Choppy Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 5)

by Lily Harper Hart

  No friends came to her aid. No one gripped her arm to help her stand and suggested getting some air outside. No boyfriend grabbed her elbow to keep her standing. The girl seemed well and truly alone … until two big men appeared on either side of her.

  Neither man talked to the woman. Rowan noticed that right away. Instead they each grabbed an arm and directed her toward the back door. For her part, the confused girl merely glanced between the men and wrinkled her forehead.

  “Who are you?”

  Rowan didn’t hear the words as much as read the girl’s lips. She could sense the frustration – and the sudden jolt of fear that accompanied the young woman’s rampant confusion – as she began to slap at the arm on her left.

  “Who are you? What are you doing? Where are you taking me?”

  Rowan didn’t pretend to understand the situation. She also knew it was entirely probable she was about to overreact. Her inner danger alarm wouldn’t allow her to be silent, though, and she opened her mouth before she even realized what was about to happen.

  “Stop! What are you doing?”

  The man on the left turned and snagged Rowan’s gaze, the look he shot her causing her blood to curdle. He didn’t speak, instead increasing his pace and forcing the girl toward the back door.

  That’s when Rowan realized that something really terrible was about to go down. “Help!”

  No one so much looked in her direction. The bar was too busy and guests were focused on having a good time rather than helping anyone. Rowan knew she only had a limited time to change the outcome of whatever situation was about to happen so she did the only thing she could do.

  She opened her mouth and screamed as loudly as she possibly could. “Fire!”

  2

  Two

  Unlike when she yelled “help,” a bevy of heads snapped in her direction when she screeched “fire.” Rowan didn’t bother looking over her shoulder to see if anyone would intervene. She simply knew she had to make sure the girl wasn’t removed from the premises … so that’s exactly what she did.

  Rowan used her hips to knock two people out of the way – both protesting females with drinks in their hands – and raced to the girl. She ignored the larger goon who previously glared when she yelled and slapped at his hand and attempted to grab the girl’s arm.

  “Let her go!”

  The man was solid – all muscle – and he used his free hand to shove Rowan away as if she weighed nothing. “Step back.”

  Rowan widened her eyes when she bounced off a support beam close to the doorway. If it came to a fight, she knew there was very little she could do to stop the man. She wasn’t about to stop trying, though.

  “You step back.” Rowan slapped hard at his hand. “I’m not going to allow you to take her.”

  The second man was much smaller, his hair and eyes darker, and the look he gave Rowan was one of consternation. “Excuse me, ma’am, but do you have a problem?” He sounded rational, even confused, but Rowan was beyond caring if she looked like a complete and total fool.

  “I do have a problem,” Rowan fired back. “I’m not letting you take this girl.”

  “She’s my sister and she’s over-imbibed. I’m simply taking her home.”

  Rowan glanced between the overly-tanned blonde and the dark-haired man. He had olive skin and, while not as buff as his friend, he was quite a bit larger than the woman he claimed kinship with. Rowan knew right away they weren’t related no matter how reasonable the man attempted to be.

  “She’s not your sister and she doesn’t know you.”

  “She does know me. She’s simply confused right now and can’t see straight.”

  “She doesn’t. I heard her.”

  The man’s previously amiable expression slipped. “I can guarantee she doesn’t know you. She’s drunk and doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Isn’t that right, Mary?”

  The girl looked confused as she tried to form words. “Mary?”

  “See. She doesn’t even know her own name.” The man tried to maneuver the girl around Rowan a second time, but the obstinate savior in training refused to back down. “You need to step aside.”

  “You definitely need to step aside,” the other man hissed. “If you don’t, I’ll make you step aside.”

  Rowan swallowed hard at the dark expression on the man’s face, but she didn’t do as he asked. “No.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to make you, huh?” The man let go of the girl’s arm and took a menacing step in Rowan’s direction. “You should learn to stay out of other people’s business.”

  Rowan braced for whatever was to come – she didn’t know if it would be a blow or a shove – but the man’s hands never landed on her because Quinn appeared out of nowhere and shoved him back.

  “Don’t even think about touching her,” Quinn growled, his eyes lit with mayhem. “You won’t like what happens if you do.”

  “She’s in our way,” the second man pressed. “She refuses to move. How do you suggest we leave if she won’t allow us the room to do it?”

  “I … .” Quinn slid a sidelong look to Rowan, the foremost question in his mind evident. “What are we doing here?”

  “She’s drugged or something.” Rowan pointed at the girl. “She doesn’t know them. I heard her. They’re taking her somewhere.”

  Quinn cocked an eyebrow. “I see.”

  “That’s not true,” the smaller man protested. “This is my sister. I’m simply trying to take her home because she’s clearly about to get sick.”

  “She’s your sister, huh?” Demarcus muscled into the spot next to Quinn and looked over the two men – and the girl Rowan was convinced was about to be used and abused – as he attempted to exert a sense of calm over the situation. “She doesn’t look like your sister.”

  “She’s my adopted sister.”

