Cargo: A Leine Basso Thriller Read Online Free

conversation.
    “Are you all right?” she asked, regretting the question as soon as it came out of her mouth. She expected the woman to shut her down with an icy look. When she didn’t, she added, “I don’t mean to pry. I’m just really scared.”
    The other woman sighed, and turned to Kylie. The depth of emotion gazing back at her radiated anguish so deep Kylie was certain it would never heal.
    “Oh.” Kylie exhaled and looked away, embarrassed to have witnessed such a private response in a stranger that she’d thought was just a cold bitch.
    “My name Sapphire,” she said, offering her cigarette to Kylie.
    “Kylie,” she replied. “Thanks, but I don’t smoke.”
    Sapphire shrugged and took another drag, streaming the smoke through her nose. She smoked it down to the filter, dropped the butt on the floor, and stubbed it out with the toe of her stiletto.
    “The last I remember, I was at a bar in the Cowboy district,” Kylie said, hoping to draw her out. “I woke up here.”
    Sapphire studied her for a moment, paying particular attention to her eyes. She nodded. “You were drugged.”
    “I thought so. Is that how you got here?”
    Sapphire smiled ruefully and shook her head. Her glossy black hair cascaded forward, giving her a sultry look. “I made boyfriend angry. He say I too much trouble.” Her lips twisted like she was going to cry, but she didn’t. “He sell me.”
    “He sold you?” Kylie stared at her in disbelief. “Your boyfriend can’t just sell you. That’s illegal.”
    Sapphire cocked her head. “You understand what I mean boyfriend?” She paused for a moment, thinking. “Okay, okay. Not boyfriend. Wrong word. He Maeng Daa …how you say...pemp?”
    “You mean pimp?”
    “Yes. Yes, pimp.”
    Even though Kylie had assumed she was a prostitute, she’d never met one before. Anger sparked inside of her at the thought of anyone believing they could own another person.
    “It okay, you know.” Sapphire nudged Kylie with her elbow. “Not lot of jobs in Bangkok, but I make good money.” She shrugged. “Maybe I do again.”
    “What’s going to happen to us?”
    Sapphire exhaled another blue cloud and gazed at the far wall. Then she looked Kylie up and down and shook her head. “You no want to know.”
    Kylie’s breath caught and the blood drained from her face. Sapphire’s words reverberated in her mind. Her heart fluttered and she had to force herself to breathe, like she was being squeezed from all sides. Leaning forward, she gripped her knees.
    What if they were going to use them in snuff films? Kylie had heard of movies where people were tortured and murdered in real time, the live action streamed over the Internet to online customers. Or, maybe they wanted to cut out her organs and sell them. 
    A moment later the door at the end of the hall crashed open. Everyone inside the cell turned as a squat Asian woman dressed in a shimmery silk suit strode down the corridor toward them, followed by the man with the acne scars and two rough-looking men carrying guns. The woman, who appeared to be middle-aged, stopped in front of the cell and barked something at the guards. It didn’t sound like Thai to Kylie—the words had a harder edge. The man with the scars produced a key and opened the door. One of the armed men walked into the cell and growled something to Jaidee. He grabbed him by the arm and yanked him away from the other women.
    “No!” Kylie shouted. Her stomach twisted at Jaidee’s cries as the man dragged him away. She fought the urge to follow him. The boy’s eyes went wide, and he stretched out his arms, terror plain on his face.
    Heart in her throat, Kylie spun around. “What did that guy say?” she whispered to Sapphire.
    “He say he must be man and stop crying to women,” she replied.
    The woman in the silk suit scanned the remaining prisoners in the cell with a calculating eye, lingering on Kylie longer than the others. Her hair had been heavily shellacked,