Beck looked at Amelia and Esther before he spoke. Even though Willie and Demarco sat at the table with them, what Beck had to say, he was going to say to them.
“There are facts I read, but I can’t really comprehend what they actually mean.” Beck paused. “Over two hundred thousand children in this country are being sold for sex. Some as young as twelve or thirteen. Maybe younger. Children. Drugged. Raped. Beaten. Murdered.
“I can’t understand how that happens. Not even to one kid, much less hundreds of thousands. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be a twelve-year-old girl and have that happen to you.” Beck paused and looked at Amelia and Esther. “I think, perhaps, you two can imagine that. But I can’t.” Beck paused again. “But there is one thing I do understand.” Beck punched a knuckle onto the dining-room table, hitting the table with more force with each sentence.
“I understand how it feels when scum like Juju Jackson and Whitey Bondurant, and their pimp underlings like Derrick and Jerome Watkins believe they have the right to terrify and brutalize people. I understand that because I spent eight years surrounded by dehumanized men like them who thought they had the right to brutalize me. To stab me. Or beat me. Terrify me. Kill me.” Beck pointed and said, “Everyone at this table knows how that feels.
“And I know one more thing. I know those murderers have to be stopped.” Beck leaned forward. “Eric Jackson and Bondurant might rule their own horrifying little worlds, but they do not rule your world, or mine. Not anymore. I’m going to stop them. I’m going to make sure they never harm you, or anyone, ever again. And I’m going to make them pay.”
Beck leaned back.
Amelia asked, “How, Mr. Beck?”
“With your help. Every one of us will have to step into harm’s way. Particularly you, Amelia, and you, Esther.”
Beck nodded toward Demarco and Willie Reese. “We’ll do everything we can to protect you. But I can’t guarantee you’ll come out unharmed. I believe we can take them down. But not without you two. So I have to ask—will you help me?”