  “That’s convenient.” Demarcus ran his hand over his chin. “Well, I think we can all agree that the last thing we want is for someone to make a mistake. With that in mind, I suggest we go to security and allow them to look over her identification – and yours – and that way we don’t have to worry about something bad happening. Everyone can separate with a clean conscience.”

  The man claiming to be the girl’s brother made a face that was downright evil. “Or I could just leave with my sister.”

  “Except I’m not going to allow that to happen,” Quinn snapped. “You’re not leaving with that girl.”

  “You can’t stop me from leaving with my own sister!” The man practically exploded. “Now … step aside. You’re making a scene.”

  Quinn lowered his voice so only the two men on either side of the girl could hear him. “It’s going to be a lot worse if you don’t unhand her right now. Whatever game you think you’re playing, it’s not going to happen. I won’t let you leave with that girl.”

  “And what makes you think you can stop me?” The smaller man challenged. “There are two of us and two of you.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that.” Quinn’s cocky security chief bravado came out to play. “It’s hardly just the two of us.”

  For the first time since she intervened, Rowan noted that the two men looked nervous. She wanted to crow … and then grab the girl and jerk her free of their oily hands.

  “And you think you can stop us?” The man puffed out his chest, as if trying to intimidate Quinn. “I happen to know security here.”

  “Really?” Quinn remained calm. “What a coincidence. So do I. In fact, I had a hand in setting up the security here. Since we both know security, it shouldn’t be a problem to do what Demarcus suggested.”

  The man’s smile slipped. “I … .”

  Now it was Quinn’s turn to be smug. “Hand her over.”

  “You want her? You’ve got her.” Instead of gently releasing the woman to Quinn and Demarcus, the two men heaved her in their direction and then raced for the door.

  Quinn caught her before she could hit the ground and then instinctiv
ely handed her over to Rowan. “Watch her.”

  Rowan wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist. “Where are you going?”

  “After them.”

  “But … .” Rowan didn’t get a chance to finish her question because Quinn and Demarcus were already through the door giving chase. Instead, Rowan raised an eyebrow as the woman lost any semblance of footing and became dead weight in her arms. “Somebody call 911,” Rowan ordered as she tried to keep herself from toppling. “Right now. This woman needs medical help.”

  With nothing to do but wait for that help to come, Rowan let herself sink to the filthy floor as she tried to keep the woman’s head up and tilted to the side so she wouldn’t inadvertently vomit and choke on it. All she could do after that was wait … and watch for Quinn to return.

  It didn’t happen right away.

  ROWAN RODE TO the hospital with the unconscious girl, leaving a confused Sally behind to tell Quinn and Demarcus what happened. She remained nervous because of Quinn’s absence but there was nothing she could do about that so she opted to focus on the girl, doing her best to understand what the paramedics said to one another during the bumpy ride.

  Upon arrival at the hospital, a medical team was standing by and they whisked away the girl, leaving Rowan to pace the lobby alone and wait for Quinn to find her. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait too long, he strolled in through the sliding doors thirty minutes later, but she was already a basket case by then.

  “Where have you been?”

  Quinn arched an eyebrow as he accepted her fervent hug. “We chased those guys through three parking lots before we lost them. By the time we got back to the bar, you were gone. I was about to ask you the same question.”

  “Someone had to go with her.”

  “Okay.” Quinn calmly smoothed Rowan’s flyaway hair. “I’m not angry. I was simply surprised when I returned and found you gone. I believe I told you to stay there.”

  Rowan narrowed her eyes. “And I believe someone had to go with that girl. She was alone and vulnerable. I wasn’t going to sit back and let something else happen to her.”

  Instead of arguing, Quinn simply smiled. “Someone is feeling feisty, huh?”

  “Not feisty. Worried. She lost consciousness.”

  Quinn’s smile slipped. “I’m sorry. I’m honestly not angry. Sally was waiting when we got back and she told me where you were. She and Demarcus remained there to answer some questions and then they were heading back to the ship. The cops will be coming here to question you and me.”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t question you there.”

  “They wanted to but getting to you was my highest priority. I told them they would have to follow us – or arrest me on the spot – because I couldn’t bear to be away from my girlfriend.”

  Rowan pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at his earnest expression. It took her a moment to collect herself. “You think you’re cute, don’t you?”

  Quinn nodded without hesitation. “Definitely.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Now tell me everything that happened so we’re on the same page when the police show up to get the story out of us.”

  Rowan didn’t question the request, instead launching into the convoluted tale. When she was done, Quinn remained thoughtful.

  “I might have been overreacting,” Rowan conceded. “I don’t know what made me focus on her and what was happening. It didn’t seem right, though.”

  “It definitely doesn’t sound right,” Quinn agreed, idly rubbing his hand up and down her slim back. “If I had to guess, she was drugged.”

  “What makes you say that? I’m not disagreeing – in fact, the paramedics believed that and were trying to treat her during the ride – but I thought she looked drunk more than anything.”

  “That’s what we were supposed to believe,” Quinn explained. “It’s a good thing you were looking when you were. That girl could’ve been facing something a whole lot worse than whatever flushing protocol they’re probably forcing through her system.”

