Summer Kisses (224 page)

“Unless we have concrete proof that Gorgon has hurt Luka, endangered him in any way or committed crimes, we’ll have no choice but to return Luka to his father.”

“I’m his mother.”

“But you abandoned him.”

“To keep him safe.”

Will’s hard gaze remained on her. He was right. In the eyes of the law, which he
was
, she had abandoned her son, even though in her mind her actions had been just. If Gorgon lived, he could say she attacked him and took their son. Gorgon would get Luka and she would be killed or locked away, never to see her little boy again. The pain she felt at the thought brought tears to her eyes.

“I know why you left, Katrina. I know what kind of man Gorgon is. I wouldn’t want my child raised by him either, but as of right now, we have nothing against him to prove he is not the upstanding citizen he claims to be.”

Nicole snorted. “Upstanding citizen.”

“Help me help you, Katrina. You know Gorgon’s operation don’t you?”

Her mind whirled. She had to make a decision. Luka or her family.

Katrina’s soft body under him had jacked-up Will’s libido. Now, watching her, adrenalin kicked his psyche into overdrive like three fingers of a smooth, aged whiskey. This was the moment he’d been working toward since he first saw Gorgon’s mistress. He had her. She was going to spill her guts and they’d be able to shut down the Novokoffs’ operation and lock the bastards away forever.

As he stood on the balls of his feet like a sprinter, all ears, anxiously waiting for the information he’d been searching for, Katrina’s tan faded and her features distorted into shades of green. The mug she held trembled in her tight grasp and concern overtook his glee.

The exact moment he made the decision to rush around the counter separating them, she inhaled and said, “I need to tell you something.” Her voice quaked.

The lowering of her eyes disclosed that whatever she was about to tell him, was huge. His gut knotted in anticipation and Will fought the urge to move toward Katrina, fearing he’d scare her into silence. “Go ahead.”

Her mug clicked against the tile counter. “If I tell you, will you promise me you’ll do everything possible to keep my family safe?”

If Gorgon and the rest of the Novokoffs were put away, there wouldn’t be a threat against Luka, but he’d go with the flow. “Luka, sure.”

“Luka, too.”

What the hell did she mean ‘Luka too’? He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. As far as he knew, Katrina had no one else here in the United States, but then there wasn’t that much information on her in the file, other than she’d been Gorgon’s mistress for the past five or six years. Who was she referring to? “You have other family?”

Katrina’s eyes darted to the window. For a long minute she seemed to stare a million miles beyond the quivering maple leaves outside.

“Yes.”

“Here in the United States?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“You must promise me you’ll keep them safe. Gorgon will not stop until he has Luka back. He will kill them all.”

Will had no idea how many people he was promising to protect, but he had no choice. He needed to know what information she had. He was on the brink of shutting down Gorgon and his sick trafficking ring and there was nothing he wouldn’t agree to. “I’ll do everything I can.”

The whirl of the air conditioner filled the silence hanging between them while she twirled the strand of hair that had hugged her neck. His nerves sizzled under his skin, but he kept a cool façade while he waited for her to continue.

“My real name is not Katrina.”

Shoe leather slapped the floor as he dropped back onto his heels.
Was this a con?
Who was she going to tell him she was? He turned and sat his mug down into the apartment-sized sink before facing her. “Who are you?”

“Nicole Carson.”

The name sounded familiar but he couldn’t be sure. He’d have Gary run it at the first opportunity. “Nicole Carson,” he repeated just to make sure he’d heard right.

“Yes. Gorgon gave me the name Katrina.”

Will’s stomach rolled as a bad feeling settled on his shoulders. “Why?”

“I was abducted when I was sixteen.” Her pink tongue swept across her lips. “On my way home from my after-school job eight years ago.”

The hairs on the back of Will’s neck prickled as he listened to the quake in her voice. He studied her facial muscles and eyes for any indication she wasn’t telling the truth. He saw none. If she was indeed a victim, she would be the perfect witness to shut down Gorgon’s whole operation and throw him and most of his family in jail until the flesh rotted off their bones. “Gorgon?”

