Page 79 of Captive Audience

Catalina gave a sad smile. “Niall didn’t know I was an escort at first. The conversation was easy between us. I didn’t have to pretend to like him. We just…hit it off. He was gentle. Kind. Something about him made me feel safe. He took me to a hotel, and we spent the night together.” Her smile grew as she stared into her coffee. “An amazing night. I left before he woke and couldn’t bring myself to ask for payment. Myhandlers made sure to find him to get what they were owed.” She sipped her coffee. “I thought I’d never see Niall again after that. But he kept coming back for me, again and again. Even though he knew what I was. Even though I told him I could never be free to start something real with him.”

“You couldn’t leave?” Asha asked.

Catalina shook her head and eyed her boy. He was oblivious to the nature of our conversation, too young to understand any of it.

“I was brought into the country through El Paso. They told me I’d have a job working as a waitress. But when I got here, they said I had to pay off my debt in other ways, and if I didn’t, they’d kill me. They’d kill my family. Soon enough, I realized they were never going to let me go. Niall swore he’d find a way to free me. So he went to my handlers and told them to name their price. Their figure was so ridiculous they must’ve assumed he’d never pay. But he did, and they let me go.”

“How much?” Asha asked.

“Twenty million, cash.”

I glanced at Asha, and she shrugged. “My analysis should’ve flagged a withdrawal like that. Niall must’ve hidden it somehow.”

I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes. “He never told me any of this.”

“He wanted to keep me separate from your world, to protect me from it. He used to say what was the point of saving me from one dangerous life only to trap me in another?” She moistened her lips.

“You loved him,” Asha said softly.

“Very much.” Catalina nodded. “He was the only man who showed me kindness. The only man who made me feel safe. And when he found out I was pregnant, he was so happy.” A fat tear rolled down her cheek.

I rubbed a hand over my mouth. Everything about this hurt. My chest ached like I’d taken a punch.

“Who smuggled you over the border? The Albanians?” I asked.

“No.” Catalina looked as though she wanted to say more, but her eyes again flicked to the boy on the floor.

I leanedforward. “Who, then?”

“I’m not sure I should say. We’ve had no trouble, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“No trouble?” I raised my voice, and Asha gave me a stern look, reminding me to keep my temper in check. “Someone had Niall killed. Don’t you want to make them pay for it?”

“Of course I do,” Catalina hissed. “But I also want my son to live without a target on his back.”

“Keeping quiet didn’t save Niall. If he’d told us what was happening, the Beasts could’ve protected you all.” I pointed at her. “He died for your freedom. The least you can do is help us get justice.”

Asha grasped my arm. “Rook, that’s not fair.”

I waved her off. “She needs to hear this.” I held Catalina’s stare. “These last two years, I’ve blamed myself for Niall’s death because I wasn’t here to watch over him. But you played a hand in it, too.”

“I know that.” Catalina’s lip quivered as fresh tears welled in her eyes. “Not a day goes by that I don’t remember Niall’s sacrifice and that I was the cause of it.”

“So do the right thing now. Tell us everything you know.”

Catalina sniffled and pinched her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she nodded slowly. “Los Cuervos Cartel smuggled me into the country. They run a pipeline from Central America, bringing in women. In the group I crossed with, most were younger than me. Barely teens.”

I swore under my breath. My blood simmered.

Everyone in the Philly underworld knew the Beasts didn’t tolerate human trafficking. No exceptions. If Los Cuervos was operating here, right under our fucking noses, then they were going to bleed for it.

Catalina continued, “But Los Cuervos were just the runners. There was someone above them giving out orders. I heard Don Miguel call himEl Dueño de las Almas. The owner of souls.”

Asha and I shared a look. The owner of souls? Sounded strikingly similar to the Soul Collector to me.

My hands clenched into fists. Beside me, Asha shifted in her seat.

Torin and Aidan needed to hear about this.