  Rowan tilted her head to the side, considering. “Do you think they wanted to rape her?”

  Quinn shrugged. “I don’t know, sweetie. I can guarantee whatever they wanted her for wasn’t good, though.” He wrapped his arms around her, keeping his lips pressed against her forehead as they swayed back and forth. They stayed like that until two plainclothes police detectives entered the lobby and headed toward them. “I think we’re about to get some answers.”

  Rowan pulled away from Quinn and focused on the detectives. They looked serious – gravely so – and they spent little time on pleasantries as they directed Rowan and Quinn to chairs.

  “You’re the chief security officer for The Bounding Storm?” the detective who introduced himself as Phil Monk asked.

  Quinn nodded. “Rowan is the chief photographer. We were at Siren Song to cut loose for the night. We were about to leave when it happened.”

  “And what exactly happened?”

  For the second time that night, Rowan launched into her tale. When she was done, she expected the detectives to admonish her for getting involved but instead they seemed impressed.

  “That was smart thinking,” the second detective, Walter Fargate, said. “If you’d yelled for help they would’ve been out the door before anyone noticed.”

  “I did that first, but no one paid attention,” Rowan admitted. “I remember seeing one of those shows – I think it was Dateline – and the guy on it recommended yelling ‘fire,’ so that’s what I did.”

  “It was smart.” Fargate allowed a brief smile to play around the corners of his lips. “I’m not sure how smart it was to approach two men who were much bigger than you in a strange environment, though.”

  “I didn’t know what else to do,” Rowan admitted. “I was afraid that if I didn’t stop them something terrible would happen to that girl. I thought she might end up being an urban legend news story and no one would ever see her again.”

  “Her name is Tracy Morrow,” Monk supplied. “She’s a local college student and was just there to party. She was with a few friends, but they lost track of her. We’ve contacted her parents and they’re on their way.”

  “Will she be okay?”

  Fargate nodded and this time his smile was wide and legitimate. “We’ve been in contact with the hospital and they’re very hopeful. You saved her. They’re flushing her system and apparently she’s a bit traumatized because she can’t remember what happened, but in twenty-four hours she should be fine. They’re keeping her for observation.”

  “That’s good.” Rowan let loose a relieved sigh as Quinn rested his hand on her knee. “I was worried in the ambulance and I couldn’t understand what the paramedics were saying.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Fargate promised. “You saved her.”

  “You definitely saved her,” Monk agreed. “You’re a hero.”

  “I’ll be treating her as such when we get back to the ship,” Quinn volunteered. “What about the two guys we chased? I was hoping to be able to give you a vehicle description or something, but we lost them. It was dark and one minute they were there and the next they were gone. I’m sorry.”

  “You did the best you could,” Fargate countered. “In most situations like this we wouldn’t recommend bystanders do what you did. Since you’re trained, though, and understood the risks, I’ll just say thank you and leave it at that.”

  “Do you think they wanted to rape her?” Rowan was fixated on the potential sexual nature of the crime. It was the only possible motive she could come up with and even though she didn’t want the notion confirmed she figured it was a foregone conclusion. That’s why she was taken aback when Monk started shaking his head. “You don’t?”

  “I think it’s much worse than that,” Monk admitted. “It hasn’t made the rounds here, but we were planning on sending out a bulletin to the ships anyway so it’s hardly a secret … um … we’re monitoring some troubling activity that seems to indicate there’s
a human trafficking ring operating along the coast.”

  Rowan was flabbergasted. “What?”

  Quinn was less surprised. “I wondered if it was something like that,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “They seemed calm despite being called on their actions, as if they had a plan in place should it happen. You would expect someone in their position to freak out if challenged, but they maintained their cool.”

  “What does that mean?” Rowan asked, genuinely confused.

  “It means that—” Quinn broke off, searching for the best way to explain without setting off his girlfriend. They’d only been together for a short amount of time, but he recognized that Rowan would be upset by any explanation offered.

  “It means that these men know what they’re doing and this is hardly the first time they’ve dealt with someone trying to step in,” Monk offered. “They have contingency plans. They have a system they work and because they’ve honed it they rarely miss.”

  “That’s how they managed to disappear so easily,” Quinn added, his temper threatening to bubble over. “Had I realized I would’ve tried something else to stop them. It was already too late when I figured out what was going on.”

  Rowan ran her fingers over her bottom lip as she internally debated the situation. Finally she shook her head to dislodge the dark thoughts threatening to sour her mood for the foreseeable future. “I can’t think what would’ve happened if I hadn’t stepped in. It’s done and I did it. I don’t want to dwell on it.”

  “And we don’t want you to dwell on it,” Fargate said. “You saved a life today. You can’t change what else is going on. Changing the bigger operation is something that is simply out of your reach. It’s our job to change it.”

  “You should be proud of what you did and thankful that it turned out the way it did,” Monk added. “It could’ve gone wrong. You need to realize that. You had your boyfriend close so you were safe, but if you’d been alone, you could very well have been taken, too.”