Page 88 of Built for Mercy

“And?” I pressed.

“He got so close, he could tell you which brand of cologne they splash on their shitty necks. Axel’s deep in meth, spreads it like wildfire. Kendrick’s got his fingers sticky with heroine, and Leo? He’s tripping balls into psychedelics.”

I’d probably laugh if I wasn’t about to throttle them both for not spitting it out already.

“Your dad?” Paulie chimed in, his voice dropping an octave. “He’s the puppet master, watching from above, pulling strings.You know this. It’s why you’re still a slave dealing cocaine even though you want out.”

I leaned closer to the mirror, the glass cool against my palms as I took deep breaths to calm my racing heart. I was going to have a fucking heart attack before thirty at this point.

“Rico here,” Paulie gestured toward the mirror, “has been our ears. Recording their talks, trailing their dirty cash. Trying to get intel where you were unsuccessful, in a way that wouldn’t seem like snooping.” Yep, that was my issue. I had to do it all slowly, prying without making it obvious. “But guess what they let slip to him? Their big, juicy secret moneymaker. Any wild guesses?”

I shut my eyes. I knew this was coming, but I wanted to believe they were better than this. That maybe there was some shred of their DNA that wasn’tthiscorrupted and horrible.

“Drugs, guns… women,” I admitted in defeat, already knowing the answer.

“Some kids, too. Rico has it all recorded,” Duane said quietly, as if realizing I needed a moment to digest this.

“Fuck,” I breathed out, a poisonous cocktail of rage and hatred swirling within me. “Fuck.” If these two weren’t here, I’d be spiraling.

“Turns out the family business has more branches than we thought,” Paulie murmured.

Duane nodded, his usually mischievous eyes clouded with anger. This is what I loved about them. They stood with me on all the right things. “They run an online bidding site that allows people to buy them. Then they get transported.”

I dropped my hands from the mirror and cracked my neck.

“It’s fucking dark, man. They’re raped and beat and God knows what else after they’re purchased. But they’re kept all over the country. Your old man has his claws deep in an international trafficking ring.”

“Son of a bitch,” I swore, my blood running hot then cold. A violent shudder ripped through me, the kind of visceral reaction you can’t control when your whole world tilts on its axis. I wanted to throw something, to fucking rage, but I needed to keep my cool.

“Rico confirmed on video that your dad put the hit out on Eddie because Eddie refused to partake. He even stole evidence of a conversation between Rick and Eddie. It was… heated. Eddie was adamant, saying he respected women and children and would never stoop to that level. Said there was enough money in the cartel without getting into that filth.”

I could almost hear Eddie’s voice. I’d only met the man a handful of times, but he was the kind of man who left a lasting impression. A good man, despite the line of work he’d found himself in.

“He worried too much for the safety of his three daughters and his wife,” Paulie continued. “Eddie knew this was the kind of thing that kept expanding until it became dangerous for all who were involved. But of course, Rick didn’t like that answer.”

Black dots danced in my vision. The sour taste of bile stung the back of my tongue, and I swallowed hard, fighting to keep my last meal where it belonged.

Duane sighed, a sound heavy with regret, and dropped the final bombshell. “There’s more.” I glowered at him, not sure I could handlemore. The truth had always been there, clinging to the shadows. I’d refused to fully accept it. “Chavez is still involved, Mav. In between runs, he’s transporting women. Even during our runs. He blurs the lines. He proved his loyalty to your dad when he took Eddie’s life ten years ago, but Rico has led us to believe that Chavez might be playing both you and good ol' Rick for personal gain.”

I slammed a fist against the wall. The pain was a welcome distraction. “Transporting women andchildren,” I spat. “He’sout there treating them like chattel while we run interference? Fucking coward.”

“Man’s got no spine, using those women to save his own skin,” Paulie muttered.

I rolled my shoulders, trying to get a handle on my anger. “I’ll make sure Chavez pays for every damn thing he’s done. Sophie’s been waiting a long time to take matters into her own hands, and I’m sure he’ll be wishing it was me taking his life instead. Then, we’ll focus on taking down my dad’s operation.” Except, he was no longer Dad to me.

“Great. Start by extracting everything you can from Rico. He flew here on his own dime, needing protection in the event it gets back to the rest of your family what he’s done.”

Rico was a mess, his face lined with terror as though he’d been dragged backward through hell to get here. Maybe he had, given how he jumped at the sound of the door opening. I pulled a chair up to sit across from him.

“Start talking. Everything you know, I need to hear it now.”

He swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing, and then the words poured out of him, a litany of sins so vile they finalized my hatred for the people I shared blood relations with. Each confession was another nail in their coffins, each detail a mental note engraved in stone. I pressed for the information I needed to implicate the man Sophie had risked her life hunting down. The man that, ironically, brought her to me.

“Chavez.” His name left my lips like a curse, and I could almost taste the vengeance on my tongue. Rico nodded.

“Every shipment, every sale, he’s mixed in it all,” Rico said, desperation cracking his voice. “Your father trusts him implicitly.”

“Was,” I corrected icily. “Chavez was involved. Because after I’m done with him, there won’t be a hole deep enough for him to crawl into.”