Fury, page 13
“I didn’t know. I didn’t know someone was left behind. What did she say? Did she tell the cops anything?”
“She’s dead. Died in the fire. But they have her body. And dead people have stories. Dead people have histories. Dead people are found, and their pasts are pieced together.”
Oscar swallowed roughly. If she died, she couldn’t identify him. That was the only time he’d been involved in trafficking women, and he didn’t do anything besides drive the van. But Damon…
“As soon as they figure out who she is, they will know where she came from. They will know everything about her life before she was brought into the Company. We can’t allow that to happen.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you fucked up and created more work for us.”
“I can fix it. Let me—”
“It’s already being handled by someone more competent than you. Someone who doesn’t fuck things up all the time.”
“I didn’t—”
“Are you still being followed?”
“No. That bitch backed off after I saw her at the drive-thru.”
“So getting rid of the van was not an issue?” Damon asked.
Oscar nodded. “Yeah. Of course. Easy.”
Damon’s eyes narrowed. His gaze zeroed in on Oscar’s hands. He clutched them together, trying to still the need to fidget. “What happened?”
“Nothing. All good.”
“Where did you leave the van?”
“An empty parking lot.”
“Which one?”
“Um, up on Forty-Ninth Avenue.”
“Is that the same one where you left your wife’s car?” Damon growled.
“Uh, yeah. I figured it was a good spot last time, so—”
“It’s been purchased since then. And has a camera installed.”
Oscar shifted his weight, anxious and ready to bolt if he had to. Not that he expected a warning if Damon intended to kill him, or to actually get away, but he wasn’t going to stand there and make it easy for the bastard. “I saw that when I was leaving.”
“You mean after you drove onto the lot and lit the van on fire? So there’s video footage of you?”
“There’s no way anyone will know it’s me. I was completely covered.”
Damon stood and threw a glass across the room. It shattered on the wall as he shouted, “And you don’t think they’ll look at you first? After all, it’s the same place your wife’s car was left. Isn’t that coincidental?”
“They cleared me for that,” Oscar mumbled.
“No. They couldn’t find proof you did it. There’s a difference. That doesn’t mean they aren’t watching you or checking up on you. Having you here is a liability for the Company, but I thought I’d try to give you a chance. Let you prove what you’re capable of. And instead, all I’ve gotten is half-ass work and excuses.”
“I’ll do better. I promise. I can do this.”
“Can you? Because you already had one person following you. You could have the police after you. And now you were too fucking stupid to find a new place to get rid of the vehicle you used to transport sixteen women. Not seventeen like it should have been. Because you left one behind instead of doing your fucking job!”
Oscar shrunk against the wall. He wanted to run, just get the hell out of there and never come back, but that wouldn’t fix anything. He knew too much. He was in, even if he wasn’t all the way in. If he tried to get out, they’d kill him.
Damon drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. He tugged down his suit coat and smoothed his hands over the front. He adjusted his collar and cracked his neck with a twist. Then he met Oscar’s gaze.
“The woman is still looking into you. She has a connection in the police department. It won’t take long for them to put everything together and figure out you’re the one who drove the van and the one who killed your wife. You need to make sure this woman does not keep looking. I know women like her. They think they owe it to society to find men like us. But they don’t. If she wants to live, she needs to back off. If I find out she follows you again, you won’t get another chance. Put an end to this. Now.”
Oscar nodded and backed out of the room. He ducked his head as he walked past the guards and hurried through the warehouse, only stopping when someone dropped something and he almost pissed himself.
Oscar slammed the door of his car and gripped the steering wheel tight. He sucked in deep breaths, trying to slow his racing heart. When he finally did, he knew exactly what he needed to do to prove himself to Damon.
And to secure his place in the Company.
Stacey was always happy to see women move out of Shelter in the Storm. It was a celebration, an accomplishment. It meant they were confident in their new skills and not willing to return to the men who sent them there in the first place.
But after Holly, Stacey hated to see them go. Raina was a lot like Holly. Both were strong women, but they got sucked into a world they didn’t know existed and by the time they figured out what was going on, they were so deep they couldn’t get out. It took both of them a long time to find their internal strength to even try to leave. And when they did, they looked over their shoulders at every turn.
Both came through it as new women. They were stronger than ever before. But Holly still wasn’t free. She wanted to be, and she tried to be, but Oscar found her. There was no way in hell Stacey was going to let the same thing happen to Raina, or anyone else.
She made sure Wray was going to pick up the boys since his shift ended before school was out, then Stacey made plans to stop in and see Raina before going home. Just to check on things.
The apartment building Raina and Karli lived in was relatively new. There was a secured exterior door and cameras in the entrance. Two elevators sat at the back of the entryway with open staircases on either side for residents and guests who wanted to walk.
Stacey took the elevator up and planned to walk down the stairs so she could check both out. The elevator opened onto a brightly lit hallway lined with dark carpet that muffled her footsteps as she walked toward Karli’s door. Stacey turned the corner and found Karli’s door three from the end.
