I woke with a start to the sound of Ranger's phone ringing.
"Report," he said with a gruff, sleepy voice.
I strained to hear what was being said but heard nothing as Ranger listened intently.
"Bring her here," Ranger replied, then disconnected.
"What's up?" I asked, stretching my arms above my head.
"Elena Avalos wants to see you," Ranger said, pushing up to a sitting position. "Hector is bringing her in."
"Seriously?" I asked, my tone disclosing my disbelief. "Did we re-bond her? Is she FTA?"
Ranger nodded.
"She hasn't missed her court date. Hector encountered her looking for Fitch. She said she wants to talk to you.
Avalos was sitting at the fifth-floor conference room table with Hector and Lester when Ranger escorted me into the space. She was wearing jeans and an oversized grey sweatshirt, the sleeves pushed above her elbows. Her eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and she looked strung out with track marks covering her forearms and dark circles beneath her eyes. She looked thinner than I remembered as she trembled with nervous energy.
I felt my anxiety ramp up as I recalled seeing Avalos at the Handlebar the night I'd been drugged and kidnapped. I touched my arms and neck with my fingers, recalling the track marks that had once been there. I took a step back, bumping into Ranger. He wrapped his arm around me, placing a hand over my abdomen.
"Have a seat," he said reassuringly.
He eased me forward and pulled out a chair, which I slid into hesitantly. Ranger sat beside me.
"Ms. Avalos," Ranger greeted politely. "What can we do for you today?"
"I wanna talk to her," Elena responded, gesturing to me.
"So talk," Ranger said, crossing his arms.
"Alone," she said, furrowing her brows.
Ranger glanced to me for approval, and I didn't give it. I reached over and took his hand, swallowing hard.
"You want me, you get him too," I responded. "What's up, Avalos?"
She scowled in response.
"I have information," she said, leaning forward in her chair.
"Great. Let's hear it," I said.
"What's in it for me?" she asked coldly.
I raised a brow.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Help," she said dryly.
"What kind of help?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
"I don't wanna sell myself for them anymore-work for them. And I want off the white stuff."
Her response wasn't what I'd expected, and it caught me flat-footed.
"You give us the right information, Ms. Avalos, and help is yours," Ranger said, his voice kind.
"You swear?" she said, staring him dead in the eye.
"You have my word, Ms. Avalos. What did you come here to tell us?"
Avalos sat back in her seat, and Hector and Lester excused themselves.
"I came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico in my teens," she began. "My parents left us behind and settled in Vegas , and once they were established, my aunt and uncle sent my younger brothers and I to join them. Things were great, and I had the chance to go to college," she explained with a humorless laugh. "I'd been at the university a month when I was drugged at a party and brought into this hell."
Ranger nodded his understanding, looking uncharacteristically sympathetic.
"I fought them at first, but it was no use. They overpowered me, and they kept me quiet and compliant with drugs and death threats. I wished for death sometimes, but then I'd crave the drugs. They gave me more freedom 'n drugs when I did what they asked, so I did," she sighed, shrugging. "Made it easy for me to spread my legs. Then last year, they had me apply for the job at the bar. In return for helping them bring in 'new recruits,'" she air-quoted, "I could enjoy the luxury of having an apartment of my own. Some freedom. Sure, I still had to do their dirty deeds, but it was something. It was a life."
I cringed at her tale, but I had mixed emotions. She'd been the unfortunate victim, but she'd also created numerous over victims of the same fate. My stomach churned with nausea.
"I was satisfied with the state of things. Until I met Richard, that is."
We all sat quietly, an expectant silence sitting between us. Avalos took a ragged breath and continued, her voice growing thick with unchecked emotion.
"G introduced me to Dickie—said he was a new guy at the firm, and I should show him a good time."
"G?" I asked.
"Gerwin Fitch," she clarified. "Anyways, Dickie was different. He paid me mind. He seemed to care about me. He figured out that something was off at the firm, and I eventually spilled the tea. He was furious with Fitch but had spent an enormous sum to become partner at the firm. He was determined to shut down Fitch and Rhoads, but quietly so as not to disrupt his career."
"That's why he became an informant," Ranger said.
"Correct," Avalos said, scratching at her arm.
"Can I get you anything?" Ranger asked politely. "Water? A sandwich?"
"I'm fine," she said. "I just wanna get this over and get the fuck outta Trenton."
Ranger nodded his understanding.
"Things were going fine 'til the fed started closing in on Fitch and Rhoads. It became clear they were getting information from somewhere, and Rhoads figured out it had to be Dickie. They got him booked on some bogus charges to try to shut him up, and I think he realized he was in over his head. It was all a set-up. He went MIA when he shoulda asked for protection. We were… involved," she said sadly. "I think he stuck around for me, and that was his death sentence."
"You can't blame yourself," I said quietly. "He was informed participant. He had to understand the risk."
A tear rolled down her cheek, and Avalos sucked in air.
"He wanted to get us out, but they killed him before he could," she warbled, her voice breaking.
"Us?" I asked, confused.
"I'm four months pregnant," Avalos said, her jaw quivering with unchecked emotion.
My heart pounded in my chest. She was pregnant too?
"It's Dickie's?" I asked, stunned.
She nodded, and I fell into silence.
The door opened behind us, and Ella entered with a box of tissues, some bottles of water, and a few sodas. She set them on the table and gave Ranger a nod of acknowledgment before leaving as quietly as she'd come. Ranger opened a water and extended it to Avalos, who took it and sipped at it.
"I've gotta get out of Jersey and get clean. This baby deserves better than a druggie whore mother," she sobbed. "Dickie was working on getting me a fake ID and passport so I could get the fuck outta here."
