Chapter Three

Tris

I was barely aware of where I was when I woke up. The sheets were unfamiliar, although they smelled amazing and I could probably stay wrapped in them all day, and I was still wearing my clothes from last night.

Last night.

Right. I was at Tobias's. I remember coming over to watch the last period of the Blackhawks game and then we started to watch a movie before I passed out.

Getting up out of the bed, almost reluctantly (it was a comfortable bed), I head into the living room and see Tobias sitting at the small counter in the kitchen. "Hey, there's fresh coffee in the pot." He says in way of greeting.

I mumble thanks and pour a cup, loading it up with cream and sugar. Tobias quirks an eyebrow, staring at my coffee. "What?"

"Do you want coffee with your cream and sugar?" He jokes and I roll my eyes. Coffee was disgusting unless you put flavor in it. Why did he think I also ordered French vanilla or caramel coffee?

I take a seat next to Tobias and scroll through my emails on my phone for a bit, sipping at my coffee. My phone rang while I was scrolling and Jeanine's name came up. I sigh, and press my phone to my ear. "Prior." Tobias stared at me and I rolled my eyes and mouthed Jeanine's name to him. He frowned. Jeanine went on about how I needed to come in because there was a case we needed to work on and the sooner we started, the sooner we'd get it done. And then she said she was going to call Tobias in. I hung up with a promise I'd be in shortly.

"She's going to call you in five seconds." I warn him and as soon as I'm done talking, his phone rings and I smirk at him. "I have to head home to grab fresh clothes. I'll see you at work." I pat him on the shoulder as I head out.

Twenty minutes later, I'm at work in a fresh pair of jeans and a new tan blouse with cognac knee-high boots. My leather jacket is draped across the back of my chair and Tobias is already at his desk.

He gives me a warm smile and then Jeanine is calling our names, calling us into her office.

She doesn't sit down, just leans back against the edge of her desk. "There was a gang member arrested and we discovered that he was a part of a big prostitution ring that we've been following for a few months now, it's connected to a drug cartel that the FBI has been investigating and they've given us permission to investigate this part of it. We're worried that there are underage girls involved with the ring and that there are some city officials involved. We don't want to burst in and risk anybody getting hurt, so we need to go in undercover."

She makes a point to look directly at me as she speaks. Undercover. She wants us to go undercover and when she says "us" she really means me.

"No." Tobias speaks up before I can even blink. I turn to look at him and he's glaring at Jeanine. "Absolutely not. We all know how badly the undercover thing can go and how quickly it can turn dangerous."

I cross my arms over my chest, gripping my arms tightly. "This isn't a request, Eaton. This is a demand. We need Beatrice to go undercover. I would send in somebody else, but they want younger women and she can pass for a teenager."

"We have officers trained in going into situations undercover! Tell one of them to do it!" Tobias growls and I'm not completely sure how I feel about him acting protective.

Jeanine turns to look at me. "You'll need to be ready in an hour. You'll be in and out within twelve hours. We're going to give you a necklace that tech has worked on, it has a camera built in to it. As soon as we have enough evidence to enter, we'll be in."

"If she's going, I have to go." Tobias's voice is strained. "We're partners and I'm not letting her be by herself."

Jeanine sighs and fixes him an annoyed look. "There's a hotel across the street from the house she's going to. You can stay with the look out there that way if anything happens you'll be there within seconds."

It's not the most amazing compromise, but Tobias doesn't argue further. He's probably worried that if he does, Jeanine might sentence him to desk duty.

"Hey, what was that all about?" I ask as we're leaving Jeanine's office. "The whole…speaking for me thing?"

His hands are balled into fists and he looks tense. His dark blue eyes stare at me, his gaze piercing and something twists in my chest. "We're partners. I've seen how quickly those undercover assignments turn sour and truthfully, I don't feel like training a new partner." He jokes, cracking a small smile and I watch as his fists loosen.

Forty-five minutes later, we're at the hotel across the street from the posh-looking townhouse that Jeanine has had officers staked out in front of for months.

Tobias is leaning over the back of one of the officers, looking at the computer screens that show different angles of the townhouse. I come out of the bathroom, having just changed my clothes.

Christina came with us and she was prepared with the clothes I was going to need to wear – a tight black skirt that barely covered my bottom, a red tank top and a black cardigan with black heels.

I felt so uncomfortable. I wasn't use to wearing clothes this revealing and I didn't particularly like the idea that there was going to be men staring at me and judging me, judging my body.

Christina sat me down and helped me with my makeup and then twisted my hair into a messy bun. I had to look like a teenager and if I had my hair perfectly styled, it wouldn't pass.

Tobias stepped away from the computers and glanced at me and quickly looked down at his hands, at the necklace in his hands. "Here." He passes it to Christina to help me put it on, still avoiding looking at me. "It'll turn on as soon as you get to the door. If you feel like you're in danger, get out. It doesn't matter how you have to get out, just get out."

