Alessia (The Casella Cousins Book 4) Read online

  Shit!

  “Put it away, Drake. It’s just me.”

  He switched on a lamp. “Damn it, Grant. You could warn me when you’re going to show up.”

  Tall and fit, Grant was fifty, with graying dark hair and blue-gray eyes. That had narrowed on him. “You were in Hidden Cove.”

  Didn’t take him long to find that out. “How did you know where I went?”

  “There’s a tracker in your car. And one in your watch.”

  “Yeah. I forgot.” He plunked down on a lumpy chair. “What does it matter?”

  “There are rules, Derek. One is not getting close to anybody, especially a woman.”

  “I’ve dated women this whole time.”

  “Only those who knew the identified victims.”

  He was getting pissed off. “Maybe Alessia Benatti is involved.”

  “With her background? Give me a break.”

  “How do you know about her background?”

  Grant held up his phone. “There’s such a thing as the Internet, which I’ve been scouring in the time it took you to get there and back.”

  “How did you know I was with her?”

  “I have information on all the students you come in contact with.”

  He sighed. “You’re right, of course. I shouldn’t be on you about all this.”

  Grant’s expression was stern. “You need to focus on finding the on-campus organizers of a human trafficking ring.”

  Chapter 2

  * * *

  Derek grinned from the doorway at Jane Carlin, Dean of the Continuing Education Program for adults. Her light brown hair, streaked with gold, shimmered in the sun’s rays coming in through the window. “Hi, there.”

  She glanced up. And her smile came immediately. “Derek.” Lazing back in her wheeled chair, she turned it toward him. Her black sweater pulled tight against her breasts. “Can I help you?”

  “Is it all right if I come in and sit? I think I pulled a muscle in my thigh running this morning.”

  “Of course.”

  She eyed that thigh appreciatively as he walked inside and sat.

  “I have a couple of questions about next semester.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “I’m not sure if I should take Methods of Teaching or Classroom Management next. Which one has more class time vs. online?”

  “You like being on campus?”

  Purposely, he let his eyes drop to her chest and back up. “It has its advantages.”

  “Classroom Management meets twice a week in person. The teacher, who works at a school nearby, prefers to come here after her day. She’s so good at what she does, I said yes.”

  “Then I’ll take that.” He’d already checked and Alessia was signed up for it, too. But that wasn’t the reason he wanted an on-campus course. Being on site was vital to figuring out which administration or teacher or student was in on the ring. Jane Carlin could be one of them.

  Her blue eyes twinkled. “You could have found that online, Derek.”

  “I could have.” He gave a killer smile. “But I wanted to see you.” His words were blunt, straight-forward. He’d had a lot of contact with her, so now was the time to make his move.

  “How nice is that. I was thinking the same thing about you.”

  “What’s the policy for fraternization between staff and students here?” He already knew that, too.

  “The formal policy discourages fraternization. But Tom Stone married one of his students when she finished up her courses, and Suzanne Littman is dating a student from her class last semester.”

  “So, am I allowed to ask you out?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were busy.”

  They both looked toward the speaker. Alessia Benatti stood in the doorway, wearing a form fitting pair of denims with furry boots and a peach sweater with a quilted vest over it. “I’m leaving soon,” Derek said.

  “That’s okay. I’ll come back after class.”

  She gave them both a very weak smile. And left.

  “The answer to your question, Derek is, yes, you’re allowed. We only have to be discreet. New York is a big place and we can find somewhere that we won’t be seen.”

  His mind was still on Alessia. “Um, yeah. Fine, I’ll check some places out.” She scribbled something on a pad and gave it to him as he stood. He got a glimpse of her computer. Hmm.

  Taking the paper, he saw a phone number. “I’ll text you. I’d better get to class.”

  “Sure. See you later.”

  He reached the doorway and glanced back when she said, “Derek?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “So am I.” He held up the paper. “Soon.”

  He left the office feeling bad because he wondered if Alessia overheard him ask Jane out. Not that it mattered, but…somehow it did. Damn it. He had to get his head on straight.

  * * *

  After class, Alessia went to the café in City College. It was a big, roomy space and she enjoyed the din of company around her. She spent too many hours alone. She stared at the material on the table, and sighed heavily. The task ahead of her was daunting. Focusing on that would make her forget Derek had asked Jane Carlin out. None of her business, though.

  “Hey, Alessia. Mind if I join you?” He stood before her looking lethal in worn jeans and navy sweatshirt. “If you aren’t busy.”

  “I’m busy, but I’ve been at this for two days and still don’t know the best way to organize it.” She held up a circular board made of index card material.

  Taking that as a yes, he slid in the booth across from her. “What’s the wheel for?”

  “I told you my cousin and brother are having a double wedding. Hayley put me in charge of the seating.”

  “That sounds like fun. The wedding, I mean. When is it?”

  “Saturday.” Again, she sighed

  “Tell me why this is so hard.” He seemed interested, which boggled her mind.

  “I can’t decide if I should mix and mingle the families or put them all together like tradition holds.”

  “Mix and Mingle.”

