Homeless

Chapter 31

I did not bring up the issue with Mark, and he didn't mention it to me. His conversation with Nathaniel seemed to have satisfied him, because he was acting normally again around us.

I would have to talk to Dr. Shields. She would give me advice on how to deal with matters if the subject was brought up again.

Nathaniel, on the other hand, seemed very giddy for the rest of the day. Dealing with Mark's awkward interruption had put his mind at ease, apparently.

I didn't tell him I'd eavesdropped on his conversation with Mark. I still didn't know how to deal with it. Was Nathaniel serious? Of course he was. He wouldn't lie to Mark.

He loved me. He wanted to marry me.

The thought made my heart soar and my stomach dip at the same time. Dwelling on it would've turned me insane, except I was saved from that by the House.

Our plan was going smoothly. The compound was raided that very day, and the public attention was only growing. The case was now an international sensation that exploded over social media.

A few dozen people had been arrested in the raid, and the Dispensables were all escorted to a hospital where they would be checked out, then they would be settled in a facility to receive help. An association had offered to take care of them until everything settled down, offering them psychiatric help and rehab when needed.

Claire was an active member of that association, and she kept a discreet eye on the Dispensables, even hiring Chris' private security force, to keep them safe until the dust from the case settled down.

Chris and Nathaniel did not just laze around and watch this proceed, however. Nathaniel was more busy than he'd been in the days leading up to infiltrating the House. He took time off work, got up at sunrise, left after having breakfast, and didn't return until late in the evening.

"We need to make sure no one kills the case," Chris said one day two weeks later, after he came in with Nathaniel. They were sitting at the dining table, nursing coffee and fresh cookies I'd baked earlier in the day.

"Can they?" I asked, warming my palms around my own mug.

"Anything is possible," Chris said. "But we'll make sure no one gets away with it. Fortunately, the case was taken over by the FBI because of its links to organized crime and human trafficking, so there's less of a chance the police will bury it."

"Assuming no one in the FBI is involved," I said.

"Yes, but I know some of the agents on the case," Chris said. "I wouldn't personally vouch for them, but they're decent family men. But then again, no one really knows."

"Last we heard, the guards there are all under arrest under charges of prostitution-related crimes, kidnapping and false imprisonment," Nathaniel said. "The Dispensables were happy to testify- well, most of them."

"What about the management?" I asked. I had never actually seen the person or people at the very top of the House. Or maybe I'd seen them and I didn't know they were the ones in charge.

"That's the thing," Chris said with a frown. "Not all the guards were arrested in the raid. Right now, those arrested all insist that the management only dealt with specific guards."

"Ones who weren't arrested," Nathaniel said, his tone dripping sarcasm, "conveniently."

"They're afraid, I guess. Assuming they're lying," Chris said. "But it's only the beginning. Right now, more people are being dragged into this mess as the days go on. I believe it's only a matter of time before the whole thing crumbles down."