“His men, I think. There were two of them. And a kid.”

“What?” Using a kid sounded like something the Novokoffs would do.

Again she looked out the window. By the pale sorrow distorting the beautiful lines of her face, he knew Katrina—he meant Nicole—was recalling the exact moment her life had changed.

“Everything that happened seemed so ordinary. This mini-van pulled up beside me and the guy driving asked for directions to the school’s soccer field. I knew the soccer association was holding their regional playoffs there so I didn’t think it odd. A lot of people were coming to the event from outside the area. A few had stopped earlier at the restaurant where I waitressed. I was on the passenger side of the car, and he was talking across the console and bucketseat, so I thought nothing of stepping closer.”

Rage intensified the gold flecks in her eyes. Even after eight years, she was beating herself up over that decision for the thousandth time.

“The young boy was in the backseat. I remember he wore a green-and-yellow Falcons team shirt and he held a soccer ball on his lap.”

Nicole’s pink tongue darted across her lips and again she stared out the window as if that was where her memories were stored. She wrapped her arms around her body as if she was protecting herself.

“Next thing I knew, I was grabbed from behind and then my neck felt like a lightning bolt zapped through it. My whole body shook and I peed myself. I would’ve hit the concrete if the guy hadn’t held me up.”

“They used a taser gun. You didn’t see anyone walking along the street, following you before that?”

“No. No one.”

“They had the spot picked out. The second man must’ve been hiding before you got there.” He told her with his eyes that he understood her anguish. No one would blame her for what happened. “Tell me every detail,” he said knowing she needed to tell someone the whole story. She’d kept her ordeal inside too long.

“He tossed me into the back of the SUV like a rag doll. I remember seeing white, fluffy clouds floating across the sky and thinking I might never see them again. Then he leaned over me and sneered. I’ll never forget, his breath smelled like peppermint. To this day I can’t stand the scent. Then the guy slammed the hatch closed.”

Will stood motionless, giving her time and space. Behind him, the stove’s digital clock clicked over twice.

When Nicole finally looked at him, tears made her brown eyes shimmer. “I could see what was happening and hear them, but I couldn’t move. I don’t think I even blinked, just watched the clouds disappear. Then I must’ve blacked out because that’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in the back of one of those big delivery trucks, like they use to deliver mattresses.” She made a large square in the air. “My hands and feet were bound with plastic straps and I had duct tape over my mouth.”

“Katrina—“ No she wasn’t Katrina. She was Nicole. Cautiously he moved across the short distance and stood opposite her with the tiled counter separating them.

Nicole’s fingers worked the hem of her T-shirt, twisting and untwisting the material. He gave her a second before he asked. “Were you alone, in the truck?”

“No.” She placed her hands on the counter, clamping her fingers together. “There were two other girls. I’d never seen them before. They were huddled together.” She swallowed. “I’ll never forget their eyes. They looked as forlorn and scared as I felt.”

“How long were you in the truck?”

“Days. They didn’t drive all the time. Sometimes we just sat still. We tried making noise once, by kicking the sides of the walls, hoping someone would hear us, but they opened the door and one guy put a gun to the head of on girl and told us if we tried that again they’d kill us. We could’ve screamed our lungs out and it wouldn’t have done us any good. From what I saw, we were sitting in a deserted parking lot.”

“Did they stop anywhere else?”

“Yeah, but always on a back road with nothing around but trees. They gave us water, a bite of food and allowed us to go to… You know.” Her cheeks flushed. “I guess a few days went by when Becca was thrown into the van with us. She landed up against me and we sort of stuck together from then on––until they took her away.” Nicole’s words choked.

He could see how hard recalling all this was on her, but doing so was important, and she was remembering. Many victims blocked the memories and years of therapy passed before they realized they were no longer in danger. Telling their stories helped them free themselves. The smallest detail could help his case. “How long were all of you in there?”

“I’m not sure. I think six days. I tried to keep track by counting the seconds ticking off and then the minutes, but after I fell asleep a few times, I gave up. Then I made note whether I saw dark or daylight every time they opened the door to check on us and give us water and food.” She rocked back and forth, seemingly uncomfortable. “It seemed like they never stopped driving.”

