NALEDI’S POV
Either Nicolai didn’t care or he thought it was a bluff.
Because he walked right out of the room, leaving me alone with Luka who brimmed with anger. I suddenly felt out of sorts.
“Is that how you do business around here?” I managed to say, but he didn’t give me the time of the day.
“Sit down.” He ordered and within a second, a waiter walked into the office, holding a cup of red wine.
My eyes narrowed when he handed it over to Luka without sparing me a glance. What was that?
When Luka gulped down its contents within one shot, I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me exactly what that was. I caught the amber tint on his eyes before they returned to their normal shade of brown.
I sat down and watched him struggle to regain his senses. “Are you done?” I asked, more like snapped. “I don’t have all day.”
Luka gauged me for a second, and in that second, I felt threatened. It seemed like he was second-guessing his choices and more colourful ideas were springing up in his mind.
I knew a sicko when I saw one.
“I’ll be brief with my explanation.” He started. “But I must warn you, there’s no going back after this.”
I nodded, relaxing on the chair. I got confused when he suddenly sat up and headed towards a wall by the side of the room.
Talk about strange. He touched a brick and to my surprise, a shifting sound revealed a door. Luka beckoned on me to follow and I did just that.
We stepped down into the dark, which illuminated as we walked deeper down the place. Was this what he meant when he said he had it renovated?
My thoughts were distracted by the sound of someone, crying her heart out. The hairs on my skin stood, threatened by everything around me. “What’s down there?”
I managed to ask. “The new trade.”
Luka pushed open the last door, and I was shocked by what I saw. A prison. A full-fledged prison with guards waltzing around like police officers, checking in on the inmates.
That wasn’t all. For some reason, all the occupants were women. Of different sizes and ages. Down to little babies. My heart shook. “What’s going on here?” I stuttered but Luka didn’t spare me a glance.
“Business.” He said softly, looking around with a glee in his eyes. “Much more than the arms business, the women business is much more profitable.”
I fought the urge to puke at his words and listened carefully.
“Some months ago, I figured out the women’s industry was more profitable than I can imagine. The demand on these fickle human women is sometimes baffling and interesting to see.”
We stopped in front of a cage that held a pregnant woman, tied up like an animal, dirty and asleep. “This one was caught in the Netherlands. Fiesty and beautiful. Until she decided to try to run away only to get knocked up by one of my men.” He laughed, “She gave me a whole new idea of business and she didn’t even know it.”
“Now, not only do I export women, I get to have them give me children who will replace them when they are gone.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, looking at Luka, who finally met my gaze.
“This is the trade, love. Creating my badge of women and children, selling them off for valuable profits. Rinse, repeat.” A smirk “I trust you are a smart woman. You don’t need me to spell it out do you?”
A bile lodged in my throat as I nodded, watching my biggest nightmare come to life. “Before we proceed further, we need a moment of truth.”
He pulled out a folded paper from his pockets. “There is a lot more to see but you must understand why I need to know your stance on this before we explore the intricate parts of this business.” His tone turned serious. “Are you in or not?” He asked, watching me closely.
The stakes were clear. I couldn’t walk away. If I did, I was going to become a part of these women. He didn’t need to say the words. Why else did he bring me down here so easily?
It was a threat. A well-disguised threat if you asked me.
The more I remained silent, the more I felt his patience weasel away. Some men drew closer to us, watching our interaction, and no doubt waiting for the green light from Luka to tackle me into a cell.
I’ve lived this nightmare. Heaven forbids I went through it the second time.
“If I do invest in this, what would be my profit share?” I asked and his brows raised, as though never expecting such an answer.
“20 percent?”
I rolled my eyes, “Is that a joke? Fifty. Nothing less than that.”
Luka’s brows corked, and amusement filled his eyes. “I knew there was something different about you love.” His eyes roamed around my body. “I bet we can discuss the details upstairs. Shall we?”
I let my eyes wander to the place around me. Women. Of different races. Imprisoned like a dog and waiting to be sold off to God knows what scum that was willing to pay.
This was the fucking business everyone was pining for a share in. Caellum was spot on. He was a human trafficker. And he had the guts to be proud about it.
I nodded my head to his offer and he led me out of the hole, I didn’t miss his watchful eyes as he led me back to his office. I watched the door close, alongside all his evils. Returning the room to an office.
Luka placed a paper in front of me, “Sixty Forty. Seeing I’m pulling the heavyweight over here, and I fancy you a bit more than I expected, I’ll let you have 40 percent. Non-negotiable.” He said all with a smirk.
“And if I refuse?”
“That would mean no deal.” His eyes fixated on me, “Which begs the question, is it a deal or no deal?”
I didn’t say a word, letting the silence reverberate between us. “I need a knife,” I stated. He seemed confused but did it anyway.
He walked to his desk, turned out a drawer and popped out a dagger. I didn’t want to know why that was there.
Without further ado, I took the knife and slit my thumb open, watching the blood lust he managed to hide take over him. Instead of picking up the pen like any normal human would, I stamped my blood on the paper.
“Anything else?”