Dom had quietly opened the door to room 8, with gun in hand, and saw Kyle in only his slacks facing the bed where the two girls were sitting partially dressed. They saw him enter, but he shook his head vehemently and they looked quickly back at Kyle. Dom crept up behind him and went to put in arm around his neck but his reflection in the window caught Kyle’s attention and he spun around surprised.
“Francois! What is going on?” he shouted.
“Oh nothing, just taking out the trash,” Dom howled as he charged Kyle and slammed him up against the wall by his middle. “Girls, get over by the door,” Dom yelled.
“Are you crazy?” Kyle bellowed.
“Yes, I am,” Dom answered him. “I’m your worst nightmare.”
Kyle’s fists were pounding on Dom’s back. Then Kyle picked up a lamp from the night stand and struck Dom in the head making him stumble. It gave Kyle just enough time to rush toward the dresser and pull out a little .380 pistol and aim it at Dom. Just as Dom’s head was clearing, he could see the girls charging Kyle and knocking him backwards. As he fell Kyle fired his gun. Fearing Kyle was shooting at the girls, Dom discharged his weapon and it was pointed directly at Kyle.
Luther, hearing the gunshots, pulled a gun out of the desk and ran to the stairs where he was met by the waiter blocking his path.
“Who the hell are you?” Luther screamed.
“The cavalry!” the waiter said while striking him in the face making him take a step back. Luther pulled the trigger and the shot grazed the waiter’s arm. The waiter spun around and kicked Luther square in the chest, sending him flying backwards into a table. Candles and hot wax went flying. Luther was momentarily dazed, so the waiter jumped on him, tied his hands together and took the gun.
The bartender burst into room 8 to find Kyle slumped against the wall with a bullet wound in his chest and two girls huddled with Dom on the floor beside the bed.
“You all ok?” he asked with surprise.
“I think so,” answered Dom shakily. “Get dressed girls, were going home.” Just then they heard yelling from the stairs.
“Get out, get out! Everybody out!” It was the waiter yelling. “The boat is on fire. Go, go, go!” he shouted as people were running out of the rooms pulling on clothes and tripping up the stairs.
Dom ran to Bella’s room and pounded on the door while yelling, “Unlock the door, baby, it’s Dad. “Daddy, hurry!” she shrieked as she unlocked the door and he pulled her to the stairs.
“I’m here honey. It’s ok. Girls, come on.” He cried. “There’s a rescue boat that should already be here. Let’s go, hurry.”
Upstairs there were already police officers boarding the vessel and hand-cuffing Luther and the guards. As the other men rushed upstairs they were also hand-cuffed and put on the rescue boat. The candles were setting everything ablaze, so they had to act fast to get everybody off safely. They got all of the servers off and all of the missing girls were put on a separate boat and rushed directly to the hospital for examinations. The boat was starting to sink. Luther told the rescuers what room Kyle was in, so they put the body on a stretcher and transported him to the hospital.
In the command center they could not believe it was all over. They had one officer shot and one criminal wounded, but otherwise went as planned, and no one dead, yet. Plus they had all the video footage they needed to put them all away for a very long time. The men visiting the boat would be charged with solicitation and everyone else who knowingly participated in the trafficking for purposes of forced labor or prostitution could get up to 15 years in prison.
Laura was communicating with the rescue boats and also the precinct. She was letting them know how many arrests would be coming in. She was also giving praises to the undercover officers for a job well done. The waiter would be examined at the hospital, but should make a full recovery.
Sophia jumped up and stated that she was going to the hospital; so Luke, David, and Ava decided to go too. They took separate SUV’s, so they could leave without having to wait for the others. Sophia thought she might like to stay with the girls for a little while. She was curious about some details and wanted to wrap up the investigation too. She was so over joyed that all the missing women were found safely that she cried in the car on the way to the hospital.
Luke comforted her. “You know, we make a pretty good team Ms. Adams,” he said while taking her hand and kissing it across the console in the car.
“Oh, you really think so Mr. Dalton? Because I do too,” Sophia said smiling at him.
“When this all dies down we need to have a serious talk about our future. I have a few ideas.” He told her.
“Ooooooo, I’m intrigued,” she replied. “I can’t wait.”
They got to the hospital and all of the girls were still in exam rooms. The doctor Sophia talked to said they were going to keep them all overnight for observation, but otherwise looked ok. That made them very happy.
Dom was in the waiting room talking to his wife on the phone. Sophia heard him tell her that he would have Bella call as soon as she could.
Ava was calling some of the other family members letting them know their girls were rescued and spending the night in the hospital. She promised them a call back in a few hours with an update.
Kyle was in surgery and it wasn’t looking good. The bullet had hit his lung and they were trying to repair it. Luke was very disturbed about this man that he had known for years being involved in this. He just really wanted to talk to him. Hopefully when Kyle was out of surgery he would get a chance to speak with him…