Page 92 of Desperate Victory

“No,” I said with a sigh, forcing my gaze up and off of her. “You’re not. It feels like forever since we saw her. Too long.”

Since we saw her.

Since we spoke to her.

Since I’d hugged her.

Adam pressed his lips to my temple. The firm grip of his hands coupled with the way he balanced me on his lap and didn’t press me to do more or think anything else—helped.

It helped tremendously. I could pass this burden off to any of them. Adam had been trying to shoulder it for me, for years. Ezra always wanted to make things easier. Pretty Boy and Bodhi? All I had to do was ask.

Neither would just take it from me. It had taken Adam and Ezra time to learn that I needed to handle things my way. Right now? I wanted to be reckless and out of control. I wanted to storm the dance school, interrogate every single person there, and find our sister.

Could we do that? Could we do it safely? If we tipped our hand too early, they could disappear with her. Our leads could dry up. Anything could go wrong really.

Anything.

Ezra sat on the sofa next to us, settling one hand on my knee as if to remind me he was there. I summoned a smile for him. Bit by bit, it wasn’t so impossible right now. Everyone was here.

“Brief us,” Bodhi said gently. “From the top.”

I’d told Pretty Boy and Bodhi a good chunk already while I texted Fletcher with the name. He promised to get back to me as soon as possible.

“She’s a Czech citizen, the print shop is a family business. It’s struggling.” That had been sprinkled throughout her babbled explanations. She kept changing her story, repeatedly. “She took on too many projects over the past few years, failed to meet her deadlines and then had to refund deposits and more.”

Hemorrhaging money.

Licking my lips, I shifted against Adam and he lifted me to resettle me in his lap with my back to his chest. Ezra put his hand back on my knee and I leaned my head to Adam’s shoulder. Lifting my gaze, I glanced from Bodhi to Pretty Boy and then back.

“The financial loss apparently crippled her.” Not that I gave a damn. “So, she went back to work she’s done on and off over the years…”

I touched my tongue to my teeth. I was so angry. She discussed going to other countries, like Germany, and picking up girls of all ages, and nationalities. Her licenses and business let her bypass a lot of border checks.

The girls never protested. They never complained. That was the argument she tried to make, justifying her participation. Her excuse.

Bitch.

I cleared my throat and Bodhi shifted, he crossed back to the bar and returned with water. I still hadn’t knocked back the whiskey, but it was waiting for me. If I couldn’t get the trembling under control, I’d do it.

Everything being equal, however, I didn’t want anything to compromise my judgment or my reactions. I took a long drink of water. It helped.

It helped a lot.

“Anyway, she picked up Andrea and this other girl. She didn’t have a name for either of them. So either she didn’t want to know, or she was lying. Her job is to pick them up, bring them into Prague, then deliver them to a school.”

“A school?” Adam repeated, testing the word as if examining it for veracity, “She picks up girls from other countries and brings them to a school. No questions asked?”

“I wondered if she was just playing dumb or didn’t want to know. Desperate times.” Probably far too generous on my part. “Then she screamed something about us being too late. There was a huge sale coming, an auction, and she’d fetch a lot of money.”

Adam’s fingers dug into my hip. “The name of the school?”

“Radoslav-Tanzakademie,” I said, before translating the German. “Radoslav Dance Academy.” The name wasn’t easily found in the local information directories. “I sent the information to Fletcher.” Guilt assailed me. “I should have checked before I finished with her.”

As much as I hated to admit it, she’d pushed me too far. The impulse to strike her had been right there and I hadn’t fought it.

Now she wasn’t available for further questioning.

“It’s a name,” Adam said. “If it’s attached to anything real, Fletcher will find it. We can also do a little looking of our own.”