"You swore to me that she'd never know. That you were the best. You lied. I don't tolerate liars."
"I didn't lie. I'm telling you, she doesn't know. And I am the best." She blew out a defeated breath and began to pace, tired of having to constantly justify herself and always having to pay for other people's mistakes.
"Then how do you explain the BAU's involvement? Why are they looking into this? Why are they even involved at all?"
"Because that's what they do." She stopped pacing long enough to thrust her hand into her hair, gripping and yanking at the strands, trying desperately to control her anger and frustration. It was a losing battle. With every word that left her lips, her voice began rising in volume and annoyance. "They would have never become involved if your 'shipment' container wasn't found on that raid. The raid I tried to warn you about, but you refused to listen. What did you expect, that the cops would be too stupid to figure out what you were really shipping or that they wouldn't bother calling in the big guns? Of course the BAU would be called in after the DEA opened it up. You had children in there. You can't possibly blame me for that! And if it wasn't for me, you would've never gotten everyone out and hidden before the police got there! Hell if you'd listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't even be having this damn conversation!"
"I suggest you get better control of that smart mouth of yours before I decide I'm no longer a gentleman and take care of it for you. I'm going to say this to you once and once only, so pay very close attention. I don't give a rat's ass why they're here. My point is they are. And now they're not only nosing around, but coming dangerously close to ruining everything I've worked for with their interest. Both their continued presence and the delay of shipment, has my buyer getting very nervous and threatening to back out of our extremely lucrative deal. For your sake, you better hope that doesn't happen. It's your job to take care of the cops and if you don't, I'm going to take care of both you and your precious brat. Permanently. She'd go for a wonderful price on the black market, don't you think?"
She never thought a calm tone of voice could invoke such intense fright, but this one did, and far more effectively than anything she'd ever encountered before. It did because not only was it deceptively calm, but it was also completely devoid of any and all human emotion. Involuntarily, she tightened the hand holding the phone's handset and she unconsciously curled the other into a clenched fist at her side. Digging deep, she pulled out one last ounce of rebellious resolve, determined not to let her fear govern her decisions. Determined to gain back just one ounce of control.
"How do I know you haven't already sold her?" She knew her words were spoken more with false bravado than any real kind of courage, but she had to try just the same. The mere thought of her daughter being sold to the highest bidder had her body trembling with the prospect. A growing fear began flooding her system, overriding and flushing out all previous traces of anger. She clamped her lips tightly together as she internally fought for control of her unruly emotions. And based on what was said next, without a doubt the bastard knew it.
"Simple. You don't."
"Then why should I keep helping you? Let me talk to her. Prove to me she's still alive or I'm done here." Her continued defiance had her expecting an fiery explosion of profound magnitude, but although the responding words were cruel, violent, and savage, they were only second in intensity to the degree of coldness in which they were delivered. Compared to that, the molten heat of reciprocated anger was far more desirable. Instead, the voice she got was a tone filled with pure emotionless ice and it froze her from the inside out faster than a kiss of liquid nitrogen.
"Those are very brave and very stupid words for someone in your, shall we say... delicate situation. Who is it you think you're talking to? You need to learn your place and you better learn it quick, you smart-ass, mouthy little bitch. Let me remind you, you're in absolutely no position to be making demands. ANY demands. I own both you and your snot-nosed brat. And I will continue to own you until the day you die. Your ass belongs to me and I'll do with it as I damn well please, for as long as I please. I make the demands around here, not some know-it-all, cop whore like you. You're less than nothing to me and the only reason either of you are still alive, is because up until now, you've been useful to me. Here, the rules are made by me, not you, so I suggest you stop trying my patience. This is your last warning. Just shut the hell up and start doing as you're told, when you're told, before I start sending your daughter back to you, piece by piece – but not before I've let each and every one of my boys take a crack at her first. I'll even make sure to tape you a copy for your viewing pleasure. Am I making myself clear little girl?"
"Y-yes, yes. Please, oh God please don't hurt her. She's just a little girl and has nothing to do with all this. Please, I'll do whatever you want. I swear I will. Just don't hurt her." She now knew without a doubt that nothing she did would ever gain her or her daughter their freedom. The last remnants of that dream were officially quashed for good. Now her only hope was to keep her daughter safe and unharmed.
"Silly, silly girl. I told you. You'll do what I want you to do and when I want you to do it, whether I hurt her or not. And make no mistake, if you dare defy me again, nothing you can even imagine in your worst nightmares will compare to what I'll do to her for real. The sooner you get that through your head, the better off you'll both be."