Roman ...

The flight took less than three hours from the Bahamas to Maryland. We flew into a hangar in Silver Spring, MD where my driver waited for us. He drove us thirty minutes to the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Washington, D.C. to drop our luggage and freshen up before heading to the FBI headquarters. I checked in at the front desk and got our key cards for a stay in the Ritz-Carlton suite. When we arrived at our room, the staff unloaded our luggage, and I tipped them before they left. Hannah walked through the entry and out onto the patio to stare out over the city. I joined her.

"This is almost like reverse culture shock after being on the beach in the Bahamas," she said. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"It is," I agreed. "Do you still want to stay here while I meet with the FBI agents?" I asked her.

"No," she said quickly. "I’ll go with you. What time is the meeting?"

"Whenever I decide to get there," I said. "I’m supposed to call when I arrive at the headquarters."

Hannah stepped up next to me. "Good," she said, gripping the front of my shirt. "I want to make up for my behavior on our last night at the beach." Hannah kissed me and I was more than willing to comply. We continued kissing as we made out way back inside, tugging at each other’s clothes. Just off of the entryway was a dining area to the right and the main living area to the left. I picked Hannah up and carried her to the nearest sofa in the main living area, not breaking our kiss. Gently laying her on the sofa, I broke the kiss to pull my clothes off. Hannah did the same on the sofa, and when we were undressed, I lay on top of her and resumed our kissing, massaging the perfect mounds of her breasts as she moaned in pleasure. Unable to resist her, I slipped my dick inside her wet slit and made love to her. Slowly I rocked my hips into her, wanting her to feel every inch of me. I kissed her jawline and her neck as she moaned in pleasure. I wanted her to know that I cherished our time together and that I had missed her touch last night.

After we climaxed, I shifted her on top of me on the sofa and we lay together breathing heavily. Hannah traced circles on my chest with her finger. "I’m sorry I shut you out last night," she said.

I stroked her hair. "I appreciate the apology, Hannah, but I understand that you were upset," I told her.

"I shouldn’t have clammed up," she admitted. "I should have just told you that I hated the memory of that place."

"I hate it too," I said. "I hate it enough to take it down regardless of what the contract says."

Hannah looked up at me with her green eyes. "You’re a good man, Roman Thaddeus," she said.

I smiled at her. "And you’re a good woman, Hannah Thaddeus." We kissed before she climbed off of me.

"I’m going to shower and then I’ll be ready to go," she said, walking toward the bedroom. Watching her bare ass walk away from me was turning me on.

"I think I’ll join you," I said, running up behind her and lifting her into my arms. She squealed in delight as I carried her to the bathroom for a quick shower together.

Once we were dressed, we headed downstairs to our waiting car for our trip to the FBI headquarters building. The only way that I could tell Hannah was nervous was that she kept biting her lip.

"You good?" I asked her after we were seated and buckled up in the car.

"I’m fine," she said, and she didn’t elaborate when we drove off. Traffic was moderately heavy, but we made it to the FBI headquarters building in 15 minutes. Hannah stepped out and stared up at the block-shaped, sandstone-colored building. Everything about it was square, uniform, and very official. While we stood outside, I called the number that Lauren had given me.

"Agent Delaney speaking," a man answered.

"Hi, this is Roman Thaddeus," I said. "I was given your number because I have leads on a human trafficking operation. I’m standing outside the headquarters building."

"I’ll meet you in the lobby, Mr. Thaddeus," the man named Delaney said before he hung up. I slipped my cell phone into my pocket.

"He’s meeting us inside," I told Hannah, taking her hand. We entered the building and walked through a security checkpoint before being ushered into a waiting room. Hannah and I sat in silence for a while before a buff man in a suit and a military haircut entered the waiting area.

"You Roman Thaddeus?" the man asked me.

"Yes," I said as Hannah and I stood. "This is my wife, Hannah Thaddeus," I introduced her.

