After our discussion at breakfast, Lori offered to take Kristin to the guest house to show her around. She seemed very intrigued with the woman, and who wouldn’t be after meeting someone who had lived the life of being bought and sold for other’s pleasure. If I were to be honest, it was hard for me to look at Kristin and not feel guilty. My father sold me to an auction house where I could have bought, used, abused, and resold like an old rug, but Roman saved me. He had no ill intentions in doing so. Now I’m married to Roman and even though our hands were forced into matrimony, we were learning to truly love one another. Kristin, on the other hand, had clearly seen the worst side of human trafficking. Although I didn’t know her story, I knew enough to understand that she had experienced unspeakable trauma, having spent months, or maybe even years as a sex slave. The thought made me shudder.

"Are you OK, Hannah?" Roman asked me. "You got really quiet." We were standing together in the front entryway saying our goodbyes before Roman left for work. Ed and Marcus were near the door having a discussion.

"I just can’t imagine what Kristin has seen and experienced," I told him. "If it weren’t for you, Roman, I could have been in serious trouble." Roman pulled me into a tight hug, gently holding my head against his chest.

"I don’t like to think about it either," he said. "I was able to help you and I also got the chance to help Kristin. I think about that whenever I can." I thought about what Roman said as a cell phone rang. Marcus answered it.

"Agent Delaney," Marcus said into the phone. Me, Roman, and Ed had our eyes fixed on Marcus during his phone call. "Great, send a couple of officers to the Thaddeus mansion and one of the security team members to escort Roman. Ed and I will be there shortly." Marcus hung up the call and we waited expectantly for his news. "Bernard Sullivan is home and I have a couple of cops waiting outside his residence with a search warrant. Ed and I need to be there to handle our part of the operation."

"I hope it all goes as planned," Roman said. "People like Bernard don’t deserve to walk around freely, acting like upstanding citizens."

"We agree," Ed said. "We’ll wait here until the cops and security show up." I left Roman talking to Marcus and Ed while I went to share the news with Lori and Kristin. When I entered the guest house, they were both seated together on the sofa, watching something on Lori’s laptop. They both looked up when I entered.

"Marcus and Ed are going to search Bernard’s house," I told them, "and hopefully arrest him."

"Is that the guy that was a creep at your wedding?" Lori asked me and I nodded.

"Is there anything that Marcus and Ed want us to do?" Kristin asked me.

"No, not even Roman is in on this one," I said. "He’ll be at work." I was confident in Roman being at work because I truly believed he felt remorse for lying to me. But, I also felt remorse too, realizing that he would have no reason to lie to me if I had not been so rigid and fearful.

"So, no bodyguards while they’re gone?" Lori asked me.

"They’re sending police officers here to keep an eye on us while Roman is escorted by one of their security team members," I told Lori.

"Marcus and Ed will make sure that the people they’re responsible for are protected," Kristin said.

"Can I ask why you left protective custody?" I asked Kristin.

Kristin shrugged. "It was a nice setup," Kristin said. "They gave me a reloadable gift card and housing until I eventually found a job as a waitress, but it wasn’t fulfilling. I hated knowing that women were still being bought and sold at auctions, but I was free. It wasn’t fair."

"Were you in protective custody here, in this city?" Lori asked her.

"No, Alaska," Kristin said. "Marcus wouldn’t let me choose. He said he had to send me where it would be safest and where they had space in the program. I was free, but I was also cold and bored. I felt like I was wasting my time living a life that I didn’t want while other women lived lives that they had no control over." There was a knock at the door and Lori bid the visitor enter. Roman opened the door and stepped inside.

"I just wanted to let you know that the police are here," Roman told us. "Marcus and Ed are on their way to hopefully arrest Bernard." Roman glanced around, realizing that he hadn’t been inside the guest house since Lori and Lauren finished their interior design project. I joined him, wrapping my arms around him. He smiled. "This place looks great."

"Thank you, Roman," Lori said with a smile that glowed with pride.

Roman met my gaze. "Maybe I should have her redesign the entire house." I laughed.

"I don’t think I’m ready for an interior design project that big," Lori said with wide eyes. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Maybe just one room at a time," I suggested.

"I’m sorry to interrupt," Kristin said, "but will Marcus and Ed update us on this raid?"

"They’ll let us know what’s going on as soon as it’s safe to do so," Roman said. He met my gaze. "In the meantime, there are two officers here and they’ll be keeping an eye on security cameras and the front gates in case of any unannounced visitors. I’ve got to get to work." Roman pressed a lingering kiss against my lips before pulling away and moving toward the door. "You ladies be safe."

"Stay out of trouble," I told Roman, and he winked before leaving the guest house, closing the door behind him.

"Now what?" Lori asked.

I shrugged. "We entertain ourselves," I said. "I’m going to change into my bathing suit and go for a swim. You’re free to borrow any of my clothes, Kristin."

"I’m fine for now, but thank you," Kristin said. I left the guest house and made my way back inside the main house and up the elevator to me and Roman’s room. On top of the counter in the center of my closet was the leather lingerie outfit that I had purchased to surprise Roman. I made a mental note to wear it for him tonight. After I changed out of my clothes and into my yellow bikini, I made my way downstairs and back outside to the pool. Lori and Kristin were relaxing in lounge chairs beside the pool, chatting.

"You think he would be interested?" Lori was asking Kristin.

"He would certainly be interested in taking a beautiful young lady out for coffee," Kristin said. "He never mentioned having a girlfriend or any partner." I walked down the steps into the pool’s warm water.

"Lori has never had a boyfriend," I said swimming over to their side of the pool. "Much less gone out on a coffee date with a guy. I’m assuming you’re talking about Marcus." Kristin nodded.

"Was it that obvious?" Lori asked me. "Kristin said I was flirting with him."

"It was pretty obvious," I admitted to Lori, "but Marcus also seemed to be enjoying your attention." I rested my arms on the pool’s edge, allowing my feet to drift lazily in the water behind me.

"You’ll have to be careful if you do pursue him though," Kristin said. "Marcus is a bit of a workaholic and a perfectionist. He wants to get the job done, and he wants it done well. All that to say he takes pride in his work, so he may not be available for much beyond a coffee date."

"How long did you have to spend with Marcus and Ed before they got you into protective custody in Alaska?" I asked Kristin.

"About a month," Kristin said. "They interviewed me a few times and made sure I got the therapy and medical care that I needed before leaving Washington D.C. I know that I give them a hard time, but they’re both good guys."

"I would need a lot of advice before I ever went out on a date," Lori said. "I feel confident when there are other people around, but Marcus is easy to talk to, and I enjoy listening to him talk."

"At least someone besides Ed will listen to Marcus," Kristin said, and we laughed. I flipped over onto my back and allowed myself to float on the water as Lori and Kristin talked about various things. I invented a play-by-play of the police knocking on Bernard Sullivan’s front door with a search warrant. Bernard would be indignant and angry. He would probably lie about ever knowing anything about an auction house, even if they found evidence to the contrary. I closed my eyes, relaxing in the water as I floated, hoping that everything would go smoothly and that Bernard would be taken into custody for his disgusting hobby very soon.