  “Why?”

  “Are there people who don’t get along?”

  “Yes. Mostly with Hayley’s mother, but I figured she could sit with Finn, her son, and his fiancée. No one wants to be near her.”

  “Wouldn’t that ruin Finn’s night?”

  “I guess it would. I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “In any case, if they end up together, then so be it.”

  “Paul’s parents probably want to sit together.”

  “How do you know that? Tradition?”

  “Hmm. I’ll try this your way.” She picked up the bag she’d brought all this in. I need to make out the names.”

  “I’ll help. You do half.”

  Alessia tore up some legal yellow paper and they wrote a name from the list on the twenty-four slips. She put them in the bag and shook it up. Held it out. “You pick.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “Because this was your idea.”

  “How many tables?”

  “Three.”

  “Here goes.” He drew a name. “Matka. Who’s that?”

  “Paul’s mother. He’s the groom.”

  She laughed when she picked the next one. “Pa, her husband.”

  His eyes crinkled at the corners. “That solves that.”

  “Next, Carmella plus one?”

  “Two seats.”

  He picked more. “Jakub and his wife.”

  Finn and Millie were next.

  “Whew! We dodged the Bridget bullet.”

  With an amused expression on his face, he said, “Alessia, you have control over this you know. If you’re unhappy with a draw, put the name back in.”

  “Okay, table two. He drew another name. Anabelle. Then Gideon.

  Oh, her brother was going to love being with his competitor for the sergeant’s job.

  But she left it.
The other tables fell into place nicely.

  “Hmm,” Derek said taking out the last slip, which would be hers. “You’ve got a plus one.”

  “I do. I thought about bringing my oldest son, but he didn’t want to come and kids aren’t invited anyway.”

  “You should have a date, Alessia.”

  “With who?”

  “Somebody dashing, and good conversationalist, easy going.” His grin was wry.

  Her heartbeat speeding up, she smiled broadly. “Derek, are you asking to be my plus one?”

  “I accept the compliment. And, yes, that’s what I’m asking.”

  She should ask about Jane, but shit, if Derek wanted to see her, too, she’d think about asking him to accompany her.

  For about a minute. “Actually, I’d like that very much.”

  “Yeah, I would, too.”

  * * *

  On Friday night, before he went out on his date with Jane, Derek dropped down on the couch with his laptop and typed in the name of the person who’d been up on her computer that day in her office. Stuart Breed.

  He hacked into the school enrollment roles. Stuart’s application came up. He was 19. No next of kin. He gave a nearby house as his address. Derek jotted down the young man’s information. Before he went on, he checked out the location. It was a boarding house. He rented one room. Back in the school site, he read the kid’s essay.

  I want to go to City College because I want to mean something to someone. To the world. So far, I have not. Even though I lived in a group home, I did as well as I could in high school. I have no family, no friends, but I’d like to make some. As far as choosing your school, I want to teach so I can instill confidence in young children so they don’t become me.

  Stuart’s essay was the biography of a person ripe for trafficking.

  No next of kin, aka no family, no friends, life in a group home, now a boarding house, mediocre student. Not one to be missed much. The traffickers preyed on the lonely and vulnerable.

  His gaze traveled down the application. At the end, he saw official withdrawal, dated a week ago.

  For a minute, Derek got mad. These people were monsters.

  That’s why you’re here, Grant had told him. To fight for those who don’t have anybody to help.

  Well, they had him now. He’d help this kid. He’d go to the boarding house to check on him. Then he’d get ready for his date, the woman who could be partly responsible for Stuart’s capture.

  * * *

  He awoke. God, he was sore all over. Where was he? Had he gotten beat up on the street again? He could only open one eye. Even then, the room was fuzzy. He could tell the place was small, with no windows, and he was lying on a mattress with a sickening smell. But he couldn’t move much. Had he gotten drunk? This is what the after effects felt like.

  The door to the room opened. In walked a big man carrying a bag. He wore a black mask, crossed to Stuart and loomed over him. “You’re gonna need to improve your appearance, but not yet.” He took a syringe out of the bag. What the hell? He stuck the needle in Stuart’s arm and the prick was painful.

  As the world began to spin, the guy added. “Now, let’s get you used to what’s in store for your future.”

  The man took out something long and thin. Roughly he turned Stuart over. Yanked down his pants. And whipped him. “Ow, owww…”

  “Yeah, you gotta learn to control that howling.”

  Finally, the beating stopped. Then he heard the jingling of a belt buckle. Jesus, the guy dropped his pants and climbed on top of Stuart, yanked him up to his knees.

  What came next was the most horrific thing anyone ever did to him in his life.

  * * *

  “I’m not gonna stay with Grandma and Grandpa.”

  Alessia turned from the bed, where a suitcase sat next to a pile of clothes she was packing for the weekend. “I’m sorry you don’t want to go to their house. And that’s okay because it’s what you feel. But you have to do it.”

  Her shaggy-hair, dark-eyed son stared back at her with mutiny on his face. Tall and lanky like Billy, sometimes he could be stubborn like his dad. “I’m twelve. I can stay alone. Twelve-year-old kids babysit, Mom.”

