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the heel of his biker boot. The leg buckled at an awkward angle, and the
goon went down with a yowl of pain.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
The other guy came at him with a straight jab, blade first. A close
call, too close. Drake grabbed the guy s wrist and, with a hard twist and
strike to the forearm, the knife fell loose and clattered on the floor. Drake
kicked it away and narrowly dodged a fist. The dude was swinging like
crazy, but he was untrained and unskilled. Drake ducked or blocked most
of the blows, but one slammed into his mouth, splitting his lip. That
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Arresting Victoria by Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton
pissed him off, and he d had more than enough. He caught the guy on the
jaw with a right and in the diaphragm with a left. The guy went down
hard, gasping for air.
Now, you fuckers, Drake said, panting and wiping at the blood
running down his chin. I m not a cop. He reached into his back pocket
and pulled out another business card. The name was fake, but the number
wasn t. I m a buyer, you morons. I need some Latino girls for my boss in
Chicago. He rattled off the name of his so called boss , knowing they d
investigate it. His ex partner back on the CPD agreed to help him out, so
he d be the contact for the bad guys to check him out. He tossed the card
down on the little guy s chest. If your boss doesn t want the business,
fine! I can take my money elsewhere.
He turned and stalked out of the bathroom.
Fuck, he muttered. That hurt. He glanced down and cursed again.
The little shit had sliced a rip in his shirt.
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Arresting Victoria by Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton
Chapter Six
As he pulled out of his parking spot, Drake called Paul from his
cell.
Baxter, Paul answered on the third ring.
Hey, it s Drake. We got it.
You sure?
He left behind Little Mexico and rolled down his window for some
clean air. That place was rank. Not just the cantina, but the whole area.
He d seen it before, of course, even in Chicago. The names changed, but
the neighborhoods were all alike. He always wondered why it was that
the poor neighborhoods not only looked that way but smelled like it, too.
Yep. Tacto Suave Cantina. I think some of those girls are barely in
their teens. I made contact with a couple of the goons and gave them my
card. He gingerly touched his split lip with his finger as he held the
phone. So we wait and see.
Any other info you can give me?
The girl I hooked up with was young. Sixteen, maybe seventeen,
but that s pushing it. She claimed to be eighteen, said all the girls there
were eighteen, but then let something slip. She d been smacked around
some, and I asked if El Jefe was the one who did it to her, and she pretty
much told me she was too old for him. He likes them young. So, we ve got
a verification that El Jefe is the one running the place, and that he s
A fucking sick bastard, Paul muttered.
My thoughts exactly. I wanna see this dude fry, man. I really do.
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Arresting Victoria by Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton
That place is& He nearly shivered as he remembered the young girls
draped over men.
With any luck we ll be there when they flip the switch, Paul said,
and his laugh was a little sinister. You wanna stop by for a bite? Heather
made a big ol pot of Texas chili for me, and I can t eat the whole thing.
Drake chuckled. Thanks. Sounds good. I ll be there in a bit. Gotta
go home and change and& uh& ice my face.
Paul made a sympathetic sound. Made contact, huh?
Yep. But I won. He laughed. That s all that matters.
Okay. We ll hold dinner til you get here.
Thanks. See ya in a few. Just as he hung up the phone, it
vibrated, letting him know he had a missed call. He d turned it off while
he was in the cantina, not wanting any distractions. He punched in the
code to retrieve his messages, and his heart did a little flip when he heard
the tentative voice on the line.
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