Damn. Damn. Damn. Doing his job had never been so hard before.
Hunt dragged both hands through his hair,
cursing under his breath. He could just walk away. Get up and leave the suite
without looking back. Couldn’t he? It wasn’t like he owed Carley anything, and
he had a job to do, one that didn’t involve a clever thief. So even if she
didn’t understand why he was leaving, it wouldn’t matter.
But it did matter. Even as the
thought of leaving slipped into his mind, he pushed it out. Carley wasn’t the
type of woman to give up, she’d keep looking with or without him. And without
him, she just might end up getting herself killed.
There was really no way to soften the blow
of his next words. He doubted Carley would want the truth sugarcoated anyway.
“People will do just about anything when they’re being tortured.”
The blood drained from her face but her
lips set in a grim line. She didn’t break down. Not that Hunt expected her to.
Her strength had been apparent the moment he’d seen her standing in his
bedroom. Carley had a mission and brutal honesty wouldn’t make her run.
“So Dani wasn’t really kidnapped because of
my or my father’s money. She was a random victim?”
“No. These guys don’t do random. More than
likely they’ve been watching her for some time. They tend to focus on younger
women who have no obvious family support in town.”
“But Dani and I talk every day. She has
family support.” Her hands shook as she scrubbed them over her face. “I’ve
always been here for her. Only a phone call away.”
“They made a mistake taking her but they
won’t rectify it by returning her.”
She pushed herself to her feet. “This can’t
be true. Dani is a schoolteacher. She reads to kids at the library on weekends,
volunteers at an animal shelter. There’s no reason for her to be kidnapped
other than money. These guys had to have known who she is.”
Hunt got to his feet to stand beside her.
“No, they didn’t. They couldn’t care less about any money you could give them.
They can make a hell of a lot more with Dani than without her.”
More tears filled Carley’s eyes. “What are
you saying? Are they going to prostitute her?”
He couldn’t look away now, he was all-in.
“No. It’s much worse than that.”
“Oh my God. Are you trying not to tell me
that my sister is going to be sold?”
Shit. He’d rather take a bullet than tell
her the truth but there was no way to soften the blow. “More than likely, she
already has. That’s why you got the call about the key. If they discover the
victim has family, one of the men will call and give a family member
forty-eight hours to come up with something obscure. That gives them plenty of
time to—” He broke off and watched Carley brush away the tears with the backs
of her knuckles while her jaw clenched.
“To what? Complete the sale? What?” She
whirled on him, her eyes blazing. “Tell me, damn you! Tell me what they’ve done
to my sister.” As the last word left her lips, Carley cracked, doubling over
with her grief.
The sobs breaking from her body stabbed
Hunt in the heart. He’d never heard a woman in so much pain. He wanted to reach
out to her, take her in his arms and promise her everything would be all right.
But it would only be a lie. He could give her nothing, not even the knowledge
that her sister was still alive.
Raw memories tormented him while Carley
sobbed in the background. Vivid images of another woman’s dead body, a woman
they’d tried to save, rolled through his mind like a horror reel. All it had
taken was one wrong move by a green agent, something that to the ordinary eye
would appear innocuous. But Franklin or whoever was behind the trafficking had
gotten nervous and they’d sliced the woman’s throat, leaving her to die on the
side of the road like a piece of garbage.
“Do you know how many women they’ve taken?”
Carley’s voice, still thick with tears, reached through his wall of
Hunt dragged both hands through his hair,
cursing under his breath. He could just walk away. Get up and leave the suite
without looking back. Couldn’t he? It wasn’t like he owed Carley anything, and
he had a job to do, one that didn’t involve a clever thief. So even if she
didn’t understand why he was leaving, it wouldn’t matter.
But it did matter. Even as the
thought of leaving slipped into his mind, he pushed it out. Carley wasn’t the
type of woman to give up, she’d keep looking with or without him. And without
him, she just might end up getting herself killed.
There was really no way to soften the blow
of his next words. He doubted Carley would want the truth sugarcoated anyway.
“People will do just about anything when they’re being tortured.”
The blood drained from her face but her
lips set in a grim line. She didn’t break down. Not that Hunt expected her to.
Her strength had been apparent the moment he’d seen her standing in his
bedroom. Carley had a mission and brutal honesty wouldn’t make her run.
“So Dani wasn’t really kidnapped because of
my or my father’s money. She was a random victim?”
“No. These guys don’t do random. More than
likely they’ve been watching her for some time. They tend to focus on younger
women who have no obvious family support in town.”
“But Dani and I talk every day. She has
family support.” Her hands shook as she scrubbed them over her face. “I’ve
always been here for her. Only a phone call away.”
“They made a mistake taking her but they
won’t rectify it by returning her.”
She pushed herself to her feet. “This can’t
be true. Dani is a schoolteacher. She reads to kids at the library on weekends,
volunteers at an animal shelter. There’s no reason for her to be kidnapped
other than money. These guys had to have known who she is.”
Hunt got to his feet to stand beside her.
“No, they didn’t. They couldn’t care less about any money you could give them.
They can make a hell of a lot more with Dani than without her.”
More tears filled Carley’s eyes. “What are
you saying? Are they going to prostitute her?”
He couldn’t look away now, he was all-in.
“No. It’s much worse than that.”
“Oh my God. Are you trying not to tell me
that my sister is going to be sold?”
Shit. He’d rather take a bullet than tell
her the truth but there was no way to soften the blow. “More than likely, she
already has. That’s why you got the call about the key. If they discover the
victim has family, one of the men will call and give a family member
forty-eight hours to come up with something obscure. That gives them plenty of
time to—” He broke off and watched Carley brush away the tears with the backs
of her knuckles while her jaw clenched.
“To what? Complete the sale? What?” She
whirled on him, her eyes blazing. “Tell me, damn you! Tell me what they’ve done
to my sister.” As the last word left her lips, Carley cracked, doubling over
with her grief.
The sobs breaking from her body stabbed
Hunt in the heart. He’d never heard a woman in so much pain. He wanted to reach
out to her, take her in his arms and promise her everything would be all right.
But it would only be a lie. He could give her nothing, not even the knowledge
that her sister was still alive.
Raw memories tormented him while Carley
sobbed in the background. Vivid images of another woman’s dead body, a woman
they’d tried to save, rolled through his mind like a horror reel. All it had
taken was one wrong move by a green agent, something that to the ordinary eye
would appear innocuous. But Franklin or whoever was behind the trafficking had
gotten nervous and they’d sliced the woman’s throat, leaving her to die on the
side of the road like a piece of garbage.
“Do you know how many women they’ve taken?”
Carley’s voice, still thick with tears, reached through his wall of
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