10:30 pm
Truck Stop, undisclosed location
Dante and Simon had been at the truck stop for about 2 hours now, watching Adam and his crew. The other 4 had arrived about an hour ago and they were sharing a table inside the restaurant, waiting. Several trucks came and went and the group paid no attention until a truck pulled in wearing the logo of a large cellular distributor. Dante watched the 3 men move out of the restaurant and the girl waited, watching the driver of the truck closely. Simon had followed the men out of the restaurant so Dante waited patiently until the driver made his way inside and had just sat down with his food when Eve arrived at his table and started chatting him up.
She was, without a doubt, one of the most spectacular women Dante had ever seen. She was perfect in every physical way possible, but it was the way she carried herself that had Dante’s attention. Having experienced the childhood Dante had, he was able to spot someone who was coerced in some way into the life. There was all the swagger and confidence sure, but also a weariness about her that had him thinking she was not doing this voluntarily. Or was he telling himself that because he was feeling things for this girl that he had felt for no other. He had his share of girlfriends, but no one he let anywhere close to who he really was. Before he let himself wander any further down that path, he got back on task.
The driver was obviously taken with her and was inviting her to join him when Dante walked up and said,
“Excuse me ma’am, is your name Eve?” They already had names for each crew member so when she replied that she was, Dante said,
“A man named Adam asked me to come in here to find you. He described what you look like and what you are wearing and asked if I would find you for him. A car hit him out in the parking lot when he was walking next to his truck and it looks like he might need to go to a hospital.” Dante finished with an exasperated look on his face, pointing toward the back of the lot. Eve quickly got up and Dante turned and walked out toward the truck. Dante was stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eye and he was convinced his instincts about her are correct. They walked around the back of Adam’s truck and when she turned to look questioningly at Dante, he hit her with the cell phone stun gun Simon had given him. He wrapped an arm around her limp body and Simon came and helped him load her into the back of Adam’s truck. Dante saw that Simon had the others all restrained in the back already. They locked the trailer and as Simon turned to go drive the truck while Dante followed in the transport, Dante said,
“Simon, I think Eve is being coerced into doing this and….” He paused and looked down for a couple of seconds and then back up into Simon’s eyes, “There’s, I don’t know, there’s something about her and I want to find out why she’s doing this.” He finished and looked expectantly at Simon who studied the young man for a moment and then a slight smile crept up the side of his mouth and he nodded to Dante and said,
“Alright, follow me to their warehouse and we’ll find out.” He turned and opened the cab to the truck as Dante turned to get the transport, a smile overtaking his face and his step a little lighter.