anyone make me? I don’t think so. They saw a john picking up a hooker in a shitty car and then that stunt you pulled. Nice, by the way. I think every head turned your direction. By then, she was in the car, and I took off around the block.”
The sound of crying picks up out of nowhere. Elias and I share a look and jog to the trunk of the SUV.
“What’s the problem?”
Shelby looks at me a little helplessly with tears in her eyes.
“They have her sister. I-I didn’t know.”
“We can’t leave her,” the woman sobs in Shelby’s arms. She’s now wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a gray long-sleeved fitted shirt. Her head rests in the crook of Shelby’s neck. “They threatened to kill her so many times. It’s how they kept me in line. I-If I don’t go back, they’ll do it. She’s only sixteen.”
Fucking shit.
This just got a hell of a lot more complicated.
I attempt to gentle my tone. “Do you know where she is?”
She nods weakly and wipes her arm across her eyes. “Y-yeah. Blue Chain motel in Cottage Grove.”
Fucking shit!
We didn’t want to have to infiltrate the hotel. Evidence pointed at the desk attendants being on the payroll. It’s too risky.
But how do I tell this woman she has to stick with us and leave her sister for dead? I can’t place worth on one human being over another. Elias and I share a look over the top of the SUV. He’s thinking the same thing I am.
“How do we get to her?”
“You go to the reception. Password tonight is delicacy. The person working should give you the room number. That’s it. She’ll be in the room alone, although there are one or two guards who pass by regularly.”
“How do we know she’s alone? There will be other men coming to see her tonight, right?”
“I think it works on the hour mark. The fee will get you fifty minutes, which gives us ten minutes to clean up before the next guy.”
“You think?” I growl, liking this information less and less by the second. This plan is weak. Flimsy. If any of us were smart, we’d go home. Whether or not she wants to come with us is up to her. Fuck, but I can’t ask her to abandon her own sister any more than I wanted to do the same after mine went missing. To that, I can relate more than I ever fucking want to.
“I’m sorry, sir.” She cowers against Shelby, who glares something fierce.
I turn to my best friend, the man who’s had my back since day one, my soul feeling as black as the night surrounding us.
“You in?”
“I’m in.”
“Let’s go then so we can get this done.” I look at my watch. It’s a quarter past ten. “It’s a twenty-minute drive from