"We can get you out of here and meet your needs, but it's likely you'll face charges when this blows up," Ranger said seriously. "If you are willing to work with the FBI to help them build their case, you may be able to get a plea deal for your cooperation."
Avalos rubbed her arms uncomfortably.
"I don't trust them," she sputtered.
"And you trust us?" I asked, disbelieving.
"Dickie did," she replied with a shrug.
"Dickie trusted me?" I asked, confused.
She nodded. "He said you had connections, and if anything went wrong, to call you. Said you were a good person. Programmed 'Stephanie' in my phone and everything. That's why I was so surprised when you said you used to be his old lady when you hauled me to the clink. Didn't know you was the bail bond lady too."
I worried my lip between my teeth, feeling at a total loss for words.
"I asked the guys who brought me here to do it in cuffs. I wanted them to think I was being brought in on a bond violation, so Rhoads and Fitch don't think somethin' is up," she said, rubbing her wrists as if remembering. "If they find out I spilled my guts, I'm as good as dead."
"I think we need to work with the FBI, Elena," I admitted softly. "If Ranger can keep you safe, can we bring in the FBI?"
Avalos looked nervous, her eyes darting around the room.
"We can get you back to your family. Get you in a program to get you clean. Protect your body. But the FBI can shut this trafficking ring down," Ranger said. "They'll be on the streets doing the same thing to other women until the plug is pulled."
"I don't know," she admitted angrily. "I need a fix. I can't think straight." She wound her fingers in her hair and rubbed her scalp.
"Do you know where Fitch and Rhoads are?" Ranger asked, his tone firm.
She nodded, and his lips pursed.
I stood and went around the table, Ranger eyeing me curiously.
"You have to do this, for you and the baby," I said quietly, rubbing her back. "You both deserve a future. Dickie made one possible for you. Take it."
Elena nodded consent, continuing to look down and rocking back and forth. Ranger whipped his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed, raising the phone to his ear before leaving the room. Lester entered the room quietly and stood at the door stoically.
Avalos and I sat in awkward silence for what seemed like hours but could have only been ten minutes, my hands rubbing her back and her head buried in her hands. I wanted to hate her for what she had done, but she seemed so broken from the trauma she'd experienced that it was hard to remain angry.
Ranger entered the room holding a mobile phone, an envelope, and a bag. He was flanked by Ramon and Hector.
"It's been arranged," Ranger said quietly. "A representative from the FBI will be here shortly to talk with you. Hector and Ramon will escort you out of state, and they will remain with you for your protection. Would you like to return to Vegas?"
Avalos looked at Ranger as if disbelieving.
"Why would my family want anything to do with me?" she asked humorlessly.
"Of course your family will want you. This was done to you, Elena," I said, patting her shoulder. "It's not your fault. I bet they've never stopped looking for you. Have you ever tried to contact them?"
She shook her head no.
Ranger lay the phone in front of her.
"This is yours," Ranger said. "It's a new number—not a New Jersey number. It has no ties to you. You'll need to leave your old phone with the FBI, but you can use this to connect with your family. To connect with Stephanie or me, if necessary."
And Ranger will track your every move with it, I thought humorlessly to myself.
Avalos pulled her phone from her pocket and set it on the table, clearly having no regrets about parting ways with it. Hector took it and left the room without a word. I knew Ranger felt motivated to find Fitch, so I imagined Hector had been instructed to glean whatever information might be of use before the FBI put it under lock and key permanently.
"This bag has two changes of clothes in it plus toiletries you may need. This envelope has several hundred dollars in cash," he said, placing it on the table. "Call your family. Let them know you're alive. We'll arrange a flight to get you there if that's where you choose to go. Or we can find a treatment facility elsewhere. It's up to you."
She stared at the phone for a long moment before reaching for it. She swiped it unlocked and dialed ten familiar digits. She paused for a long moment before finally pressing the green call button. She lifted the phone to her ear cautiously and listened, her jaw trembling. Instantly, her expression changed to one of surprise.
"Mamá?" she asked.
After a pause, she began speaking rapidly in Spanish. She burst into sobs, but her body language showed palpable relief.
"Shall we?" Ranger asked, gesturing toward the door.
I hesitated.
"You can connect with her before she leaves," Ranger said quietly. "The FBI will talk to her as long as she can handle it. It may be a few days before she can leave the state by the time they get the information they need, and I don't know how much she'll be able to handle this strung out."
I gritted my teeth, recalling how horrible withdrawal felt.
"I'm sending in Ximena to see if she can get her some relief and to keep her coherent for a while," Ranger said, sliding my chair away from the table.
Elena's eyes connected with mine, and I gave her a tight-lipped smile. She gave me a wide, hopeful smile in response, tears sliding down her cheeks. I gave her a small wave, and Ranger and I departed for the seventh floor.
Ranger broke the silence as we rode in the elevator.
"I can hear wheels turning, Babe."
I stared at him.
"She's the reason I'm his beneficiary," I said.
Ranger tipped his head, thinking.
"Would you trust a drug addict with two million dollars?" I asked him.
"She wouldn't have been pregnant when he changed his documentation," Ranger said, his tone thoughtful.
"No, but he would have known her then. Loved her, even. He realized the situation he was putting himself in by being an informant, and he wanted her out whether he was dead or alive. Why else would he have given her my number AND made me his beneficiary? The money sure as hell wasn't for me."
Surprise bloomed on Ranger's face, and he rustled my hair with his hand as the elevator doors opened.
"You're a good person, and your ex-husband knew it."
I walked into the foyer, letting that information roll around in my brain
"I'm proud of you, Babe."