Page 58

“It’s a smash and grab,” Thiago says. Donny and Joey seem unbothered by this. The vein near Uri’s temple twitches. He’s not on board and neither am I. “We intercept the van, get the merchandise and go.”

I don’t want to get back into this life. It’s not fair to Ian. He’s not thriving, but he’s doing better. It’s a slow and steady progression. He didn’t end up in my bed last night, which is a win. I don’t know what he would do if something happened to me. So I sure as shit don’t want to end up in prison or deported or killed. And I have a chance to see Katya in a few weeks.

Donny plants his ass on my desk, and I’m trying hard to not get annoyed. “What’s the merch?”

Thiago glances around the room, assessing us, our loyalty, bravery, and carelessness. I’ve done it myself, so I know whatever he’s about to say, it’s going to be a hard sell.

He exhales before he says, “Women.”

“Fuck you! I’m out.” I’m not risking my life for that shit. It was hard enough to convince my father and brother to stay out of that back in Russia. But here, in the land of opportunity, there’s no way I’m doing that.

What surprises me is the other men having the same reaction.

Joey’s going ballistic. “You think because I run a club I want unwilling employees!”

A part of me is a little impressed at his word choice. Employees. Not whores. Ormerchandiselike Thiago just called them. Employees.

“Do you have the approval of the Fathers?” Uri asks.

Thiago drums his fingers against the table and glances everywhere but at us.

Now it’s Donny’s turn to get upset. “Wait. This is unsanctioned? The brothels were closed in the late nineties. And you want to bring us back in? Fuck, we could make more money having girls catfishing whales. And they don’t even need to be a fucking girl. Come on man.”

Thiago raises his hand to tell us all to hold on. “These women were taken by The Deviant.” He pauses to let the words sink in. “He’s been using them for human trafficking, selling them by the hour. He never keeps them in the same place for too long, and today he’s moving some of them to a new location.”

Uri catches my eye and flashes me the “hell no” sign. But he turns to Thiago. “What the hell are you going to do with them after you have them?”

He rubs the back of his neck before dragging his hand to his chin. “I have a plan. They’ll have a home, food, and a job. All legal. And there’s a potential for a fuck ton of money.” Even as he says it, it sounds sketchy, and he knows it. “It was Alana’s idea.”

The relief in the room is instant, the tension vanishing.

Joey snaps, “You should’ve led with that.”

It’s a little comforting that everyone else has the same opinions about her as I do.

“Just to clarify, we’re rescuing women who would have been sold as sex slaves and you’re giving them a safe place to live, food, and a legal job?” Donny says.

Thiago glances around at us. “We’re the good guys.”

Uri steps over to Thiago's laptop to see the plan and frowns. “Did Alana come up with the smash and grab?”

“No. I did,” Thiago says.

Uri pushes the laptop toward the rest of us. “This plan sucks. We’re going to get caught or killed.”

Donny takes one long look at it and says, “I can fix this.” He pulls out his phone and makes a call. “Hey, Wave, I need your help with a video game.”

Her sweet and sing-songy voice fills the room. “Sure, what’s the physics like in the game?”

“Hyper realistic,” he says with a shrug and explains the plan. Waverly is quiet except to ask a question or two.

“Hang on, I’ll email you something in a few minutes,” she says and hangs up.

Uri’s eyes blaze as he shoves Donny. “What the fuck? You’ve been using Waverly to plan your jobs? All she’s ever wanted is to be brought into the fold.”

Joey pinches his temples between his thumb and middle finger and exhales through his nose. “No wonder she has such low self-esteem. That’s probably why she’s with that douche, Adam.”

“I don’t understand. Why don’t you want her in the family business?” I ask. “She seems like a good asset.”