This all took place eight years ago. Their operation could’ve shut down or moved. “Do you know where they took you?”

“A warehouse. It was dark when we arrived. I didn’t see any signs.”

“Anything you can remember will help us pin-point the location. Anything.”

“There were just buildings. No trees.” Her eyes widened. “Wait. I did see a sign, a billboard sign, for a bakery. Patter’s bread. I remember the name because my history teacher was Mr. Patter.”

Will’s pulse kicked up. Patter’s bread was not a national brand. “Good. Very good. Did you smell bread baking?”

“No.”

“What about inside the warehouse?”

“There were people working. They just looked past us like we weren’t even there, like we didn’t exist.”

Will’s stomach rolled. How could any human being stand by and watch as children were herded by them, knowing what would happen to them? That answer was easy. Those who were slaves themselves, trained by those controlling them, would stand by and do nothing.

Will’s temples throbbed as he contemplated the size of the ring responsible for the loss of so many young lives. “What were the people doing?”

“They were packaging stuff. T-shirts, sweatshirts.” Her eyes widened. “Sports gear, I think. You know, NFL and MBL jerseys.”

“Black market knock offs.” Good lead. He could check with the FBI and see if they had any leads. “Can you tell me anything else? What about smell. Close your eyes.”

She did as he said and inhaled a slow deep breath, before her eyes popped open. “Diesel fumes and grapes,” she said as if asking a question and not making a statement.

“Odd combination.”

“Maybe I’m wrong. It was so long ago.”

“You’d be surprised how the strange turns out to be accurate.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “You feel okay continuing?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Okay. What happened next?”

“They put us into a small room. Like an old refrigerator locker,” she said. “They gave us water and a real meal. Becca was sick and she got worse as time went by. She was diabetic and hadn’t taken her insulin in several days by then.” Nicole brushed her fingertip across her eye. “I think we were there two days before we were taken to a hotel in New York.”

“A hotel? How do you know you were in New York?”

“I saw the skyline when we entered the room. I think we were on the twenty-third floor.” She crossed her arms, hugging her waist. “We were ordered to take showers. The bathroom was huge and the shower was tiled and open, like my school’s gym shower. The men, they watched us. Becca was so weak by then, I had to help her, hold her up. The men thought we were lovers and made lewd remarks. They were disgusting.”

Nicole rubbed her hands up and down her arms. He could see by the way her neck muscles worked that she was fighting the urge to vomit.

“Afterwards, we were examined by a woman. She said she was a doctor. When she told the head guy…”

Nicole’s eyes brightened.

“One of the men called him Travis. When the doctor told Travis Becca and I were virgins, you would’ve thought by his actions he’d won the lottery.” Her nose crinkled. “He got this big shitty grin. His chest puffed out. He kept saying
Yes
and rubbing his hands together. Then he started making phone calls.”

“To who?”

“Buyers.” She looked away, as a blush crept into her cheeks. “A little later, the other two girls were told to get dressed and they were hustled out. Travis told his men to take them back to the meat locker. Becca and I remained in the hotel.”

Then her brow crinkled with pain as she recalled another memory.

“Becca feared if they found out she was diabetic they would get rid of her. Not eating properly and without her insulin––well it was only a matter of time before…” Nicole’s words choked and she took a moment before she continued. “The next morning Becca felt worse and by the afternoon, she was acting funny. Like she was on something. Her words were slurred. She kept falling asleep. Soon I couldn’t wake her.

“Travis called the doctor back. I told her Becca was diabetic, thinking she would help Becca, but she didn’t. She told Travis and he called his two men back. Becca and I held onto each other, well, more me than her. She tried. She really did. Her eyes were glassy with tears. I pleaded with them to let her stay with me. I fought for her, but they wouldn’t listen to me. Travis and his one man held me down while the doctor gave me a shot. I never saw Becca again.”

A tear rolled down Nicole’s cheek.

“Later, another woman came. She washed and styled my hair. She put makeup on me and dressed me in a sheer gown.”