The following morning, after the incidents and occurrences at The Auction House, I woke a little after nine AM to find Hannah’s side of the bed empty. I rolled out of bed, showered, and dressed before I made my way downstairs. I could hear chatter and laughter from the kitchen before I even got halfway up the corridor. When I stepped into the doorway, I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time that so many people were casually gathered together in my home. Ed and Marcus were both leaning against the kitchen island. Marcus was telling a story to the group of women gathered at the breakfast nook.

"I told Ed to stay home that day since he wasn’t feeling well," Marcus was saying, "but he didn’t want to miss the raid. He didn’t tell me that he was sick with stomach issues."

"You don’t have to tell this story, Marcus," Ed told him.

"Maybe you should tell us an embarrassing story about Marcus," Lori said to Ed, but Lori was smiling at Marcus, leaning forward with rapt attention as Marcus had been speaking. Lauren was seated across from Lori listening to Marcus’s tale. Kristin said something to Hannah, and Hannah’s laughter rang out in the kitchen, reminding me how much I loved seeing her happy and smiling. Hanna’s laughter made me smile. Ed finally noticed me standing in the kitchen doorway and he greeted me with a wave. Lauren saw Ed wave and glanced over at me as well.

"It’s about time you showed up," Lauren commented, and now all eyes were on me.

"Good morning, everyone," I said, meeting Hannah’s gaze. "I don’t mean to interrupt, I’m just here to steal my wife for a moment." Hannah stood from the breakfast nook table with an amused expression as she joined me. I took her hand and guided her out of the kitchen.

"What am I being stolen away for?" Hannah asked me. I turned to face her in the corridor and wrapped my arms around her.

"For a kiss of course," I said before lowering my lips to hers. We shared a gentle, slow, passionate kiss before I pulled away. "Why didn’t you wake me this morning?" I asked her.

"I figured you could use the extra sleep since you were so busy out and about last night," Hannah said to me.

I nodded. "You’re still upset," I said to her.

"A bit," Hannah said. "No one likes being lied to, Roman. I forgive you, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten."

"I can’t ask you to forgive and forget," I said. "I know that what I did was wrong, and I deserve your disappointment."

"I’m glad you agree," she said.

"I see you met Kristin," I said to Hannah.

"She’s certainly a character, but she seems to be a good person," Hannah told me. "She’s been through a lot, but her heart is in the right place if not a bit misguided."

"I know what you mean," I said. "Being rescued from a human trafficking hub just to run right back to it is pretty extreme."

"Ed certainly gave Kristin an ear full when he saw her this morning," Hannah told me.

"I can only imagine that it was similar to the tongue lashing that Marcus gave her after we left The Auction House," I said. "He tried to convince her that what she did was asinine, but she either ignored what he said or tried to argue her case."

"That’s pretty much exactly what went down," Hannah confirmed. "She sounds a lot like my hard-headed husband."

"I deserved that," I said with a smirk. Hannah gave me a quick kiss.

"Let’s get back in there before everybody breaks up to go do their own things," Hannah said. She was leading me back to the kitchen and I slapped her ass, making her turn and glare at me playfully before we stepped into the kitchen. Lauren was standing, gathering her purse and phone to leave as we entered.

"Headed out?" I asked Lauren as Hannah took her place at the breakfast nook table.

"I’ve overstayed my welcome," Lauren said, giving me a quick hug. "I have some things to take care of."

"I know you don’t truly believe you’ve overstayed your welcome, Lauren," I said to her as she made her way to the kitchen door. "You’re always welcome here." Lauren pulled a face and blew me a kiss before she left the kitchen. I slid into the breakfast nook next to Hannah to join the conversation.

"I see Lori is still flirting with Marcus," Hannah whispered to me. Lori was smiling and giving Marcus her full attention.

"He’s not a bad-looking guy," I said to Hannah, "if you’re into that hardened military look."

Hannah shrugged. "She could do much worse," Hannah said. "He seems to be doing pretty good for himself and enjoying his work." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Marcus is a good guy," Kristin said to me and Hannah. "He cares a lot about what he does, and the people involved."

"I could tell from your conversation with him in the car last night," I said to Kristin.

Kristin smirked. "Sometimes he cares a little too much," she said. "He thinks just because I’m not a cop or an agent that I can’t help them take those bastards down. You helped them." Kristin pointed at me with a flick of her wrist. "They think I’m too young or too weak."

"I don’t think that’s the reason," Hannah said. "I lucked out when Roman cared enough to bid for me at auction, but he told me how close I had come to being used and abused by one of those men."

"I’ve lived it," Kristin said. "I’m well aware of what happens. I’m glad you got out of there safely before you were forced to experience it. I’ve lost friends to those monsters."

It was hard to listen to Kristin share her pain, and although I couldn’t grasp why Kristin would choose to put herself back in that situation, I wanted to know more about The Auction House and how big of an operation it was. "Where are women coming from that are sold at auction?" I asked Kristin. "I doubt that all those women are the mistresses or daughters of wealthy men." Hannah rubbed her arms when I said this, undoubtedly remembering what her father did to her. I placed a hand on Hannah’s thigh to be close to her and let her know that I was there to support her.

"The Auction House operation spans the globe," Kristin said. "They buy and sell women from many countries."

"Auction houses usually work together," Ed said, seating himself at the breakfast nook table while Lori and Marcus continued their chat. "Even if they don’t directly work together, they usually know of each other so that they can cover one another in case something goes down."

"So, if we take this auction house down, they’ll let the others know to close shop and move on?" I asked Ed.

"Most likely," Ed told me.

"Then how do we stop them?" Hannah asked.

"We bring in as many of the top guys as we can," Ed said. "The owners and the guys moving the women around."

"It’s so hard to realize that we can only do so much," Hannah said.

"That’s why they need us," Kristin said. "Normal people who care enough to help take as many of them down as possible."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lori asked us.

"Taking down the people who sold me and your sister," Kristin said, "and we have a limited time to do it."

"She’s right," Marcus said. "Once the owners and patrons catch wind of what’s going on, they’ll close up shops pretty quickly."

"What’s the next move?" I asked Marcus.

"We’re planning a raid on Bernard Sullivan’s home," Ed answered. "We have enough evidence against him, especially after your encounter with him at The Auction House."

"This is so fascinating," Lori said, her attention on Kristin now. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I was surprised that no one responded immediately. Hannah and I shared a look before glancing over at Marcus and Ed who were looking at us expectantly. Kristin also looked to me and Hannah to answer, knowing that it wasn’t her place to invite Lori to help with such a dangerous task.

"If it comes down to needing your help, Lori," Hannah responded to her sister, "then we’ll talk about what you can do, but until then I think it’s safe to say that we’ll act as backup."

"I agree," I added, supporting my wife’s decision.

"Well said, Hannah," Marcus commended her. Lori seemed to accept Hannah’s answer.

"Now, if only we could get Kristin to play by the rules," Ed said, staring at Kristin pointedly.

"Don’t be so controlling and maybe I’ll comply," Kristin said to Ed.

Marcus rolled his eyes. "There’s no use arguing with her," Marcus said. "We still need to work on getting you out of that bulls**t contract, Kristin. You’ve got three months before they’re expecting you to be back there."

"Hopefully we can take them down way before then," Kristin said.

"I think Bernard will be a good start," I added. "He’s too comfortable at that place."

"Ed and I think so too," Marcus said. "We may be able to get a good deal of information out of him." I could feel my excitement about taking Bernard down rising to the surface. This was it; Marcus and Ed were beginning plans to move in on The Auction House. The fact that they were starting with Bernard couldn’t have made me happier. I couldn’t wait until he was behind bars.