Hideaway at Hawk's Landing

by Rita Herron

  DiSanti wanted her to lose the feds. Did that mean he was watching her to see if she complied?

  She glanced around the hospital, suddenly suspicious that one of the staff or maybe one of the people in the waiting room—there was a big guy in a hoodie—might be on DiSanti’s payroll. He could have planted someone to follow her.

  The doctor on call, a man named Dr. Hembry, approached her. “Dr. Manchester, I came to give you an update. The two girls who regained consciousness are physically going to be fine. But they’re scared to death.”

  Mila gestured toward Charlotte. “This is Charlotte Reacher Hawk, the wife of the federal agent you were talking to. He told you she could help.”

  “That’s right, you’re the therapist.” He shook Charlotte’s hand. “At this point, having a kind face, especially a woman’s, will go a long way.”

  “Then I can see them?” Charlotte asked.

  Dr. Hembry nodded. “We thought it might help if we put the girls in the same room,” Dr. Hembry said.

  He led the two of them to an ER room, and they slipped inside.

  Mila took one look at the two young girls, and hated DiSanti more than ever. The battered teens looked lost and terrified and small in the hospital beds.

  She and Charlotte approached slowly, and Mila explained that she was with the federal agent who’d rescued them.

  Charlotte introduced herself, then Mila did the same.

  She offered them a sympathetic smile. “I understand you’ve both been through a frightening ordeal, and we want to help you.”

  Charlotte scooted a chair between the beds, so she could face both girls. “I’m here for whatever you need,” she said softly. “I know some other girls who were abducted by the same man who took you. We rescued them last year, and they’re safe now. So are you.”

  The girls traded wary looks, both limp from the drugs and their ordeal.

  “You can start by telling us your names,” Charlotte said. “Also, tell us if you have family or a friend that you want us to call.”

  Unfortunately, the girls had no one to call just as Keenan hadn’t. Perfect targets for DiSanti’s people.

  She and Charlotte spent the next hour soothing the girls and coaxing them to open up. Anita Robinson was fourteen, from El Paso and had run away from home after her mother died. Left with a stepfather who abused her, she took to the streets. She had no idea how long she’d been held hostage and had no family to call. But she’d ended up at a group home called Happy Trails.

  Frannie Fenter was thirteen. She was kidnapped outside the group home where she was living. The same group home, Happy Trails, a ranch that supposedly helped orphans as the Hawks were doing.

  Was the home legit or part of the Shetland operation?

  * * *

  IZZY CURLED UP with the raggedy blanket the big girl had given her. She was cold, hungry and scared. She wanted her mommy bad.

  Tears ran down her face, but she pressed her fist to her mouth so she wouldn’t cry out loud.

  Jade, the girl who’d let her sleep with her the night before, rubbed her arm and shushed her.

  She tried not to cry. But she couldn’t help it. She wanted her mommy. She missed her and Roberta and Brownie and her pretty bed with the pink quilt. She wanted to run and play in her backyard and dig up worms and climb on her jungle gym. There were bird’s eggs in a nest, too. Had the babies hatched already?

  “I wanna go home,” she whimpered. “I want Mama.”

  Jade wrapped the blanket around her tighter and pulled her up against her. “I know, sweetie. I know.”

  Jade looked sad, too. She said she hadn’t seen her mother in years.

  That made Izzy even more scared that she’d never see her mama again.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Mila stewed over what the girls had revealed so far. None of them had families, making them easy targets for DiSanti’s men. Without family to report them missing, it might take months before anyone realized they were gone.

  Except the head of the group home would have known.

  Mila wanted to know more, but first, she had to ask them about her daughter. She showed them Izzy’s photo. “This is my little girl. She’s only three. Keenan said that she was at the house where you were. Do either of you recall seeing her?”

  Frannie nodded, but Anita shook her head.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t remember much,” Anita said.

  “Did the men say anything about where they were going when they left?” Mila asked.