Stacey knocked, smiling when she heard music inside the apartment. A minute later, the door swung open to a smiling Raina.
“Stacey! Come in!”
Stacey stepped inside and smiled when Raina locked the door behind her. “How are you?”
“Good,” Raina said with a big breath. “It’s weird being out of the shelter, but it was time for me to move on.”
“How are things going here with Karli?”
“She’s awesome. I hate that I missed so many years of friendship, but I’m happy we’ve been able to reconnect again.”
“Good. Are you two fixing dinner? Something smells amazing.” Stacey put her hand over her rumbling stomach.
“We are. Karli wasn’t sure if it would be okay for her to be here when we talked, so she’s making herself scarce in the kitchen.”
“It’s completely fine. I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re still doing well.” Stacey smiled at Raina and hoped it was believable. Stacey had never before worried about a client after they left. They got out, escaped from whatever hell they’d been in, and they were free. But Stacey had a bad feeling Raina was no more free than Holly had been.
“I’m good. I want to start looking for a new job. I used to be a massage therapist. Technically, I still am, but I haven’t done it in years. I don’t really have a lot of contacts left in the field, and I’m not sure the kind of job I want to get.”
“We have career counseling services we can connect you with. You never mentioned that before, so I never brought it up, but that’s something we can do for you.”
“That would be great. Damon isolated me from everything else, so it’s been a while since I’ve been able to think for myself. I like that I’m not alone anymore.”
Stacey shook her head and squeezed Raina’s hand. “You’re definitely not alone. Karli is here, and Frannie and I will always be available to you. If you need anything.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that. I wouldn’t wish my experiences on anyone, but I’m glad I met you. And I’m glad Karli is back in my life.”
“She seems like a really good friend.”
Raina smiled. “She is. Not many people would take someone in after so many years, especially someone in my situation. But Karli offered.”
“It’s good to have people like that in your life.”
“Yes, it is. Hey, do you want to stay for dinner? It has to be almost finished.”
Stacey stood and shook her head. “No, I don’t want to intrude more than I already did.”
“It’s not an intrusion. Besides, I think Jessica is on her way over. We can make it a girls’ night.”
Someone knocked on the door. Raina held up a finger and went to the door. She looked through the peephole, then unlocked the door.
“Hello!” Jessica said, hugging Raina as she walked into the apartment. “I brought—Stacey! I didn’t know you were going to be here! How are you?”
“I’m trying to convince her to stay for dinner,” Raina said.
“Oh, you have to. I brought wine, and we were going to watch Princess Bride.” Jessica grinned widely, imploring Stacey with her eyes.
“Oh, fine. I can’t say no to the two of you. Thank you for inviting me.” Stacey laughed when they hugged her.
“Let me go tell Karli she can stop hiding,” Raina said. “You two open the wine.”
“On it,” Jessica said with a salute. “So, how are you?”
Stacey shrugged. “Not great. I can’t deny that staying here for dinner is more appealing than going home and having my husband not talk to me. Again.” She sent Wray a text that she wouldn’t be home for dinner and not to wait for her.
“Why isn’t he talking to you?”
“I wish I knew. Things were better for a while. I mean, sort of. We were communicating some. But then he got an attitude with me one night and has been back on the couch every night since and barely speaks to me.”
“That’s weird.”
Stacey nodded and accepted the glass of wine Jessica poured her. “It’s just hard. I feel like things are so broken between us that I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to fix them, but then sometimes it seems like everything is going to be okay.”
“That sucks. I’m so sorry.”
Stacey waved her hand dismissively. “Thanks. We’ll figure it out eventually. How are things going with you? Any progress with Braden?”
“Who’s Braden?” Raina asked as she walked back into the living room.
Jessica’s cheeks turned pink. “He’s my boss’s brother.”
“Jessica has liked him forever. He’s my husband’s best friend,” Stacey said.
“Oh, that’s how you two know each other?” Raina asked.
Stacey and Jessica nodded. “Taylor, Braden’s sister, was like a sister to Wray. She invites everyone over from time to time. And she’s trying to play matchmaker with Jessica and Braden.”
“Except he’s never seemed all that interested,” Jessica said.
“Who’s not interested?” Karli asked, joining the others with a tray of food in each hand.
Stacey’s stomach rumbled loudly. She pressed her hand to it and tried not to inhale all the air in the room so she could bring that smell inside herself quicker. “Damn that smells good.”
“Thank you,” Karli said. “It’s an appetizer sampler so we can munch on it all night while we watch the movie and drink and not feel guilty about how much we’re eating because it’s small portions and those don’t count.”
Stacey liked Karli even more. All the women were curvy. Stacey often felt ashamed of her figure, but being around women who looked the same made her less conscious of it. And being around women who celebrated their curves made her want to do the same. Karli was celebrating.
Karli set the trays on the coffee table and accepted a glass of wine from Raina. “Who’s not interested?” she asked again, looking at Jessica.
