Special Agent Maximilian Read Online Free Page B

here on business are something different altogether. Have you heard any word on the street about the Mosleys selling a new product?”
    An older cop, knowledgeable and hard-working, Bill was all ears. His stern gaze held hers. “What kind of a product?”
    “New girls. Lots of them. Mostly Filipino. All underage, and all selling for big bucks.”
    “I thought we’d cleared out that kind of business long ago. Don’t tell me they’re at it again?”
    “Looks like that particular gang intends to make a splash, earn some big money and feed the animals who can afford to pay for their innocent prey.”
    “Bloody shit never stops, does it?” Bill slapped the table and then used it to help him gain his feet, his knees cracking more than once. “I’ll keep my ears open and get back to you if I hear anything.” Sluggishly, as if he carried the weight of the world on his back, he shook his head and sauntered to the waiting patrol car.
    In the meantime, Maya scanned the area, hoping against hope that the clone of her missing partner would return. Strangely, she’d believed the stranger who’d sat across from her today. There was a warm aura around him that glowed like the sun with orange streaks. Her instinct to trust had shocked her. After all, that had been one of the problems she’d had with Max.
    She’d always known he was number one in his world. But as much as her partner drove her insane, she did care about him. Plus, she needed those files that Max had gone after the last time she’d seen him. The files that held proof that a cargo of underage girls had arrived in their city and, at the moment, were being forced into prostitution.
    The last message Max had texted was that he had a good lead, was on it and would have the information they needed to move in. She’d never heard from him or seen him since.
    Now what worried Maya was that if there was one shipment, most likely by now there’d be more.

Chapter 7
    “Stop crying, Kanya. No one has heard your sorrow except those of us who are locked in here with you. Nobody will come. We are doomed.”
    “Yes, please have mercy and stop those incessant tears. They haven’t helped us, and neither has the screaming for help. You’re just driving the rest of us crazy.”
    Kanya whipped around to the complainers, her temper flaring. “Can’t you understand? I don’t want to be here. Father and Mother will be frantic, my grandmother is old and my disappearance will kill her. How can I live with that on my conscience?”
    In the dim lighting, Malee, the oldest girl of the group, crawled to Kanya and took her hands. “Please my friend, don’t blame yourself. This is not your fault. We’ve all been kidnapped against our will.”
    Solada, the youngest at thirteen and the prettiest of the girls, spoke up for the first time in twenty-four hours. “Malee, what will happen to us? We know we’re on board a ship and it’s been sailing for two days—”
    “No, no, Solada. We were drugged. Who knows how many days they kept us here before we regained consciousness? We could have been traveling for a week or more—” Tears were still noticeable in Kanya’s voice.
    Malee cut in, not wanting to alarm the fifteen girls who were sprawled around the floor on bare mattresses. She was the undisputed leader, not only because she was the oldest at sixteen, but also because she was sensible and strong and her caring attitude made the girls feel protected. Because of this, they allowed her to distribute the food and water and, most importantly, whenever one of them lost control, the hugs. That had frequently happened in the beginning. But not so much now.
    Most of the shattered, weary girls just wanted to get out of their stinking, dark, container-prison and face whatever was waiting for them at the end of their horrific journey.
    Except they had no idea what to expect, but Malee did. She’d heard the rumors about other missing girls in her village. How they’d been forced into