I briefly told Payden on the ride over here, so she knows the gist of it.
“So, you’re really gonna do this?” Amber asks, sitting up taller. “When did all this go down?”
“The meeting took place today. They did a raid on an address where kids and young women were being held, ready to be sold, then these two assholes came sniffing around Big Papa’s,” I say. “Asking if anyone was interested in girls for sale. Big Papa got wind of it and contacted Cash. That’s when the Nomad Brothers stepped in.”
“Holy crap.” Deanna shakes her head. “This is serious if he’s considering letting you go over there.”
“What do you have to do?” Aspyn asks.
“Well, we have a cover story about losing this Barry guy’s number, or he told us to stop by because they often recruit from this hideous dry cleaners,” Luna says. “So that’s our cover story. The cards they were handing out only have a cell number on there. If we can get an address before the meeting goes down, the club can nail his ass before anyone else has to get hurt.”
“That’s the plan, anyway,” I add. “We really don’t know what to expect, or if they’ll go for it because of the raid. They could lie low, or they could try and sell the people they already have at other locations to make up for the loss from the ‘gas leak’, you know how these people work…”
“That’s so sick.” Summer screws up her nose.
“These people seem to never quit,” Star agrees. “It feels like more networks pop up as soon as one is taken down.”
“It’s always the way with these sickos,” Stella says. “And they never truly disappear for good, which is the sad part.”
That is exactly how it feels. “My cousins had a lot to say about us helping, and Sawyer did at first, but he came around,” I say. “We want to do this. If we can finally get the last of the traffickers out of Louisiana, it might send a message. We all want an end to this.”
“You guys have to be really careful,” Payden warns. “I know the MC will be there while you’re inside, but these people are dangerous. They’re criminals, and they’re ruthless.” Everyone is silent for a while because she speaks the truth. But that’s the whole reason we’re doing it. To stop them.
“We will be,” I say. “We’re just gonna go in and play a little dumb.”
“The club won’t let anything happen,” Luna goes on. “Tag was furious, as you can imagine, but there’s nothing to lose. We can’t just sit on our hands while innocent people are being sold under our noses.”
“When is the meetup?” Payden asks.
“Tomorrow,” Luna and I say in unison.
“Perfect timing,” she mouths.
“I heard something along the grapevine.” Jas waggles her eyebrows at me. “Is it true about you and Sawyer?”
I can’t hide it from them, and I don’t need to anymore. “Yes,” I say. “It’s true, and while we were in the meeting room, he told Cash and claimed me at the table.”
“Holy fuck!” Payden side eyes me. “You never told me that.”
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. “There has been a lot going on in the past few hours.”
“I totally knew it,” Bella sings. “I knew Sawyer and Nova would get together when the time was right.”
“Well, hallelujah,” Stella laughs. “Finally.”
Crystal snorts. “Sure you haven’t been keeping him to yourself this entire time? Which is a good plan, by the way. You make a cute couple.”
I shrug. “Not on purpose, though I can’t deny I like having him around. We enjoy each other’s company, but after… certain events in both our lives, we both decided to just be friends. We didn’t want to ruin things by getting all heavy.” I take a second because I’ve never opened up like this before to a group, but everyone waits respectfully. “It happened fast, we just… we’re comfortable with each other. We don’t overstep boundaries.” The girls know bits and pieces about Sawyer from what they’ve heard — not from me, because I don’t tell them anything about his private life — that is completely off limits. And I’ve not been quiet about the suffering I went through with my ex. Usually, that was through drunken confessions on nights like tonight.
“I get that,” Amber says. “It was the same for me and Bronco because we started out as besties, too. I just really enjoyed hanging out with him, then one thing led to another, and here we are.”
“Wait, you kissed him first.” Deanna wags a finger at her. “Remember?”
“The kiss-cam!” Stella squeals. “Oh my god, I almost forgot about that.”
“Bronco’s face was hilarious,” Lace laughs at the memory. “He looked like a deer caught in headlights.”
Of course, the entire thing was on television because they were at a Pelicans game.