Page 108 of Brick's Retribution

"She's your best friend," I remind him. "She's been through hell and she needs her family. Go."

After he leaves, I focus on what I can control—logistics.

These women need documentation, safe housing, therapy, medical care, and in some cases, entire new lives.

"The sisters," Kelsey says, approaching with a gentle expression and two cups of tea. "Ruby says they have no family to contact?"

I accept the tea gratefully. "Their parents were killed six weeks ago. They watched it happen. They have no one—no grandparents, no aunts or uncles."

"They have us now," she says firmly, without even a moment's hesitation. "The club has plenty of spare rooms. We have one set up with two twin beds. They could stay in that one until we can find a more permanent accommodation, if anyone here adopts them, stuff like that. Those girls can stay with us until... well, until forever if needed. Maybe Boulder would be open to it."

This is what the club does—takes in strays, protects the vulnerable, becomes family for those who have none.

"That's... Kelsey, that's a huge commitment."

"So?" She shrugs. "We've been talking about kids anyway. Maybe this is how our family is meant to grow. Besides, you think anyone in this club would let those girls go into the system? Not a chance. It’s shit in America, so I can only imagine how it is here."

An hour later, Brick emerges from the medical room looking shaken.

His face is pale, jaw clenched tight with emotion.

He finds me immediately, pulling me into a quiet corner away from the bustling activity.

"How is she?" I ask.

"Broken," he says simply, his voice rough. "But fighting. She... God, Imani. The things they did to her. And she's pregnant from it."

"Does she want to...?"

"Keep it?" He runs a hand over his head. "She doesn't know. Says she can't think about it yet. But she asked about Sally Bernard, wanted to know if we'd dealt with her yet."

Sally Bernard—the woman who orchestrated Lashes's kidnapping, who sold her to these monsters.

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth. That Sally's been handled but the organization she sold Lashes to is still operational." His jaw tightens. "She wants to help take them down. Said she memorized faces, names, details that might help. She made it her mission while she was in there—if she survived, she'd destroy them."

"She's barely been rescued twelve hours?—"

"I know," he interrupts. "But that's Lashes. She processes trauma by fighting back. Always has."

Before I can respond, Amara appears in the doorway. "Meeting. My office. Five minutes. Bring whoever needs to be there."

The office is crowded—Amara, Dante, Boulder, Doom, Brick, and myself.

Maps cover every surface, laptops open with reports.

The weight of what needs to be decided hangs heavy in the air.

"First things first," Amara begins, her president voice in full effect. "The women. What do they need immediately?"

I pull out the tablet where I've been making notes. "Xiomara and Itzel have no family. They'll need placement, therapy, and eventual documentation to stay in Mexico. They're Guatemalan citizens, but going back there is a death sentence. They’ll just end up in a similar situation."

"Kelsey and I will take them," Boulder says immediately. "Already cleared it with her. We've got the room here in the club, and Kelsey's got experience with traumatized kids given how she grew up. We’ll look at the house across the street that’s for sale, see how big it is."

"Mei wants to continue her education," I continue, scrolling through my notes. "She was studying at UNAM in Mexico City, but she's afraid to go back there. She asked about transferring to the university here in Chihuahua. She's determined not to let them take her future too."

"We can arrange protection," Doom offers, his gravelly voice thoughtful. "Set her up in a secure apartment near campus, have some of us check on her regularly. Make sure she can finish what she started."

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