I’m so glad Ava came along, chuckled Jared telepathically. She’s spiced up the interrogation and managed to crack the fucker without much torture.

Huffing, Ava came to stand beside me, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting – the image of petulance. “I didn’t even get to break his femur bone!”

I spoke in a voice that a parent might use to calm a child on the verge of a tantrum. “I’m sure Sam will let you continue if Vinnie doesn’t give us the information we want. Right, Coach?”

Sam nodded reassuringly at Ava. “Of course.”

Jared stepped toward Vinnie. “My first question is…are there any more brothels out there? Don’t bother lying to us, Vinnie. We’ve interrogated enough people to know a lie when we hear one. And for every time you lie, Ava will break another bone.”

Vinnie flinched, casting Ava a wary look. “I don’t know if there are more brothels. I didn’t even know about the last one until I saw the announcement on V-Tube and heard Marge’s name. I don’t ask questions. I just deliver the goods.”

“They weren’t ‘goods’, Vinnie,” snapped Sam, “they were people.”

“All the survivors from the brothel are now awake,” Jared told him. “Each one believes their Sire sold them. Is that how it always worked?”

Vinnie nodded. “We couldn’t afford to have nests tracking us down – four Kejas aren’t much good against entire nests of vampires – so we bought them.”

“What about the other preternaturals? Were they sold too?”

“No. We usually never went near anyone outside of our species. But the woman who came with Marge – I don’t know her name – promised us big money if we got our hands on some other species.”

“How long have you been working in this trade?” Sam asked him.

His eyes briefly slid to Ava, and I wondered if he was considering lying but then thought better of it. “Four years.”

Sam raised a brow. “I take it Marge and her friend weren’t your only buyers, then?”

“No, but we only worked for five others. Like I said, there’s only four in our group. Or there was. We didn’t have the means or resources to take the business any further.”

Jared gave him a pointed look. “I’m going to want the name of every one of those buyers, Vinnie. And their location.”

“I’ll tell you what I know.”

Then he did.

By the end of the interrogation – during which Ava’s assistance wasn’t again required, to her disappointment – we had five more names to add to the soon-to-be-assassinated list, in addition to the bastards’ locations.

Sitting in one of Antonio’s parlours a few hours later, we repeated everything we’d heard to him, Lucy, and Luther. Having been a ruler for an eternally long time, Antonio was as good at giving advice as Luther. Currently, Sam and Jared were torn on what to do about what they now knew: Did they reveal the identities of those who had bought other vampires? Or did they simply send out squads to eliminate them and hopefully retrieve their captives?

“I say we name and shame them on V-Tube either before or after we’ve dealt with them,” proposed Jared.

“It is indeed what they deserve,” said Antonio. “But you must consider that if you do such a thing, you will also bring shame to their nests.”

“It is also worth noting that people may accuse their nests of being involved,” Luther warned.

Jared considered that for a moment. “We could make it very clear that they don’t share the blame.”

Luther inclined his head. “Yes, but take into account that many people will be enraged by what has occurred. Families of the trafficking victims will want blood. If they are unable to get their hands on the vampires who bought and abused their loved ones, they may attack their nests in lieu of them.”

I rested a possessive hand on Ava’s thigh. “You think that if Coach and Jared publically reveal the identities of the vampires involved in the trafficking ring, innocents could die?”

“It is a strong possibility,” replied Luther.

Lucy frowned. “You revealed Marge’s identity and those of the suppliers but nothing happened to their nests, right?”

“No, nothing happened to them,” Sam verified.

“But you have not yet revealed the names of the survivors of the brothel,” Antonio pointed out. “Once their loved ones become aware of what has happened to them – and that their Sires were involved – trouble will undoubtedly break out. It is hardly likely that you will need to step in, since lines are permitted to deal with their own issues. But there will be violence of some sort. Innocents could get caught in the crossfire.”

“You could execute the buyers publically,” suggested Ava. When all eyes fixed on her, she continued. “If you were to, for instance, show their execution on V-Tube, it would satisfy the bloodlust of any enraged vampires.”

I was impressed by that idea. “And it would be a solid statement of the consequences of any such trafficking in the future.”

Ava nodded and then looked at Sam. “You could include Vinnie in the public executions too.”

Sam’s mouth curved into a wicked smile. “I like it.”

“It could in fact work.” Luther shrugged. “After all, it is one thing to know that justice has been served. It is another thing to see it with your own eyes. Those that are bloodthirsty enough to need to see it will have the option of doing so. Again and again, in fact, since the recording will remain on V-Tube.”

“Think on it a little more,” advised Antonio. “There is no great rush, since you have until the squads return with the felons and Diane is in your hands before you need to decide.”

“In the meantime, we need to concentrate on ensuring my female squad members are totally prepared for the inevitable battle that lies ahead.” Sam smiled at Ava. “You certainly have the art of interrogation down. Now you just need to get a handle on the rest.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

(Ava)

As always, the training session was brutal and tiring. When Sam and Jared led both the male squad and female squad to the tactical training field after lunch, I’d expected more rounds of paintballing. But rather than taking us to the supply hut to retrieve camo gear and weapons, they halted near the base camp – a little detached house – just a few feet away.