  Frannie’s lower lip quivered. “I heard one of them say they had to move us again, but they needed to take care of something first.”

  “Do you know what that something was?” Mila asked.

  She shook her head. “It seemed important though. He shouted at the other man.”

  Charlotte stroked Frannie’s arm. “You’re doing great, sweetie. Did he mention a name? Or a place?”

  Frannie’s face paled. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help, but...he saw me watching, and gave me more drugs.”

  “Did they mention where they were taking Izzy?” Mila asked. “A town or another state? Or out of the country?”

  “I...don’t know...” Frannie grew agitated, and Anita wiped at more tears. Mila knew she was pushing hard, but her daughter’s life was at stake.

  “Tell us about the group home where you were living,” Mila said gently.

  “It was called Happy Trails,” Frannie said. “We were supposed to work with the horses and learn to ride. But it didn’t turn out that way at all.”

  “What happened?” Charlotte asked.

  She cast her eyes downward, fear flashing across her face.

  “Listen to me,” Charlotte said in a tender but firm voice. “You’re not in trouble, and you haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “She’s right,” Mila said softly.

  Charlotte cleared her throat. “You can tell us anything, no matter how bad you think it might sound, and we promise not to judge. We’re here to help, and will do whatever necessary to make sure you’re safe.”

  Frannie and Anita exchanged looks, then Frannie cleared her throat. “It wasn’t a horse ranch at all. At first, they made us do chores and work outside on the farm. But then...”

  Mila’s stomach knotted. “Then what?”

  “They brought men in,” Anita cried. “They made us dress up in skimpy party dresses, then took pictures of us. I think they put them on the internet.”

  Mila forced herself not to react, but she was seething inside. DiSanti’s men would use the photos as advertisements to sell the girls to the highest bidder.

  * * *

  “YOU TOLD HARRISON where we’re going?” Brayden asked Lucas as they drove to Corley’s ranch.

  “Yeah. I would have asked him to meet us, but Corley’s ranch is out of his jurisdiction. Harrison assigned a couple of deputies to watch Hawk’s Landing in case DiSanti’s men traced Mila there.”

  “Good. We want Mom and the other girls safe.” Brayden paused. “And Honey, too. That baby means everything to Harrison.”

  “He is excited about being a daddy,” Lucas said with a twitch to his mouth.

  “How about you and Charlotte? Any talk of kids?”

  Lucas cut his eyes sideways. “She went through a lot this last year. We’re taking our time, but maybe soon.”

  Envy stirred inside Brayden.

  “Has Mila said anything else about Izzy’s father?” Lucas asked.

  Brayden clenched his jaw. He hadn’t exactly pushed her for information the way Lucas had suggested. “I told you he’s dead, so I don’t see how he’d have anything to do with this.”

  Lucas veered down the long drive to the Corley ranch, which consisted of acres and acres of pastures for his cattle. The barns and stables looked weathered as if they were in dis
repair. Odd since his financials indicated that he had money to invest back into the place.

  Late-afternoon shadows darkened the tree-lined drive. A couple of pickup trucks were parked by one of the outbuildings.

  Lucas barreled over the ruts in the road and came to a stop at a farmhouse that looked as if it had been built a hundred years ago.

  “He sure as hell hasn’t put his money into fixing up his place,” Brayden commented.

  “I spoke to the deputy director earlier. He sent two agents to investigate Corley’s property near Juarez.”

  Brayden’s stomach tightened. “We can’t let DiSanti’s men take Izzy across the border.”

  “I’ve alerted the border patrol along with the airports and train stations to be on the lookout for Izzy,” Lucas said.

  Brayden had mixed feelings about that. He wanted a damn Amber Alert issued across the country. But doing so might spook DiSanti into carrying out his threats.

  He couldn’t live with that.

  “I requested a warrant for Corley’s computers, finances and electronic transmissions,” Lucas said as he parked. “But the judge denied it. Said we didn’t have probable cause.”

