Page 18 of Sinners’ Appetite

“The tracks are fresh right here,” I say as I follow the tread marks partway up the road.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Tons of people travel this road daily. There’s farms everywhere around here,” Jeremy replies.

“Do you think Nolan found out about his brother?”

“Probably. I haven’t heard anything about his body being found though. It’s a wonder Jeff hasn’t made that discovery yet.”

“Is there anyone that knows Nolan well enough to help us?”

He shakes his head. “I only know of one person, and she definitely wouldn’t help us willingly.”

“Who?”

“Nolan’s sister…”

“It’s worth a try.”

“I know where she lives.”

The two of us head back to the car and take off back toward the city.

With Jeremy’s directions, we pull into the driveway of Nolan’s sister’s house and get out of the car, heading toward the front door.

After knocking three times, someone finally opens the door and peeks out through the small opening.

“Jeremy?” She asks.

“Jessica, we need your help. Can you get in contact with Nolan?”

“Why would I want to do that?” she huffs.

“He’s done something with Nikki and Sammi.”

Her eyes widen and she opens the door to step out. “What?”

“We don’t have time to explain. We know it was him, we found his glove by Sammi’s car and there’s no sign of them anywhere.”

“Fuck,” she sighs.

“So, can you help us, or not?” I ask.

“I can try. I’m not sure that he’ll tell me anything or even answer his phone.”

She heads back inside and moments later, comes back out with her phone in her hand. Before she makes the call, she looks up at us and tilts her head to the side. “Wait—I can find out exactly where he is, if he still has his location turned on.”

“Do you think he’s be stupid enough to do that?” Jeremy asks.

“You clearly don’t know Nolan. He’s fucking dumb.”

She returns her attention to her phone and after scrolling for a few seconds, her eyes light up. “Bingo!” she exclaims, handing me the phone.

The map shows his exact location. What a fucking idiot.

It shows that they’re in a small town not far from the city, roughly an hour away.

“I can come with you, if that’ll help,” she offers.

I think about it for a second and decide to let her, since she’s able to track him.

“How do I know that we can trust you?” Jeremy asks.

“I might be a bitch, Jeremy, but I’ve learned a lot about my brothers over the last few months and I want to put a stop to their bullshit.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Let’s just go. I’ll explain on the way there. It’s a lot.”

We all hop into my car and take off toward the main highway. Once I get to the intersection, Jessica tells me to take a left.

“So…what did you learn about your brothers, Jessica?” Jeremy asks.

“You know how they used to travel together a lot? I found out why,” she replies.

“Go on…”

“They get paid to make…deliveries.”

“Drugs?”

“Not always. By the sounds of it, they traffic people.”

“People? Like as in…”

“They deliver people to random locations and they’re apparently sold off in an underground auction. Mostly women and children.”

I slam my hand into the steering wheel. “If you knew this, why didn’t you go to the police?!”

“Because my brothers would have me killed if they found out that it was me who ratted them out.”

“That’s what anonymous tips are for, Jessica. Fuck!” Jeremy exclaims.

“I know, I know! I was scared, okay?! I didn’t know what to do.”

“You better hope that we find Nikki and Sammi alive,” I say, keeping my eyes held on the road ahead of me.

Jessica lowers her head to her phone. “He’s on the move again,” she informs us.

“How did you find out about the trafficking?” Jeremy asks.

“I heard them talking on the phone one night. I had to spend the night at Nolan’s when my car quit on the side of the road, and I could hear their conversation clear as day through the vent in the guest room.”

“How long do you think they’ve been doing this?” I ask.

“I have no idea.”

“Is there just the three of you in your family?”

“Yes.”

“Well, just so you know, once I’m done with Nolan, you’ll be an only child.”

“I don’t think he’s got my other brother with him,” she sighs.

“I know he doesn’t.” I smirk, glancing at her through the rear-view mirror. “Justin’s already been taken care of.”

“What? How?”

“He attacked Nikki at the club she works for. I thought it was a random thief—so I killed him. Jeremy told me it was Justin.”

“Holy fuck. I wondered why I haven’t heard from him in a few days. He usually stops by to ask for money, or a ride somewhere.”

“I didn’t actually mean to kill him. He had a soft skull.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. He’s useless. I know what he did to Nikki last year.” she says in a sympathetic tone.

We drive for another half hour until Jessica points ahead to a road we’re approaching on the left. “Down this road. It shows some sort of building down here. I’m not sure what it is though.”

“We’ll have to find a place to park and then walk the rest of the way, so nobody sees us.” I say, pulling off onto the road. As I drive ahead a little further, I spot what looks to be an overgrown driveway, so I pull in and park the car behind an old abandoned shed.

The three of us get out of the car and Jessica checks her phone again. “He’s still there. It’s about a half hour walk if we walk through that section of woods.” She points to the treeline not far from where we’re standing.

“It’s getting dark. I’m not sure that we’ll be able to see much while we’re walking,” Jeremy warns.

“We don’t need to see anything. We have the map,” I reply, reaching into the passenger’s side door to grab my gun from the glove-box.

“You just drive around with that thing in your car?” Jessica asks.

“It’s America. Of course I do,” I shrug. “Are we ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,”

“That’s it. That’s the building that the map shows. He’s in there.” Jessica points ahead to the building in the distance.

“How do we approach it without being spotted?” I ask.

“At this point, I don’t really care if they do,” Jeremy says.

We walk closer to the building, and as we approach from the backside, we hear a vehicle nearby. Seconds later, the headlights are visible though the trees from where we’re standing.

“We have to hurry. The girls must be in this building somewhere.” I reach into my pocket and grab my gun, loading it quickly before peeking my head around the corner of the building.

The vehicle parks and turns off. Within seconds, I see a man and woman step out and walk toward the front.

“There has to be a different way in,” I suggest.

“I’ll go check around the side,” Jessica says. As she turns to walk away, I grab her arm and pull her back.

“It’s not safe for you to be wandering around by yourself. We have to stick together.”

“Let’s go then!” Jeremy impatiently whispers.

We slowly walk along the backside of the building and Jessica peeks her head around the side. “There’s a window,” she confirms.

I creep along the side, signaling for them to stay put. When I get to the broken window, I lift my head to the edge and peek in, unable to see much of anything inside aside from boxes at first. Then, I see movement.

I turn my head toward Jessica and Jeremy, motioning for them to join me. When I look back through the window, I see the man and woman sitting down on some old chairs, their eyes fixated on something that’s not in my view.

“She’s a beauty, Theo,” the woman says.

The man nods his head. “She looks stronger than the last one, dear.”

“Only one way to find out.” She laughs.

Just then, I hear someone else speak. “So, did you bring the full payment?”

“Of course we did,” the man confirms.

“Do you want to test her out before you decide for sure?”

“Here?” the woman grins.

“Fuck yeah.”

Jessica pokes me in the side to get my attention. “That’s Nolan,” she whispers.

Just then, I see Nolan disappear out of my view for a few moments. When he appears again, he’s holding what looks like a chain dog leash, attached to a collar, secured around Nikki’s neck.