Page 99 of Scarred Sins
“Of course she won’t,’’ Freya snorts. That’s the most she’s spoken, and when all eyes fall on her, except for X, she rolls her eyes and explains. “The bitch poisoned herself. She touched things in my lab that she shouldn’t have touched, and now she’ll be puking her guts out for the next few days. She’s lucky she touched something curable.’’
Noelle nods. “Are you sure you don’t need to check on her?”
Freya shakes her head. “No. It’s her damn fault.’’
Noelle smiles and doesn’t push the subject further. Instead, her eyes glaze over every single person sitting at the table, then stop when she spots her husband. The two seem to have a silent conversation, and with a nod from Noelle, Hudson addresses us all.
“Arlo’s contact should send us the location soon,’’ he starts. “In the meantime, I need all of you sharp, prepared to the best of your abilities. Meaning no drugs, no alcohol,’’ he pauses, glaring at Raven. “If this operation fails because you couldn’t last a week or two without rakia, I will kill you myself. Understood?”
Raven only nods, though there’s slight defiance in his eyes. It pisses me off, because a lot is at stake here. My personal vendetta aside, a lot of people will die if we fail, and if it happens because Raven couldn’t stay off alcohol, not only will Hudson kill him, but more importantly, we won’t get a second chance.
“Now…’’ Hudson takes a deep breath. “All of you know what the mission is. Get the girls out safelyandcapture those bastards. However, the priority is the girls. Once we confirm the location, your positions will be more clear. Raven will be hidden in plain sight, and through some connections, I’ve found a way in for X. He leaves tomorrow, and he won’t contact us. He’s our last resort if something goes wrong. We’ll have someone on the inside, our eyes and ears.’’
X remains silent, head still hung low. He has leather gloves on, and no matter how much I try to catch a glimpse of his face, it’s impossible. I can only see the small part of his chin and the little stubble he has going on. It’s probably for the best not to see his face.
“Additionally, X will be poisoning them on the inside. Freya’s prepared quite a few things for him to use, and there’s a possibility he’ll need more.’’ Hudson’s eyes fall on Freya.
She nods. “You’ll have double the amount by morning.’’
“Good.’’
“What else should we know about these bastards?”
It’s Raven who asks the question, and I see a vein of annoyance pop on Hudson’s forehead. We’ve all received a thorough report on the men this morning, and although it wasn’t enough time to remember every single detail, if he had only skimmed through it, he wouldn’t have asked the question.
Lucas is the one to answer, as if sensing the tension in the room. He has a buzz cut, his entire head covered in tattoos. It looks great, and I can even make an outline of Niko’s name just above his right ear.
“Paul Simmons, Nelson Adams, Edgar Flint, and George Woods have only one thing in common – they were all members of an exclusive golfing club in their youth. They’re all the same age, all attended the same private high school, and all come from old money. Simmons and Adams are in politics, Flint’s family has owned a chain of banks all across the States since the late 1950s, and Woods is an oil mogul.’’
“Do we have any idea how long they’ve been trafficking people?” Freya asks.
Lucas shakes his head. “At this point, we could only guess. There wasn’t a single way to trace any of the disappearances to them. Hence, I wouldn’t be able to tell you which ones were done by them and which were not.’’
“Lucas will stay here,’’ Noelle says. “He’ll be our main point of communication, our eyes and ears on the location. We’ll be split into two teams. The first team will be Hudson, Cove, and myself; the second team will be Aria, Arlo, Niko, and Blair. There will be a third team; however, they’re none of your concern. They’ll be at the back supporting us.’’
I take a deep breath. My heart is thumping against my ribcage, and although this moment is something I’ve been waiting for years, I cannot shake off the slightest unease I’m feeling. Arlo sneaks his hand under the table, taking my hand in his and interlocking our fingers. Slowly but surely, my heartbeat returns to normal.
“The cleanup crew will also be on standby, so don’t be scared of getting your hands dirty,’’ Noelle sighs. “Now, there’s just one thing… While we’re on the inside, keep an eye out for a girl. She should be around twenty years old.’’
Raven’s brows narrow a little. “Anything else?”
“By now, you all know of my personal relations to Adams and Simmons. When Adams killed my sister, her daughter went missing. She was ten.’’
“Not to sound cruel,’’ Freya interjects and leans forward. “But if they’re known for quick rotation of women they kidnap, the chances that your niece is alive are almost zero.’’
“I’m aware,’’ Noelle’s voice is cold. “I’m not saying she is in there, or that she is even alive, but you just need to keep an eye out for her.’’
“Anything else to go on? Maybe what she would look like? Anything to recognize her?” I ask and try to make my voice as soft as possible, not wanting to irritate Noelle.
“Her given name is Luna Collins. She has a scar on her nape, in the shape of a crescent moon. Aria accidentally hit her with a pipe when they were kids, and the scar remained. She also has a beauty mark on her forearm, and it’s just a big, red mark.’’
I nod.
“The plan is very simple, so for the love of God, do not fuck this up. Arlo’s team will attack from the back; we attack from the front. Exactly a minute after we attack, the backup team will come forward. Raven will be doing his job, but if you have a clear shot on either Simmons or Adams, do not kill them. Just wound them.’’
“Do we have any idea what kind of building we are talking about here?” Niko asks. “Any ideas where others were kept, since he’s always changing the locations?”
Hudson shakes his head, leaning back against his chair and sighing out deeply. “That’s the thing; we don’t know if it’s a warehouse, a manor, a residential building… it could be anything.’’