"Nice to meet you two," the man said, shaking first my hand and then Hannah’s. "I’m agent Marcus Delaney," he said. "You two can follow me." We followed Marcus out of the waiting area and past the reception desk. He used a keycard to open a side door and held it open for us. Marcus led us down a hallway lined with doors. Some of them were open to reveal moderate-sized offices. He opened the next to last door on the right and ushered us into a tidy office, where another man waited on a sofa. When we entered the office, the other man stood.

"This is Roman and Hannah Thaddeus," Marcus introduced us to the man as he closed the office door. "This is my partner, Ed Martinez," Marcus said, indicating the man in the room. Ed offered his hand and I shook it first, followed by Hannah. "Please, have a seat," Marcus said, indicating the two armchairs near the sofa. Marcus began asking questions before Hannah and I were properly seated.

"You said you have leads on a human trafficking ring under the guise of an exclusive club, so I understand?" Marcus asked us.

"Yes," I confirmed. Lauren must have explained some of it to him.

"We need details," Ed interjected. "How you found the place and how you know it’s a human trafficking hub." He pulled a pen and small notepad from his inner jacket pocket.

I glanced at Hannah before I began. She was seated quietly. Her expression was stoic. I prayed that she would be OK during this interview. "It’s called The Auction House," I said. "I was invited by a guy who I met through mutual friends."

"Name?" Marcus asked.

"Bernard Sullivan," I said, trying to ignore the conflicted feelings I felt about turning him in and beginning a chain of events that could go sideways. Ed scribbled down notes while Marcus listened intently.

"Go on," Marcus said.

"He tried to get all of my friends on the list," I said, "but he claimed that since I was the wealthiest in the group, he was only able to get me in and not the others." I glanced at Hannah again; she hadn’t seemed to have moved. "There were armed guards when we got there. The place had a bar and seating and a stage. I thought we were going to get a striptease or some kind of exotic show, but a woman walked on stage and the men started bidding for her. Once I realized what was going on I got up to leave."

"Did you recognize any of the other patrons there?" Marcus asked me.

"Yes, most of them," I said. "All wealthy sons of b*tchhes like me." When I said this, Hannah turned to look at me with a frown.

"Names?" Marcus asked me.

"I can write them down for you," I said. Ed pulled out one of the pages of his notepad and slid it across the table to me. Marcus grabbed me a pen from the desk and I wrote down nearly a dozen names of men that I could remember. I handed the paper to Ed, who took it and glanced over it.

"Anything else?" Marcus asked me. My mouth had gone dry at the thought of admitting what I had done. Just admitting that I had been there was bad enough.

"Before I could leave The Auction House," I began, "a woman that I knew walked out on stage and the men started bidding on her." At this point, I couldn’t look at Hannah. I didn’t want to see her green eyes on me as I spoke, but I could feel her gaze. I licked my dry lips before I continued. "I didn’t want anyone else bidding on the woman that I knew, so I outbid everyone and I won her just so that I could keep her safe."

Ed looked up from his writing. "You’re admitting to illegally purchasing a woman from a human trafficking hub?" he asked me.

"Yes," I said, "but I only did it to keep her safe." Marcus and Ed stood.

"Where is the woman now?" Ed asked me.

"She’s right here." I indicated Hannah. "She’s my wife." Both men approached me, Marcus pulled out a set of handcuffs, and I jumped out of the armchair, nearly tripping over it in my haste.

"Roman Thaddeus," Marcus said, grabbing my wrist and snapping a cuff onto it. My heart seemed to seize in my chest as my thoughts jumbled in my head. "You’re under arrest for the illegal purchase of a human with intent to ownership." I could see Hannah stand up, but Ed moved between us, blocking my view of her.

"This is a mistake," I said as Marcus gripped my other wrist behind me and snapped the other cuff onto it.

"You admitted to a criminal offense," Marcus said. "You have the right to remain silent." He began reading me my Miranda rights. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Hannah!" I called out to her, unable to see past Ed’s solid build. "I’m so sorry, Hannah." I had no idea what was going to happen to her if I went to prison. I hadn’t expected things to take such a drastic turn.