The men found two open seats next to one another at the stage. Their location allowed for a good vantage point for the bar and the room, as well as the stairway that led to what the signage identified as the Underground Club.
The lights were kept low, with most of the lighting directed to the dancer. At the moment, she was moving suggestively up and down on a pole positioned in the middle of the stage. Half a dozen women were working the tables and bar area. Within fifteen seconds of their being seated, a server approached them. Her outfit concealed very little, but did allow for a name tag that identified her as Oksana. She ran her hands up and down each of their arms.
“Strong, sexy men. Buy Oksana a stiff, stiff drink?”
“Hello, gorgeous,” Michael said. “As pretty as you are, I’m afraid we’ve got to disappoint you. The last time we were in here we promised Karina that we’d let her take care of us. So be a darling, and go tell her that Mickey D and the Dude are here.”
For a moment, Oksana’s false smile vanished, and perhaps a touch of uneasiness showed itself. Then again, with the amount of makeup she was wearing, Michael didn’t have the easiest time reading her expression. Most clowns weren’t as generous in their application of ruby-red lipstick as was Oksana.
The world can be a bad place. This story really colorfully illustrates the underbelly some young girls experience when they think they’re chasing their dreams.
Official synopsis:
Deke’s target this time is Welcome Mat Hospitality, a firm known for its truck stops and lodging throughout the United States. What Welcome Mat doesn’t advertise is the human trafficking—for sex work and slave labor—going on at many of its properties. For the sake of better profits, Welcome Mat’s ownership has turned a blind eye to this lucrative enterprise.
As invested as Deke is in the case, though, it takes on even greater urgency when the past comes calling with word that his fifteen-year-old goddaughter, Lily Reyes, is missing. When Deke learns that Lily has fallen prey to a notorious trafficker, his personal and professional worlds converge. For his goddaughter to survive, Deke must prevail not only in the legal arena but outside of it.
The legal thrillers by this author are truly stunning. The first chapter made the characters and the story completely compelling, and it was hard to put the book down. In the first couple pages, Lily thinks she’s being stalked. While the situation wasn’t what she originally thought, her relief is short-lived.
Once Karina is introduced, we hope we may have found our underdog. All the girls inspired hope, as they tried so hard to make the most of a horrible situation, and possibly get out with their lives. Unfortunately, as the story was meant to mimic real human trafficking, there were a lot more losers than winners.
Overall, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. While it included characters who were mentioned in previous books by the author, their introduction was adequate to understand who they were without their entire backstory. I’d recommend this to those who enjoy legal thrillers and stories that raise serious emotions about tragic social issues.
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Becki Bayley is a reader, a [letter] writer, and a mom. While these things take about 27 hours/day, she tries to post a few times a week to her blog at SweetlyBSquared.com.
GIVEAWAY:
One of my lucky readers will win a copy of Inhuman Trafficking!
Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Monday, January 17th, at 11:59pm EST, and the winner will be notified via email the next day, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.
U.S. residents only, please.
Good luck!
Inhuman Trafficking, by Mike Papantonio
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