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I don’t know when I fall asleep but I am awakened to a text from a recruit to let me know that the new clothes I ordered for the pimpshits have arrived which means it’s time for me to head back down to the facility and arrange for the pimps to get dressed to hit the road tonight. I shudder at the thought of having to even look at Snow again, irritated with myself because I got myself into this mess. I get dressed, looking at my pipe to give me strength but being afraid to lose control of my body and mind because I’m making a promise to myself to never make the mistake of engaging my body with Snow’s again.
I arrive at the facility with my head held high, hardened even though my brain tries to convince me that I won’t survive without meth. I’m not a part of watching the guys shower although I demand that they must and I’m not a part of watching them dress. However I will need to oversee them before they leave the facility to ensure that they look up to par because apparently I’m not paying the recruits well enough and these pimpfucks will need to go toward the higher paying clientele. It means I’m sending them into the casinos tonight to approach people and I can’t have them looking washed out or smelling like a dumpster.
As soon as I walk into the room to do the final review of them, I can feel his fucking eyes on me. I’ll do the smell test from behind them because I can’t stand it. They’re sprayed with cologne and I focus on remaining objective as I walk past each one of them like a commander and their military personnel. I give my approval before sending them out knowing any of them could be killed tonight as they enter into Evelina’s controlled ground messing with her clientele. And I don’t give a shit whether they arrive back at the facility alive or dead.
Chapter 28
Jaya
I’mabouttostartmy day shift when I walk past a bunch of recruits huddled together whispering. They don’t see me as they ask amongst themselves. “I wonder who she got to kill her and her crew. It couldn’t be one of us, could it? Does she have other people working for her?”
“Yo, this shit’s scary, fam,” another one responds. “Man, I ain’t even doing shit and I’m here looking over my shoulder like…” She twists her head back, almost snatching her damn neck off her shoulders as she shows them.
“Nah, I think we’re the only ones she’s got so it’s got to be someone on the inside,” one of them says as the supervisor comes to find them and order them to get to work. I move unseen, hurrying to my post, pleased with myself and just a bit nervous. I mean, I don’t want them to find out it was me but I bet a bitch would try me, I’d fuck them up for sure.
I turn all my equipment on, getting ready to open up my lane when from the corner of my eye, in the line where people can choose to walk across the border, rather than to drive, I see none other than the dude I saw at the restaurant with Selena the other night. He’s standing with another woman and at first, I think it’s tea, believing he’s probably cheating on Selena or some shit but the closer I look, I realize that the woman doesn’t want to be there.
He’s trying to be discreet about the hold he has on her as the packed line manages to hide his hand on her arm pretty well but I recognize the hold. It’s a special grip used in public to ensure that the victim not only doesn’t run away but to remind them that the trafficker is capable of inflicting pain on them and they will punish them if they attempt to flee or draw any attention to them. Fuck! Does Selena know her man’s out here doing this shit? The thought of her knowing and aiding him strikes me and I pull out my phone to take a picture, trying not to be seen as I do. I’m hidden in my booth though so I don’t think they’ll see me and I’m bent over like I’m picking something up to move myself away from the windows as I crouch to snap the photo and text it to Julissa.
Me: Look who the fuck I’m looking at, at the border! It’s the man I saw with Selena. I think he’s trafficking the woman he’s with and I don’t know what to do. The recruits here are speculating and gossiping and I don’t want to give them a reason to suspect me. What should I do?
Julissa: Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.My phone vibrates in my hand as I stand up to alert me of her response while I pretend to busy myself at the booth.
Chapter 29
Selena
I’matthehospital,working when my phone starts vibrating without ceasing in my pocket. I’ve got gloves on my hands in the operating room assisting the surgeon, in a sterile environment, I can’t reach into my pocket to check who it is so whoever is calling will just have to wait. As the phone beats constantly against my leg, I try to pretend no one else can hear it although I think I can feel everyone’s eyes on me. It’s part of the hospital’s policy that during surgery, phones are turned off or left outside of the room until afterwards.
I always keep mine on me because I’ve got another job but because all the members of the facility know this, they usually send a text message that I’ll respond to as soon as I’m available or if I’m expecting to hear from them about an emergency, I’ll excuse myself to go and answer the message right away. Now, I can’t think of any emergency off the top of my head that me and the recruits are working on and I assume it’s probably John trying to get me.
About an hour after, out of the surgery room, PPE removed and hands washed thoroughly, I reach into my pocket with enthusiasm to apologize to John for not being able to take his call right away when I see that the missed calls are all from Julissa. It doesn’t take me long to put two and two together and my heart starts to race. Did she figure out it was me? I’m tempted to just tuck my phone back in my pocket and pretend not to see it but something is telling me that if I ignore it for much longer, I’ll have a few visitors at my home when I leave here.
I steady my breath. I’ll need my voice to appear normal. I can’t give her anymore reason to suspect me, assuming that she already does. I exhale as I grip the hospital wall and straighten myself up to call her back.
“Hey Julissa,” I say in a voice that’s far too cheerful, more cheerful than I’ve spoken to her in the past few weeks. I berate myself in my head for being so fucking obvious.
“Selena, I need to meet with you now,” she says. Her tone is sharp, cutting the call off in an instant.
My hands start shaking but I clench my fist as I try to convince myself that I don’t have anything to worry about. But it’s Julissa. She has a way of finding stuff out. Why else would she call a meeting? I’d rather go to her prepared than hide out unprepared. At least that way I’ll be able to see an attack coming rather than have it sneak up on me while I’m unaware and there’s no better time like the present to stand face to face with her once and for all. This could go two ways; it could end viciously or she just wants to meet with me because I’ve been avoiding her for a while and that’s all there is. I hope it’s the latter as I sneak away from the hospital and make my way over to the facility.
I force my face in a relaxed position and stabilize my breathing as I ride the elevator, stopping on her office floor. Okay, whew. I let out a breath, staving off any onset of panic or beads of sweat forming on my skin. As I’m about to knock on her door, it opens. She doesn’t look at me as she lets the door swing open and makes her way over to her desk. Of course she saw me coming. I don’t know why I didn’t remember that there are cameras all over the place which means she saw me panicking. Fuck. It’s okay. Breathe. We haven’t even spoken yet. There’s still a chance for me to turn this around. I shut the door behind me and gear my mind up for her questions as I make my way over to the visitor’s chair before her grand desk. As long as I don’t admit to anything, I should be fine.
She makes eye contact with me now and I try to appear unworried, smiling at her even though my throat has gone dry.
“Haven’t heard from you in a while, Selena.” She scratches her brow. “What have you been up to?”
“Really? I guess I haven’t realized how much time has flown by. I guess I’ve just been busy with work and stuff. Not that I’m not still committed to this job,” I assure her.
“I notice we've kind of not been on friendly terms lately. I guess you’re still mad at me since I blew up at you, huh?” she asks.
I smile. “Why would you think that? Sure, for a while it didn’t feel good but it’s all in the past now. All forgotten.”
“Are you sure about that?” she asks.
Oh, she knows. I can see it in her eyes. There’s no question about it now. Fuck. I’m going to have to lie my fucking ass off or get ready to fight if I have to. One way or the other, I’m walking out of this.
“Yeah,” I respond. “A hundred percent.”