“Braden. Taylor’s brother. She keeps trying to push us together. We’re getting together Friday night, but I don’t think it’s a date. He’s oblivious. Or not interested. Either way, I just don’t think it’s going to work.”
“You didn’t tell me you were going out. That’s awesome! And you can’t give up on someone you’ve wanted for so long. Especially before it even starts,” Karli said.
“How long have you wanted him?” Stacey asked.
“An embarrassingly long time. Years. Since I started working for Taylor.” Jessica’s cheeks darkened with the admission.
“I know Braden pretty well, and I think he’s just unsure of himself. He doesn’t see himself as a catch. He’s told me more than once he wishes he had what Wray and I have. Or what we used to have.” Stacey didn’t want to imagine her marriage was over, but she had a hard time hoping things would change again. Even when she and Wray were sleeping together, it was different. There was a distance between them. A block. And she put it there to protect her heart. She was scared to let him all the way in again. To be vulnerable to her husband and be crushed by another betrayal. What would the next one be?
“You and Wray will figure things out,” Jessica said softly, drawing Stacey’s attention.
Stacey smiled at her. “We’ll see.”
“Do you love your husband?” Raina asked.
Stacey was surprised by the question. She nodded. “I do.”
“Do you trust your husband?” Raina asked.
Stacey sucked in a breath. That was the harder question to answer. “I don’t know.”
“Well, it sounds like you need to figure that out. I knew I couldn’t trust Damon. He was evil. He was manipulative and dangerous. At first, he was charming and sweet. He would spoil me. He was so good at it that I didn’t realize he was spoiling me so I’d spend more and more time with him and stop seeing other people. I stopped going out with friends and people from work. Then I would complain that they didn’t invite me and I didn’t enjoy my job as much, so he talked me into spending more time with him and eventually quitting my job. He said he would take care of me. He took everyone away from me, and then he showed me who he really was. Trusting him meant giving up my entire life, but someone told me in a healthy relationship, trust means expanding your life and making it better.” Raina smiled at Stacey as she repeated her words.
“You’re right,” Stacey said. “And I believe that. Wray isn’t evil. He’s a good man and a good father. But he made a big mistake. The kind of mistake I’m not sure I can forgive him for.”
“Has he apologized?” Karli asked.
Stacey nodded.
“Do you think he’s really sorry?” Karli added appetizers to a plate and sat back on the couch.
“I do.” Stacey took a plate from Raina and started collecting appetizers for her dinner.
“Do you think he’s going to do anything like that again?” Karli closed her eyes on a bite of food and groaned. “Sorry, that’s damn good.”
Stacey chuckled. “You should love your food. And no. I don’t think he’ll do anything like what he did. He got in over his head.”
“So, you need to decide if you’re going to trust the part of you that says he’ll never do it again or the part of you that says it’s too big to forgive.”
Karli’s words rolled around in Stacey’s head as she ate dinner and watched the movie. She made it sound so simple, but there was nothing simple about deciding if her marriage could be saved.
Stacey left with Jessica, saying goodbye in the private lot for residents and guests before going home. The house was quiet when she walked in, telling her she missed the boys. Stacey tiptoed in, closing the door softly so she didn’t disturb Wray. She was almost to the stairs when he finally said the words that she hated to hear.
“We need to talk.”
14
Stacey stared at him for a long moment. He waited, wondering if she was going to have the conversation or not. If she took off, he would follow her, but he didn’t want to have to do that.
She sighed, then turned from the stairs and walked toward him. She moved around the end of the couch and sat in the chair on the opposite side of the room. She folded her hands in her lap and stared at them.
Wray sat down on the couch. A part of him expected her to just spill everything, but if she was going to do that, they wouldn’t be sitting across the room from each other in silence.
“Where were you tonight?”
“I was checking on a client. She moved in with a friend and I went to see how she was doing. Jessica showed up, and they invited me to stay and have dinner with them.”
“Is that really where you were?”
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Why would I lie about that?”
Wray shrugged. “You seem to be avoiding telling me a lot of things lately.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re following a man who murdered his wife and is involved in human trafficking.”
Stacey gasped. She went still for a minute, not moving or responding.
Wray waited. He didn’t want to rush to talk and have her not tell him something. He needed to understand why, and he needed her to understand how dangerous it was.
“I told her she would be safe. I said going back to a life was a good idea.”
“This is not your fault.”
Her lip wobbled. “It is, though. If I had encouraged her to move, to leave the area, she’d still be alive.”
“You don’t know that.”
“She’d have a better chance. He’s evil. He killed her in broad daylight and got away with it.”
“Marcus is still looking into it.”
“Marcus has nothing. If he could prove anything, he would have Oscar in jail already.”
“Why is this one so important to you?” Wray asked. He kept trying to figure out that answer. It was the one thing he didn’t understand. All her clients mattered, but she’d never gotten this involved before.
“She has a daughter. I think he might hurt her.”