  Brayden silently cursed, Sometimes the law worked for them and sometimes against them. The reason Dexter did things his way.

  “A missing child sounds like probable cause to me.”

  “I’m still working on it. Our analyst is looking for connections.” Lucas checked his gun, then opened his car door and slid out. Brayden followed, his gaze scanning the property for signs of trouble. No gunmen in sight.

  That didn’t mean they weren’t hiding in the shadows though.

  He and Lucas walked up the graveled drive to the sagging porch and climbed the steps. A beagle lay snoring near a rusted porch swing.

  Lucas knocked, and a minute later, a short robust woman wearing an apron answered the door. Lucas flashed his ID and introduced them, then asked her name.

  “Harriet,” she said.

  “Have you worked here long?” Lucas asked.

  “A few months,” Harriet said. “I do the cooking and cleaning for the hands.”

  “We need to speak to Lem Corley,” Lucas said. “Is he here?”

  She gestured for them to come in. “In the back. He was just about to head back out. I’ll go get him.”

  “Wait,” Lucas said. “Can we ask you something first?”

  A wary look crossed her face, and she wiped her hands on her apron. “I suppose. What’s going on?”

  Lucas showed her a picture of Izzy. “We’re looking for this little girl. She’s missing.”

  She narrowed her eyes as she studied the picture. “Haven’t seen a child around this place, not since I’ve been here.” She looked back up at Lucas. “What makes you think she’d be here?”

  Lucas removed another photo from his pocket. DiSanti. “This man is wanted for human trafficking. We believe he and his men kidnapped the little girl. Have you seen him before?”

  “I don’t believe so. It’s pretty quiet around here. Mostly the ranch hands. Occasionally Mr. Corley has one of his friends from the Cattleman’s club out to talk business, but they hole up in his study so I don’t really know any of them.” She folded her arms across her ample stomach. “Why would you think Mr. Corley knows this man?”

  Lucas maintained a poker face. “We’re talking to anyone who owns large plots of land where DiSanti’s men could hide the girls they abduct before trafficking them to buyers. Corley has property here and near Juarez, so his name cropped up.”

  She looked relieved. “I see. Well, I’ve never been to his Juarez place, but I can tell you that I haven’t seen or heard of any girls being brought here.”

  Dammit. The property was large enough for the men to hide away from the house. But he and Lucas needed a warrant to search the land.

  “What in the hell are you telling my cook?” a man’s deep voice bellowed.

  Harriet startled and pressed one hand over her mouth as Corley stomped toward her.

  “Harriet?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Corley,” Harriet said. “These men are looking for a missing child, and were just asking some questions.”

  Corley pushed past her and confronted them, eyes blazing with anger. “I don’t know why in the hell you’d think I’d know anything about a missing kid. I run cattle here.”

  “We’re aware of that,” Lucas said. “But you have a big spread, and it’s possible that the men who abducted her could be hiding out on your property without your knowledge.”

  Corley scrubbed a hand over his balding head. He looked confused by Lucas’s statement. Brayden admired his brother’s tactic.

  “The men who kidnapped her are extremely dangerous, Mr. Corley,” Lucas said. “You wouldn’t want to endanger your hands or Harriet, would you?”

  “Uh...of course not,” Corley stammered.

  “Then you won’t mind showing us around your property,” Lucas said, his voice calm, nonjudgmental.

  Corley shifted. “Do you have a warrant?”

  Lucas’s brow lifted in a challenge. “If you don’t have anything to hide, then why would I need one?”

  Corley inched backward as if to argue, but then seemed to think better of it. “All right. I’ll show you around, then you can get off my property and leave me alone.”

  “Thanks for your cooperation,” Lucas said.

  Brayden followed them outside to Corley’s truck.

  Lucas gestured toward the vehicle. “It’s a tight fit. Why don’t you wait here, Brayden?”

  Brayden jammed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and watched Corley and Lucas drive away.

