Maybe Always (Maybe Series Book 3) (12 page)

Seth stands from the table.
 

“Take him upstairs and see what he knows. After you find out what he knows, keep him upstairs and get him ready to be transferred tomorrow. Understood?”
 

“Yes, sir,” Seth says.
 

Seth signals for two other men to follow him and then goes over to Killian. I watch as they force him back into a standing position. Killian doesn’t take his eyes off of me though. Not until he is forced to turn away from me and walk out the door.
 

I don’t know what kind of pain I’ve just subjected Killian to. I don’t know what torture they will use to get him to talk. I just hope he talks. He just needs to survive long enough for me to find a way for him to get out of here.
 

I don’t know how much time that is. One night? Two? I don’t know how much time I have left to keep him alive. But that is my new mission. Keep Killian alive, and then I can worry about the rest.
 

When Killian is no longer in view, Santino walks over to where Nacio and I are still standing.
 

“So, you’re the infamous Kinsley Felton,” Santino says to me.
 

“Yes. And you’re Nacio’s younger brother, Santino.”
 

Santino smiles brightly, showing off his sparkly white teeth. “So, my brother did talk about me while I was gone. I wish he had talked to me about you. I would have gotten here faster if I’d known how beautiful you were. You think you can kiss me like you did my brother? After all, I deserve a kiss, too, for breaking Killian out of jail for you.”
 

I don’t have to answer though because Nacio throws a punch in Santino’s direction. Santino ducks, expecting the punch. He laughs as Nacio’s face reddens and darkens at the thought of Santino kissing me.
 

“Chill, dude. I was just joking. You know I would never mess with a girl you already claimed. Not when a dozen more just like her that I could fuck with less trouble are upstairs right now. I’m just messing with you. Lighten up, man.”
 

Nacio’s face lightens, but his eyes stay dark and angry. “I’m heading into town for a couple of hours to pick up some things. Want to come, baby?” he asks me.
 

Santino interjects, “Or you could stay with me, and I could show you around. I know my boring brother didn’t do that great of a job.” He smiles at me, expecting me to take Nacio up on his offer.
 

But I don’t want to leave the premises, not now that Killian is here. I can’t take a chance that whoever remains behind will change their mind and just kill him. I also don’t know why Nacio will let me leave the premises with him when, earlier today, he was so stern about me not being able to leave.
 

“I’ll stay with Santino,” I say to Nacio. “I need to get to know both of the people I will be working with.”
 

Santino slings his arm around my shoulders in a way that I wasn’t expecting. “Don’t worry, brother. I won’t do anything that you wouldn’t do.”
 

I smile. I can’t help it. Santino’s smile is infectious.
 

Nacio glares at the pair of us. “Fine. I didn’t show her how the men get paid. You can start with that.”
 

“Boring,” Santino says flatly.
 

“Do it. I’ll be back in an hour, and then we can discuss transportation plans for tomorrow.”

Santino rolls his eyes but nods at his brother.
 

Nacio walks to me, stopping too close for my comfort. “This doesn’t mean you have passed yet. When we arrive at our next location you will still have to kill him to pass the test. Until then, the same rules apply.”
 

I nod. “I didn’t think they wouldn’t apply.”
 

“Good.” Nacio says to his brother, “Behave,” before he walks out of the room, leaving me along with Santino.
 

Santino pulls his leather jacket off and hands it to me. “Here. You look cold.”
 

I notice the goose bumps covering my arms and torso. “Thanks.”
 

“My brother can be a bit of a jackass. Don’t let your opinion of him affect your opinion of me though. I’m much nicer and a lot more fun than he is.”
 

I smile as I slip into his jacket, thankful to be more covered up.
 

He holds out his arm, and I take it, like he’s my prom date.
 

“Come on, I can show you the boring paperwork to appease my brother, and then we can find something more fun to get into before he gets back.”
 

I nod, and he guides me out of the cafeteria and up the stairs to the offices. He leads me into an office next to Nacio’s. This one is slightly smaller than Nacio’s, but otherwise, it looks exactly the same.
 

“Pull up a chair next to my desk,” Santino says as he takes a seat behind his desk.
 

From his desk, he begins pulling out envelopes with names written on them. He starts typing on his computer, and I pull up a chair next to him behind his desk, so I can see what he is doing.
 

He has a spreadsheet with names pulled up. But they aren’t regular names. They are code names, I realize. Even if someone took this computer, no one would have any legal names or any way to track the business. That basically means, if I or the FBI took it, the computer would be useless.
 

“These are all code names we use for the guys who work for us. We also use this system to tag all the people, drugs, and money, but we will explain that part of the system later when we get…”
 

I suck in a breath, waiting for him to tell me where, but he catches himself.
 

“Anyway, only the people at the top know how to read the code names. It is a boring, tricky process to assign men code names and remember them since we don’t have any sort of key written down anywhere. You just have to remember. Once you start meeting all the guys, we will help you memorize them.”
 

“Do the men know their own code names?”
 

“No. We call them by whatever first name they tell us. I don’t even think the names they tell us are their real names, and it honestly doesn’t matter to us. We find out their real names anyway and then do extensive background checks on all our men regardless of what they want to be called. This is just a system to keep their real names off the books.”
 

I nod.
 

“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about any of this right now. All you need to worry about is the hierarchy of the men and how they get paid.”
 

I nod again.
 

“Our men get paid only every six months.”
 

