Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
“You might need to rough them up a little before they remember how to speak human.”
Ashton didn’t hesitate.
He and a few of the guards stepped forward and went to work-vicious, brutal kicks that had all four traffickers writhing on the floor.
Normally, Ashton wasn’t one to hit women.
But to him, traffickers weren’t men or women. They were beasts.
So when he beat the two women just as hard, he didn’t feel a shred of guilt.
The traffickers cried out in pain, flailing, still refusing to break.
“Stop! Stop! You can’t do this!”
“You might be rich, but you can’t just beat innocent people for fun!”
“We’re good citizens! You can’t just assault us like this!”
“Dave,” James said coldly, eyes locking onto the one screaming loudest, “there were hidden cameras in the hotel where Lily was staying.”
“The owner had them installed to record emergencies. They run on batteries. So cutting the power didn’t do a thing.”
“What?”
The moment he heard those words, Dave froze in place.
He realized instantly-they were done. Completely and utterly finished.
After cutting the hotel’s power, they’d swaggered right into Lily’s room without a care.
$10 Frew Colne
If everything had been recorded-if there really were hidden cameras-there would be no denying it. Everyone would know they were the ones who took Lily. No excuse could wash that away.
In truth, that hotel didn’t have any special surveillance equipment. James had bluffed.
But the moment he saw their pale, panicked faces, he knew it had worked.
He followed up with a quiet, lethal comment. “According to villagers from that mountain village, you trafficked over a dozen women there. What do you think the sentence is for that kind of crime? Don’t worry-I’ll make sure you’re properly taken care of in prison.”
“Please, Mr. James, have mercy!”
Seeing that James already had evidence and was even threatening to “take care” of them in prison, Dave and the others lost it.
They dropped to their knees, groveling at his feet.
“We were wrong! We swear we’ll never traffic anyone again!”
“Mr. James, you’re a man of great virtue. Please… please let us go this once!”
James let out a low, cold laugh.
These monsters had directly or indirectly destroyed the lives of countless innocent women-and nearly taken the life of the woman he loved. He wasn’t some saint. There would be no forgiveness.
Instead, he’d make sure they got top-tier medical care.
If their hands were broken, he’d have doctors reset the bones.
If they bit their tongues to kill themselves, doctors would stitch them up.
If they bashed their heads in, they’d be resuscitated-again and again.
There would be no easy death. Only pain.
He had no interest in wasting words.
Instead, he snapped, “From what I’ve heard, your newest shop is in Uryson.”
“Uryson’s a long way from Capital City. No way you just randomly targeted Lily.”
“Tell me-who ordered you to do this?”
Before they could answer, James fired the next shot.
“Was it Mathilda?”
“How much did she pay you?”
“Someone like you-you would’ve saved proof. Something to use against her later for more leverage. I want that proof. Now.”
“We…”
Dave and the others hesitated, their eyes flickering with conflict.
James had nailed it. They had kept records.
But the one who contacted them wasn’t Mathilda-it was her lapdog, Randy.
Randy, the poor kid Mathilda had once funded through school, had stuck by her side ever since graduation. He did her dirty work. Kept her safe. Worshipped the ground she walked on.
It was Randy who handed over a down payment of one million, promising three million more once the job was done.
If anything went wrong, he swore he’d send the full amount to their children studying overseas.
For twenty years, Dave, his wife, his brother, and sister-in-law had worked this trade. They’d made a fortune trafficking people and had never slipped up.
This job promised four million up front, plus a few extra grand from selling Lily.
It was supposed to be just like every other deal-quiet, clean, and profitable.
But they hadn’t expected to get caught.
Still, no matter how scared they were of James, they wanted that three million to reach their kids. They weren’t about to throw Randy under the bus.
The traffickers exchanged a quick glance, then spoke in unison.
“No one else was involved. We saw Lily alone and thought we could make some money.”
“Dad!”
“Dad!”
Just as they were about to pile all the blame on themselves, two familiar voices pierced the room.
Dave’s head snapped up.
On the tablet in Ashton’s hands were the battered, tear-streaked faces of his precious son and nephew- swollen, bruised, crying out through bloody lips.
“Dad! Help!”
The two boys sobbed and wailed, mucus and tears streaming down their faces.
Panic seized Dave and his brother. They lunged at Ashton, desperate to grab the tablet.
But it was pointless.
Even if they got their hands on it, the video was pre-recorded. If James truly meant to punish their sons, there was no way they could stop him.
“Mr. James! Please! We were wrong-don’t hurt them!”
“My son… please!”
“Stop! Please stop! Mr. James, I beg you!”
James had already dug into their entire network when Ashton tracked them down. At the same time, he’d sent people abroad.
To their beloved sons.
And those boys were now paying for the blood on their fathers’ hands.
Some might say traffickers’ children are innocent-that they shouldn’t be punished for the sins of their parents.
James didn’t agree.
Those children lived like royalty off the blood money their parents earned trafficking women and children. If they benefited from evil, they deserved to pay a price for it.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.