  “Parents leave their kids with someone that age for only a few hours. This is a whole weekend, honey.”

  “So?”

  “You’re too young to be alone Friday night through Sunday. What if you fell and got hurt? Burned yourself cooking, or God forbid, someone broke in?”

  He shrugged.

  A pang of sympathy for her son shot through Alessia. Adolescence was hard for him. It was worsened by the fact that he had no father. God, she wished Billy was here to help him navigate these murky waters. But Billy wasn’t here so it was up to her.

  “Come on downstairs, we’ll talk.”

  Once in the living room, he dropped onto the sofa. She sat on the coffee table in front of him. She took his hand and he tried to pull it back, but she wouldn’t let go. “Talk to me, Pete.”

  “I don’t wanna be in their house. It smells like old people.”

  “Honey, your grandparents are only sixty.”

  He straightened, his tension obvious.

  “What else?”

  “It’s boring. They watch TV, we eat, they go to bed. Mattie and Mikey won’t even be there.”

  Her twins had been invited to stay over a friend’s house. Alessia and the mother were well-acquainted and she wanted the boys for the weekend.

  “Maybe your grandparents will let you bring a friend. Jason’s here all the time. I’ll bet he’d like to come.”

  Pete’s face lightened. She got a glimpse of her little boy again. “Really?”

  “I’ll call and ask them. Meanwhile, why don’t you check with Jason? If he can’t come today, maybe his mom can bring him tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  Alessia went into the kitchen, took her cell from her pocket, and punched in the Benatti’s number. “Hello, dear.”

  “Hi, Mom. Would it be all right if Pete brought a friend?”

  “Oh, dear. Two teenage boys?”

  “I’ll exact promises from them that they’ll behave. It’ll probably be easier for you if he has someone there to occupy his time. And I love the boy he’d bring.”

  Her mother-in-law excused herself to ask Billy’s dad for permission. When she came back on, she said, “Yes, that would be all right.”

  “Thanks, Mom. See you soon.”

  When she re-entered the room, Pete stood up from the couch. His young face was animated. “Jason said yes. He can come today. He can be ready in an hour. What did Grandma say?”

  “That you can bring somebody, but we have to go over some rules, which I want you to record on your phone then play for Jason. I’ll let your grandparents know what we agree upon.”

  He didn’t argue which was a miracle.

  They sat at the kitchen table for the discussion. When they finished, they both stood, but he didn’t rush right away from her. “Thank you, Mom.”

  “Let me tell you one more thing. I want you to think about how we settled this today. It’s compromise. You don’t have to get mad at me when I disagree with you.”

  Her boy looked over at her. He was as tall as she. And lanky, like Billy. Then he did something he hadn’t done in a long time. He threw himself into her arms and hugged her. Her mother’s heart turned over in her chest. “Okay, Mom.”

  As he left, she thought, Score one for the good guys.

  * * *

  “So, Jane Carlin,” Derek asked when they settled into a booth in David’s, an out of the way restaurant, “why Dean of Students at City College? Did you always want to be an administrator?”

  Wearing a low-cut, V-neck red sweater, Jane circled the cocktail swirl-stick in her Manhattan. “I always wanted power.”

  That took him aback. “Wow, that’s an honest answer.”

  “It’s true. Derek, how did you grow up?”

  He told his cover story: one sister
, nurturing parents, easy success in school, much of which was true.

  “I had none of that. My parents were verbally abusive, insisted I do things their way. Basically, they were control freaks.”

  “That must have been hard. How’d you get out of that?”

  She tucked back her auburn hair. “College was a refuge. I flourished there. But I made sure I was in control of everything. When I got my Masters’ Degree, I taught for a while—teachers have a lot of power—then started working in Administration. I got this job four years ago.”

  To Derek, that seemed like a perfect background for a human trafficker. Was she one of that awful lot?

  “What do you like best about the power you have now?”

  She talked easily about herself. “Mostly, I’m in control of my own time, what I take on, things like that.”

  “You have a lot of power over students.”

  “Yes, but I use it constructively. I accept the best of the best, but also give the ones struggling a chance to get a degree and make something of themselves.”

  “I heard the program does exceptionally well with that demographic.”

  “We do.” She looked around David’s. “Have you been here often?”

  “Never. I found it for us.”

  “How sweet.” She toyed with the gold chain around her neck. “I’ll have to make sure I return the favor tonight.”

  “Hmm.” God, sexual favors were the last thing he wanted. From her at least. But he’d made a plan for this. “Maybe I should tell you something. “I, um, lost my wife eight months ago.”

  “Your application said you were widowed. I didn’t know it was so recent.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced away as if in pain. “I’m still recovering from that. I haven’t accepted any…favors…yet.”

  She grinned. “I could be your first.”

  “Honestly, that would be great, at some point.” He picked up his menu. He wanted to keep seeing her, but couldn’t quite bring himself to have sex with her.

  Especially since she could very well be sucking poor and vulnerable students like Stuart Breed into a life of torture and enslavement.