I tap my upper thigh. "I've got my escape option ready if I need it." I had a small thigh holster with a thin knife sheathed in it.

The corners of Tobias's lips curl into the semblance of a smile and there's a hint of pride in his eyes when he finally looks at me. "Good. Just be careful, Tris." He pleads and I give him a reassuring smile.

Leaving the hotel, I cross the street to the townhouse and knock on the door. It opens to reveal an older woman, looking to be in her mid-fifties. She has dark hair with gray streaks in it and has on a dark blue wrap dress. She looks me up and down and then steps to the side to let me in. "You're Hope, I presume?"

I nod, trying to come off as small and afraid.

She leads me down the short hallway and into the spacious living room, where there are about ten men, all my father's age, and there are also about thirteen girls. The oldest doesn't look more than seventeen and the youngest…she looks like she's thirteen.

I swallow back vomit as she ushers me into the room and passes me off to a man who looks to be around sixty. His eyes roam up and down my body, pausing on my legs. I resist the urge to kick him in the face.

"Come sit, sweetheart." He purrs, patting the spot next to him on the couch. Biting the insides of my cheeks, I sit on the edge of the couch next to him.

He clasps my knee with his hand and starts to move his hand further up my bare leg. I shift uncomfortably and glance down at my necklace. I really hope the necklace is on because I'm about five seconds away from breaking this guy's wrist.

"Do you want to go somewhere private?" He asks, his lips close enough to my ear that I can feel his hot breath.

I shake my head, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "We're fine here."

There's a loud bang at the front door and I feel a weight lift off my chest. The man's hand continues up my thigh and his fingers brush against the bottom of my skirt.

Grabbing his hand, I yank it off and bend all his fingers backwards. He falls off the couch, falling to his knees as he yells in pain.

The other men in the room stand up, not knowing what to do, and then the door to the living room is kicked open and Tobias is at the head of the group, searching the room for me. He sees me and looks relieved, glances down at the guy still kneeling on the floor clutching his hand and he gives me a proud smile before turning back to the rest of the room. "Chicago PD. Keep your hands visible and do not move. And get your hands off the underage girls."

Moving across the room, Tobias grabs my hand. "You good?" I nod and he gives me his jacket. I give him a smile of thanks before heading outside and hurrying across the street.

Thankfully, none of the press shows up until I'm back at the hotel and I'm thankful for that. It also gives me a sort of sick happiness that the men in that room are going to have their faces plastered all over the news in the next hour.

Christina is still in the hotel room, along with one of the other tech guys. He takes the necklace from me, giddy with happiness that it worked well, and then Christina is handing me my bag of clothes. I thank her and then head into the bathroom.

I can still feel the man's hands on my thigh and my stomach churns. Flashes of the other men touching and kissing and feeling up the younger girls run through my head. My blood starts to boil and what I wouldn't give to be able to hurt those guys for even looking at those girls.

I start to yank off my clothes and just toss them into the trashcan, shoving them down with the heels, and then change into my clothes from earlier.

When I leave the bathroom, the tech guy and all his equipment are gone, and Christina is talking to Tobias. He looks up and his face softens from the glare he had while talking to Christina. "Hey, are you okay?"

He moves to stand in front of me and Christina excuses herself to head back to the station. I nod. "I'm…fine. How are the girls?"

"None of them are hurt, most of them arrived only a few hours before we got here."

Releasing a breath, I nod again. "That's good. We should probably head back to the station, Jeanine's going to want to talk to us."

Tobias grabs my elbow, stopping me from turning around to leave. "Tris…are you okay? And don't bullshit me."

Chewing on my lip, I look at him – at his dark blue eyes that looked at me with so much concern and worry. "That guy got a little handsy, that's all." He continues to stare at me, knowing I'm holding back. "I didn't like seeing those girls there. They're not even eighteen and who knows what they've been through, even before getting here!" My bottom lip starts to tremble and I can feel hot tears falling down my face. "God, I don't even know why I'm crying now. I've seen this before, I've seen worse."

Tobias pulls me into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around me. "You didn't experience it firsthand. You were in there with them and weren't allowed to do anything to stop things from happening."

I bury my face in his chest. God, I'm so glad I kept it together until now. I didn't need anybody else seeing me and thinking I was over emotional.

Fortunately, Tobias didn't say anything or move. He just kept his arms wrapped around me as I calmed down. After a bit, I stepped out of his embrace and went into the bathroom to wash my face with cold water and get rid of the red splotches, and most of the leftover makeup.

"If you tell anybody of me crying, I'll kick your ass." I warn as we leave.

Tobias laughs and shrugs. "If anybody finds out, I'll kick their ass."