Page 87 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

Noah leaned in to get a better look. “Do we know what the money’s for?”

“Horses.” Evan scratched his head, looking bewildered.

Beside him, Abasi pulled out his phone and wandered off.

“What do you mean, horses?” Noah asked their tech.

“That’s what it says.” He pointed at the screen. “This payment was held back in January. The notation beside it says it’s for twelve unbroken Arabians to be delivered by the end of the month. Then here”—he ran his fingertip down the screen—”the funds were released at the end of January. Which means the horses must have been delivered.”

Noah frowned. “Six million for twelve horses? What’s the going rate for an Arabian?”

Evan brought up a search engine and typed in the question. “Says here that a rare, highly sought-after Arabian can go for as much as 150k. But they usually sell for about the fifteen to thirty thousand mark.”

“So, these ones are selling way over market value, if they’re paying six million for twelve. Are there more entries for other sales?”

Again, Evan tapped on his keyboard. “Last October, there was an order for fifteen horses, a mix of European breeds. Theywanted these ones trained. And then in November, the money goes out for delivery of the horses.”

“Anything more recent?” A nasty tingling sensation grew in the back of Noah’s mind.

“Aye, this month, somebody wanted twenty-one American Quarter Horses, trained and of breeding age.”

A chill ran up Noah’s spine.

“How much was in the account for this purchase?”

“Two point one million.”

Noah felt sick to his stomach. “They aren’t buying horses.”

“No.” Abasi came up to stand beside him. “They aren’t. I just got off the phone with one of my contacts. They’re buying women.”

Katrina leaped up from where she’d been working close to Annabelle and ran from the room. Noah heard the bathroom door slam behind her. Harris followed, and when he returned, he looked worried.

“I think she ate something bad,” he said.

“Oh no,” Annabelle said. “I’ll go see if she’s okay.” She got up and rushed out of the room.

Noah nodded at Harris.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” he said, following their client.

Noah looked at Abasi and saw that he, too, realized exactly why Katrina had run. And it had nothing to do with the pizza.

“What else did your contact say?” Noah asked.

“That you can make a shit ton in human trafficking if you have the right product and the right clientele.”

“People, not products,” Rochelle corrected evenly. “Women, in this case.”

Abasi nodded somberly. “He also said that there isn’t a whole lot of trust in the business. Used to be it was money on delivery, but the guys picking up the women were being stiffed onpayment and wanted some security. Hence, accounts like this. They aren’t common, but they’re out there.”

“Administered by a third party?” Noah said.

“A broker,” Abasi agreed.

“Who deposited the money into that account?” Noah asked Evan.

He jerked a thumb at Rodrigo, who was on a computer beside him. “He’s working on it. All we know right now is that the account was set up for the Demon Brothers. All funds are released into their normal accounts.” He swallowed hard. “You really think they’re talking about people and not horses?”