Page 92 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

Soon.

There will be chest bumps soon.

“I have someone in my life I can’t risk,” Kane declares. “Her safety is my life’s mission now, and ghosts scare me. Please help me understand.”

Jay nods, though his shoulders droop. “Abel was just a soldier in a massive network I’ve discovered is mostly centered around the trafficking of women.”

“Girls,” I add. “Not women. Children.”

Jay’s hand squeezes mine beneath the table. “Yes, children. They move about forty or fifty girls a month. They snatch them from the streets. From convenience stores.” His voice catches. “Then they do the things we saw them do at Infernos.”

“Bigger than Hayes?” Kane asks. “How big?”

“Hayes’ club is replicated all over the country. Dozens of them, all the same, all as dangerous. There are dozens of Abel Hayeses, and they’re all doing the same thing.”

“Corrin. Aguilar. Neal.” Eric studiously writes notes as we speak.

“Right,” Jay nods. “Corrin, Aguilar, Neal: they’re all the same level. Same-sized clubs, same product, same team, same objectives. They buy and sell girls.”

“You hit these men?” Kane asks. “You took care of them?”

“I did. That’s what I’ve been doing the last seven months.”

“But they think it was me?”

“Yeah, but that was unintentional. I wasn’t setting out to drop you in the shit. Jay Bishop was dead, so logically, it had to be you.”

“Right. Continue.”

“Right around the time you and I were placed in Abel’s club, I was approached by a third party. Someone who saw the bigger picture. They wanted my help to take the whole network down. That person was Ace, who communicated by email only. I was given intel; I worked it, then I reported back.”

Eric’s eyes come up. “How did Ace get his intel?”

Because Acemustbe a guy.

“Ace is smart.” Jay dodges the elephant in the room and continues on, “I guess Abel figured I was a danger to him, so he targeted me more, fed me more product, blunted my sword. I got sloppy, then I got killed.”

“I saw you drop in that club,” Jess whispers. “I saw you.”

“Then you were dragged out,” Jay returns. “Ace was watching; you were dragged out, then someone else was sent in to retrieve my body. Ace thought I was dead too, so when I still had a pulse, I was rushed to surgery, and while I was out, my files were switched. Jay was declared dead; John Doe was born, and that began the next chapter of my life – as a ghost.”

“Why didn’t you come back?” Kane asks. “Why didn’t you come straight back? Why the loyalty to this Ace, and not to me?”

“Because I woke to an email; a contract was put on your head.” Jay doesn’t react when Jess gasps. “Abel and his people had a job to take us both out. They got me, but you were still breathing. Since I was a ghost, I was able to work undetected for months in search of whoever is hunting you.”

“Someone’s hunting me?” Kane pokes his own chest. “Right now, there’s a contract on my head?”

“Yes.”

“How much am I worth?”

“Kane!” Jess smacks his shoulder. She smacks him a second time, then a third, and stops only when he disables her hands.

“Relax, Blondie. I’m right here. I’m safe.”

“You have a fucking contract on your head, and you only care about the dollar value?”

“I’m just curious. Like I said, I’m right here; we’re insulated, and I have my own army now.” His eyes come back to Jay. “How much?”

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