Page 36 of Darkness of Mine

“This him?” one of the SWAT guys asks.

Freya shakes her head, staring at the overweight, greasy haired man trembling on the floor. “No.”

“He could be working with a partner again,” I say, hoping this wasn’t all for nothing.

“Agent Park?” a deep voice calls from another room. “We’ve got a false wall.”

The man on the floor jerks. “You stay the hell out of there! I wanna see a warrant.”

“Hands back on your head! Now!”

The man cowers at the agents order. We leave him there, the stench of urine permeating the air, and go find the others in the bedroom.

Two agents stand by the open closet. The clothes have been pushed to the side and Jacobs, the team leader, pulls down his ski mask and taps his knuckles against the plasterboard at the back of the closet. “It’s hollow.”

The other agent runs his hands along the edge of the board. “I think I can lift it away, sir.”

River nods and I shift in front of Freya. She bristles behind me but she doesn’t have a weapon so there’s no way I’m moving. Jude, Eli, River, Jacobs, and I spread out and raise our guns. On Jacobs’ signal his agent shifts the board, pulling it away to reveal a small room with two bunk beds and three small kids staring up at us.

“Jesus Christ,” Jacobs mutters. We lower our weapons and Jacobs pulls off his helmet.

“It’s okay,” I say to the kids. “Everything’s going to be okay now.” I take a step forward but the girl nearest me flinches. I freeze. I know I’m not the one who hurt these girls but self-hatred swirls inside of me nonetheless.

Freya’s hand touches my shoulder, soothing me as she steps past and goes towards the kids. She moves slowly and they don’t flinch from her.

“Hey there, my name’s Freya. I’m with the police and we’re here to take you home. Does that sound good?”

The girls look at each other before nodding, their faces tearstained and frightened.

The girl with ginger hair takes Freya’s hand. She’s the right age, has the same pale complexion, but it’s not Harley.

17

FREYA

It takes us hours to process the crime scene and it’s almost unbearable to be in this house. It’s too similar to how I grew up, a seemingly normal home, no way for anyone to know there were children locked up inside. The only saving grace is that the homeowner, Carl Reever, is placed under arrest and taken down to the station almost straight away. We call in social services to help with the girls who are barely talking. They’ve given us their names though. None of them are registered as missing which means they were mostly likely trafficked here.

The whole situation is brutal and horrific, and I feel dirty just being here. I’m not unfamiliar to the cruelty and evil that exits but this, this is different. This is worse.

The whole house is being torn apart and River’s handing the case over to CACHTU, the crimes against children and human trafficking unit.

After I’ve done everything I can to help I leave the house, needing to breathe clean air. I find Oz in the front yard, leaning against the brick wall and staring at the sky.

I go to him, curling my arms around his body and resting my cheek on his chest. He smells good. Fresh. Clean.

I settle against him as he loops his arms behind my back.

He presses a kiss to my hair then rests his chin on my head and sighs. The sound is heavy, pained, and I realize I’m not the only one struggling.

I pull back and cup his cheek, drawing his gaze down to me. “Hey, you saved those girls today.”

He hums. “Only because I was looking for Harley.”

I furrow my brow. “So? You still saved them. Why does it matter how you got there?”

Oz screws up his face. “Do you know how many chat rooms like that there are? How many thinly veiled conversations hiding horrific crimes? Men like him litter the dark web. I pass as much as I can off to CACHTU but it’s not enough.”

He’s right and I make a mental note to call Carmen and tell her about this case but in the meantime, I smooth my hand round to the nape of his neck. “Oz…”