I raise my eyebrows. “Why so long? Don’t the men get upset with having to wait that long to get paid? How do they pay their bills?”

“No, they don’t get upset. They know up front how long it will be until they get paid. And all of their living costs are paid for as long as they work for us.”
 

“What about their families?”
 

“Their families are taken care of—if they survive six months. If they survive, we will pay for basic expenses for their families as well. And the money they make is more than most of these men would make in a lifetime. We are very generous employers.”
 

“But why make them wait six months until they get paid?”
 

He smiles. “Loyalty. We want loyal employees who will stay with us forever. Doing what we do, we need people who will be devoted to us for life. We don’t want people who are only in this for a quick paycheck. That’s why we reward loyalty, not position. The longer you are with us, the more you get paid.”

“There aren’t higher and lower positions?”

“There is us and them. There are the Marlows and Feltons, and then there is everybody else. Everybody else does whatever position we ask them to do. Sure, there are people we trust more than others, but everybody gets the same, depending on how long they have been with us. Tomorrow, we could have different needs. For example, our most trusted person who is responsible for shipping might have to be responsible for night-shift guard duty the next night. We reward loyalty above everything else.”
 

“But what motivation do the men have for doing a good job if they aren’t going to get paid accordingly?”

He cocks his head to the side in the same way that Nacio does, except Santino has a small dimple on his cheek. I notice it when he smiles, making him seem less harmful than Nacio.
 

But, as he leans forward and pulls his gun out from his jeans, I know he is equally as dangerous, despite the dimple.
 

“This,” he says, holding his gun. “This is why the men listen and do what they are told without question. They know that they will be eliminated if they don’t. We don’t give second chances.”
 

I nod slowly as he puts the gun back in the back of his jeans.
 

Santino turns his attention back to the screen. “So, as you can see, we mark off six-month periods, and for every period they last, they get a five percent increase.”
 

“How long do the men typically last?”
 

He shrugs. “If they make it six months with us, they usually last a lifetime. But less than twenty percent make it to six months.”

I gulp, not wanting to know the answer to my next question, but I ask anyway, “Do you kill them if they don’t make it to six months?”
 

He actually laughs at my question, like it is the most bizarre thing I could have ever asked.
 

I blankly stare at him. I have no idea what I said that was so funny.
 

He stops laughing suddenly when he sees my face. “Sorry, but I thought the answer to that would have been obvious. Yes. If they don’t make it to six months, then they have to go. Once you start working for us, it is a lifetime commitment. We can’t chance them telling someone about what we do.”
 

I want to ask for exact details. I know they smuggle, but from where to where? Why? How? I want to ask all the questions, but I don’t.
 

“We have two men coming up on six months, so it’s time to pay them.”
 

“Why do most of the men that make it to six months last?”

“By then, they have seen the worst. They have killed people. They have gotten their hands dirty. And because of this…” He points to the screen.
 

When I see the large number, my mouth drops open. I stare in disbelief at what these men make in six months if they last that long. It’s half a million. They make half a million in US dollars if they can last six months.
 

“Once they get that first large paycheck, they are hooked.”
 

I nod, understanding now. “How do we pay them?”
 

“Cash.”
 

“How do we give them that much cash at one time?”
 

“We don’t. At the six-month mark, we give them the cash in a few increments over the next month or two. When you see an envelope full of cash, it does something to you. The men will suddenly do anything for you. Things they wouldn’t do before, they do now.”
 

“But why wouldn’t they just quit after that first paycheck?”
 

“First of all, nobody quits, remember? And, second of all, they get hooked. They get used to that money and want more and more of it. They can’t stop.”
 

I still don’t understand fully, but I guess it makes sense because our families have been getting away with this for years without getting caught, so whatever they are doing must be working.
 

I hear a knock on the door, and we both look up.
 

Santino exits the program on the computer. “Come in,” he says.
 

The door opens, and Seth walks in.
 

“I have the info the FBI agent told us.”
 

“Good. Proceed,” Santino says.
 

Seth looks to me and then back to Santino, unsure if he should be speaking.
 

“It’s okay, Seth. Kinsley is one of us now. If she messes up, she’ll be dead. Anything you have to say, you can say in front of her.”
 

Seth hesitates for another second, shifting his weight from side to side, before he finally speaks, “He says the FBI found the bodies. They are investigating what happened and believe they can figure out the location based on the evidence at the scene. They are assembling a team to move in.”

“Excellent. Anything else, Seth?”
 

Seth looks down at his feet and then to me. “He’s still in love with her,” he says, looking at me.

Santino raises his eyebrows. “Anything else?”
 

“No, sir.”
 

“Good.”
 

Seth turns to leave, passing Raul who stands hesitantly in the doorway as Seth passes him.
 

“Come in.” Santino sighs, like this is how he spends most of his day and he hates it.
 

I hate that Seth said Killian still loves me. It means that at least one person was observant because I know Killian would never admit to that and put me at risk on his own. It makes it even more important for him to get out of here.

Raul comes in next. He’s out of breath and panting hard. He holds his chest, trying to slow his breathing so that he can speak. It takes him several seconds, but he is finally able to get the words out. “Security system…it’s down.”
 

“Shit,” Santino says, quickly getting up from his chair.
 

I watch as the chair falls over, and then I quickly get up, too. I run after Santino as he walks out of the office. I’m not going to miss a chance to check out how the security is set up.