  Lucas had just given him a chance to dig around. He’d talk to Harriet again, then slip out to the stables and barn and talk to Corley’s hands without Corley breathing down his neck.

  * * *

  MILA PATTED FRANNIE’S HAND. “Can you tell us how to get to Happy Trails?”

  The girl shrugged. “Not really. The social worker from the shelter drove us there.”

  “From the shelter?” Mila asked.

  Frannie nodded. “That’s where I met Keenan.”

  Keenan had mentioned a shelter where her grandmother had taken her.

  “What was the name of this social worker?” Charlotte asked.

  Anita piped up. “Valeria. She was nice until she took us to that ranch. When I told her I didn’t want to stay, she got mad and said I had no place to go, that I had to earn my keep.”

  “She told me the same thing,” Frannie said.

  Mila gritted her teeth. “Do you remember Valeria’s last name?”

  Both girls shook their heads.

  “How about an agency she worked with?”

  Again, neither knew the answer to that question. Which meant she might not have worked with an agency at all.

  “Maybe Lucas can find out her name,” Charlotte said.

  “We need to locate this place, Happy Trails,” Mila said. “Izzy might be there.”

  Charlotte clenched her hand. “We’ll let Lucas and Brayden know. If she’s there, they’ll get her back.”

  Charlotte’s trust and confidence in the Hawk men was rubbing off on Mila. She couldn’t give up.

  Her daughter needed her.

  Charlotte retrieved her sketch pad. “Girls, let’s see if you can describe the social worker who dropped you at Happy Trails.”

  “We’ll try,” Frannie said.

  Anita spoke up. “She was tall, thin and had dark hair pulled back in a tight bun.”

  Charlotte quickly drew the image.

  “Her features were sharp,” Frannie said. “She had high cheekbones. Plump lips. And thick eyebrows.”

  Charlotte finished detailing the features.

  “Was there anyone else with you at
the ranch?” Mila asked.

  Anita glanced down at her bruised knuckles. “Another lady. She was older, and she seemed afraid of the men.”

  “What was her name?” Mila asked.

  “They called her Shanika,” Frannie said.

  Charlotte settled her sketch pad on her lap and removed her pencils.

  Mila gripped her phone in her hand. “I’m going to call Brayden and tell him what we learned.”

  Charlotte nodded, and Mila left the room.

  Her pulse hammered as she checked her phone for messages. Still no word about what DiSanti wanted her to do.

  * * *

  BRAYDEN GAVE HARRIET his business card. “This little girl’s life is in danger. If you hear something that can help, please call me.” He touched her arm gently. “I’m a lawyer. I can protect you.”

  She gave him a wary look, but nodded that she would. Brayden walked out to the barn and approached one of the hands, a tall dark-haired Hispanic cowboy. He was cleaning one of the stalls.

  The cowboy jerked his head up at the sight of Brayden, then started to run. Brayden jogged after him and snatched him before he could exit the barn. He jerked the man around to face him and pushed him against the stall.

  “You know the reason I’m here?” Brayden asked.

  The man frowned. “I...heard you with Mr. Corley.”

  “What’s your name?”

  The man’s gaze darted sideways.

  “I’m not playing around here,” Brayden said in a low growl. “What is your name?”

  “Jorge.”

  Brayden clenched Jorge by the collar. “Is Corley working with DiSanti, helping traffic women and girls?”

  The man shrugged. “I don’t know anything about it. I’m just supposed to clean stalls and repair fences.”

  “Tell me what you do know,” Brayden said.

  “I told you I don’t know anything.” Fear vibrated in Jorge’s voice.

  Brayden arched his brows. “Then why run?”

  Jorge lowered his gaze toward the ground, and the truth hit Brayden. “Because you’re in the country illegally, aren’t you?”

  Shame and fear darted into the man’s eyes as he glanced up at Brayden. “He said he knew somebody. That I could earn my freedom.”