Colby's POV

I couldn't stop thinking about what Max had said at the party last night. I was torn because I wanted to stop at nothing until I found this 'cherry house'.

If Julia really was there, I wanted to get her away from that sort of thing but I knew I couldn't just show up.

That's exactly what they wanted.

Julia knew I couldn't come after her. I had made it very clear but this whole situation was getting fishier by the minute.

"Why are we here?" Sam asked as he and Jeremy sat across from me. "Have either of you heard of the cherry house?" I asked and leaned back in my chair.

"No..." Sam said with confusion as Jeremy nodded.

"It's a brothel on the west side. Super popular but also extremely exclusive. Why?" Jeremy asked as I sighed.

"According to Max, Julia is there." I said as Sam's eyes widened. "How can she be there and in Spokane?" He asked as I nodded. "Exactly." I said with a sigh.

"We need to scope it out to see if Max is lying." I said and looked at Jeremy.

"Why would he be lying?" Sam asked and raised his brows. "He's a weasel. He loves stirring shit up so it could be a trap." I said as he nodded.

"Have you been to this place?" I asked as he shook his head. "No, I don't typically partake in sex trafficking." Jeremy said as I nodded.

"So you don't know where it is?" I asked as he shook his head.

"We'll have to scope out then. Are the guys still in town?" I asked Sam. "Yeah, do you want their help?" He asked and pulled his phone out.

"I honestly don't know what we're dealing with here. I said with a sigh then put my head in my hands.

"Have you tried to get in contact with Max?" Sam asked as I nodded. "I asked him to tell me where it was and he said he couldn't." I explained.

"What about Will?" Jeremy asked as I hummed. "Good idea. He's been around a lot longer than we have." I said then picked up my phone to call him.

"Where is he?" I asked as the phone rang for a while. "Probably hungover." Jeremy said as I pursed my lips.

"He's not invited to any more parties if he can't answer the damn phone the morning after." I said harshly as his phone went to voicemail.

"Call me immediately after you hear this." I threatened then hung up the phone.

"So...should I invite the guys here?" Sam asked awkwardly.

"No, my apartment. I don't want too many people down here." I said then stood up. "See what you can find out, report back to me." I said to Jeremy.

I knew it was stupid to fall into the trap that was trying to rescue Julia, but I wasn't to that step yet.

I needed to get more information and make sure Max wasn't lying to me.

Even when I did find out the truth, if Julia was there I don't know how I would navigate the situation.

These people were smart and very calculated, they would see me coming before I even got there and they would kill me before I could even think about getting to Julia.

I of course needed to be steps ahead but once again was behind.

"Let's go." I mumbled then stood up. "Get back to work." I said to Jeremy then gestured for him to get out of the room.

"Yes, sir." Jeremy said then left the room. "What's going on it your head?" Sam asked as I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about any of this while being at base.

I had been through this sort of thing before and I knew not to trust everyone even if they were in my gang.

I wasn't the most well liked person in the world but I especially wasn't the most liked person in Seattle.

The fact that I got so comfortable showing my feelings towards Julia was a mistake and it was going to haunt me now.

She was achilles heal and I was about to get shot by an arrow.

When we got into the elevator I looked over at Sam. "We'll talk more at my apartment. The girls can come, too. I don't know if I said that." I hummed as he nodded.

"You didn't but they were coming anyways. If those people are snatching up girls, I don't want them being alone." Sam said as I nodded.

It made me feel sick to my stomach that Julia was probably with those people.

I knew Adam had taken advantage of her a couple of times and that fact made me want to kill him.

This was a whole new level of anger.

All I could hope for was that Max was a liar.

When Sam and I got to my place we waited for the others to come. There was tension and stress in the air since I was so on edge.

"They're here. I'll go get them." Sam said as I nodded.

"Sounds good." I mumbled then scrubbed my face with my hands. As soon as the door closed, my phone started ringing.

I groaned and answered it. "Will." I grumbled as he chuckled.

"Sorry, boss. Had a little too much to drink last night." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"You need to work on that. You're a grown ass man, you won't be allowed to drink if you can't fucking handle it." I said then leaned back into the couch.

"Sorry, sir. What's going on?" He asked with a serious tone.

As much as I was annoyed by his actions, I appreciated that he was quick to get back to being professional.

"Do you know anything about the cherry house?" I asked with a sigh. "Heard of it. Biggest brothel in the city." He said as I hummed.

"Do you know where it is?" I asked and twisted my helix piercing nervously.

"No, I've never been there. It's pretty elusive as far as I know." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"Okay. That's all I needed. Get back to work and seriously figure out your drinking issues." I said as the door opened.

"Alright, boss. Will do." He said then hung up. "Hey, brother." Jake said as everyone came into the apartment.

"Hey." I mumbled, causing Stas to laugh. "Someone is Mr. Grumpy." She said as I rolled my eyes. "Fuck off." I said and sighed.

"He's sad because Julia came to her senses." Tara said as they all settled in. "I would stop if I was you." Sam said nervously.

"Why? She's a boss ass bitch that pulled the ultimate uno reverse on his ass?" She continued as anger swelled inside of me.

"Fuck off or I'll make sure you end up in the exact same place she's at right now." I snapped angrily.

I didn't want to blow up on her because she was Jake's girlfriend but she needed to be put in her place.

"Dude..." Sam said as everyone's faces shifted to confused stares. "What's going on?" Nate asked, breaking the silence.

"Max told me last night that he saw Julia at a popular brothel here. He could be blowing smoke up my ass but we need to find this place and see for ourselves." I said as Kat gasped.

"Is that why you don't want us being alone?" She asked Sam. "Yeah." He said simply then looked at me.

"Will got back to me. He also doesn't know where this place is. I obviously can't go around town looking for it." I said then looked at Jake, Corey, and Nate.

"That's where you guys come into this." I said causing Nate to grin.

"I get to be a part of the action?" He asked as I nodded. "To be honest, you may be the most important part of all of this." I said then looked at Sam.

"If Adam is behind this then they know who you are and they probably know you two as well." I said then pointed to Jake and Corey.

"Nate is going to have to carry this search on his back." I said then looked at Nate.

"Are you down for the task?" I asked as he nodded. "I'm more than ready, brother." He said with a laugh.

Nate was typically the guy who was in charge of medicine or even tech stuff. He wasn't typically in the action which was perfect for this situation.

If we found this place, Nate would be more likely to get in than anyone else.

It wasn't guaranteed but it was our best option.

Part of me wanted to include someone from my own gang as well, since they knew the area. I just didn't know who to trust or what to do in this situation.

I felt stuck but I owed it to Julia to at least try.

Even if it was dangerous, I would risk my life for her.