Page 76 of Blind Justice

Bella laughed. “You caught us, primo.”

“Yes, I did.” He stared at the ring on her ring finger and the matching one on Enzo’s. He also thought of the collars both wore when they went to the club. “Both of you.”

“Forever,” Bella said.

Enzo nodded. “Yeah, hermoso, you’re stuck with us.”

Sounded perfect to him.

Virginia Beach, Virginia...

Bex stepped into C&C for the first time as a member of R.O.O.T and SRT and sat at one of the open chairs around the conference table. Noah took his position next to Asher while the others filtered into the room. She hadn’t been able to stop looking at her tags since the minute Noah handed them to her. Belonging and pride filled her. It seemed like so long ago she’d been a simpering girl who kept getting knocked on her ass instead of standing up for herself.

Alé and Bronx joined her, taking her hands under the table. Later she’d show them the gift Noah had given her, but she was determined to learn everything she could about their new mission—technically her first. When AJ and Scotty joined them, Asher closed the door and turned down the lights. The projector whirled to life and the photo of a kid, no more than maybe fifteen or sixteen appeared on the screen. He had black hair streaked in purple, teal, and pink and sad, soulful blue eyes. He also had snake bite piercings and one in his brow along with 8-gauge piercings in his ears. He looked like a typical teenager, or what she’d consider a typical teenager, considering her knowledge of what could be considered normal was skewed thanks to Raul.

AJ handed her a folder then gave them out to the others. She opened it and started reading over the initial information for the case. The kid—Sergio Pershing, came from a well to do area. He had two sisters and an older brother in the military. She blinked. She knew his brother, Omar Pershing. He’d been one of the men who cared for her with Noelle. She set aside the knowledge and continued reading the information. Three weeks ago, his sister, Camilla, disappeared after attending a party not sanctioned by the high school they attended.

“Sergio Pershing is your target. He’s sixteen and a junior at Cascadia High School in West Hollywood. This school is high dollar. This place is like Beverly Hills High on a smaller scale, but just as rich,” Asher said, replacing the mark’s picture with one of the high school. “This is where you’ll be enrolling. Like with Bex, you’ll befriend Sergio, see what kind of information he can give you then work the case.”

“Do we have a contact inside the school?” Alé asked.

“You do. His name is Henry Appleton. He is the guidance counselor. You’ll also have a West Hollywood detective as your contact. His name is Gaspar Higgins. He’s been tracking the drug activity within the school for the last year.”

“Are they c-connected?” Bex flipped to the information the detective provided.

“The police department believes so. Detective Higgins stated in our initial contact, there is a Molly ring in the school. Those who can’t pay their debts are indentured to the dealers. Some have disappeared. Where they go is anyone’s guess, because there is never a trail left and no one is talking.”

“Does Sergio believe his sister is part of this?” Alex asked.

“He does. He told Detective Higgins the last time he saw her, she was scared. She said she felt trapped and then two days later she disappeared. Their parents are kind of flaky. They’re rich so they spend more time away from home than home,” Asher replied. “So, you’ll have your hands full.”

The whole situation left Bex uneasy. If it’d been Raul’s cartel, the women would have been placed in a sex trafficking ring and never heard from again. The thought repulsed her. A year ago, it could have been her. She understood Sergio before she even met him. The fear and worry alone must have ate away at him. Then to have parents who were gone more than home. Anxiety didn’t even cut what he must have felt.

“When do we leave?” Alé hedged.

“Tonight. Pack your shit and get ready to go. The quicker we can get you on the ground and embedded in the school the better off all of you will be. Alé you’re on point with this. AJ and Scotty are going with you. Noah will be your Commander for the mission. Mateo will be in constant contact with Mr. Appleton. Noah and Mateo will be running the op from here.”

“Remember, to take your time. For this mission, your contact knows you’re coming. It’ll be easier to get him to talk. All information you receive from him, run it by Scotty and AJ first. Any other questions?” Noah stated.

When no one said anything, Asher dismissed them. Bex started for the apartment so she could pack, but stopped when Asher called her name. She turned, waiting until they were alone to address the leader of R.O.O.T.. “Y-Yes, sir?”

“Did you receive something from Noah today?” He cocked a brow.

She grinned. “My t-tags.”

“Yes,” he replied. “Welcome to the team. For this mission, your job is to run the numbers. I also want you to watch your teams back. This assignment can go bad fast. Anytime you have to attend one of those parties, I want you in a perch relaying real time information, which also means carrying your rifle with you, understand?”

“I do.” Bex stood a little taller. “I’ve got their back.” The trust he instilled in her, had a welling of pride bursting through her chest. She was still new at all of this, but she trained hard and was determined to prove herself.

“Good to hear. You have three hours to be ready to leave. Make sure you have everything you’ll need. Good luck.” Asher held out his hand to her. “I know you’ll make your parents proud.”

She shook his hand. “Thank you. I hope so.”

When she returned to her apartment, Mateo and Noah were waiting for her. Both appeared worried. Were they concerned about her? Silly question, of course, they were. They always worried about her. “Hey.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay doing this?” Mateo said jumping the gun when she joined them.

“I am, dad. I think this is perfect.” Since she’d also been seeing Doc Joiner, she’d been receiving speech therapy to help her speak without her stutter. Some days were better than others.

---