Deadly Exchange

by Lisa Harris

  “I remember hearing about the issue of child trafficking back then,” she continued, “but it wasn’t a problem in small-town USA. It was something horrible that happened, but always to girls living in another country, far away from our idealistic life. But I was wrong. It doesn’t matter what your race or skin color is as long as you are a girl who will listen to the lies and the promises. And that’s what Lilly did.”

  Kayla watched a row of small boats bobbing in the water. “I still see Lilly as the little girl standing in front of the fireplace and singing her heart out. Not being raped a dozen times a day by men who paid to sleep with her.”

  “I’m so, so sorry that Lilly and your family had to go through all of this. Slavery should have been abolished centuries ago. To see it firsthand like this is sickening.”

  She looked up to him and caught his gaze. “I can’t let them get Mercy, Levi. She’s always reminded me of Lilly with her charismatic personality. They couldn’t break Mercy’s spirit. Not completely. But if Nicu finds her again...”

  “Then we have to do everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being here, so I don’t have to face this alone.”

  * * *

  Levi heard the pain in her voice, but there was something more than that—he also heard her determination. He’d seen firsthand how she’d taken a tragedy and turned it into a way to help other girls so they didn’t end up like her sister. And yet he was certain even that knowledge didn’t always help erase the pain she still harbored.

  “I’m glad I’m here as well,” he said. “Not because of what’s happening, of course, but because you shouldn’t have to go through this by yourself.”

  The last twenty-four hours had pushed both of them to the limits, and unfortunately it wasn’t over yet. But suddenly—for one brief moment—everything that had happened managed to slip away, until all he could see was the woman sitting next to him.

  “Do you remember that time I gave you a ride into town?” he asked, realizing the risk he was taking in changing the topic.

  She let out a soft laugh. “How could I forget? I was on my way to a job interview. It was pouring down rain and I got a flat tire. You stopped to pick me up in your father’s BMW. You have no idea how stressed I was getting into that car and knowing what a dripping mess I was. And knowing what your father would say—”

  “I have a confession,” he said. “I almost asked you out that day.”

  She glanced up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “Really?”

  He nodded, wondering what would have happened if he’d actually gone through with his plan. He hadn’t told anyone, but he’d been thinking about it for weeks. Having her in the car with him had cemented the idea, but for some reason, in the end he’d chickened out.

  “Why didn’t you?” she asked.

  “I decided you’d probably say no.”

  “You were wrong. I would have said yes,” she said, her grin widening. “And since we’re confessing, when Adam asked me out the first time, I said yes to him for all the wrong reasons.”

  “And what reason would that be?” he asked.

  She ducked her head slightly. “I was...hoping you might get jealous and ask me out.”

  How had he missed that? There’d always been something about Kayla that had made him want to get to know her better. Something that had in turn managed to tangle up his tongue whenever he was around her.

  Her freckled cheeks reddened slightly. “Makes me wonder what might have happened if you’d asked me out.”

  “Me, too, though apparently I was young and stupid.”

  “Hardly. I always looked up to you. You were the one who had it together. Then you went off and joined the military and I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

  “And Adam kept asking you out.”

  How could he have been so stupid? But now...was he somehow being given a second chance?

  “I should have asked you out.”

  “Except I know your father. He would never have let you go out with me.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “He was grooming you for the role of CEO of his company your entire life. Adam told me that you were supposed to go off to college, then take over the company. Which was why he totally flipped out when you joined the military.”

  “I know he did, but that didn’t stop me. Just like I wouldn’t let my father dictate who I date.”

  “Maybe, but I remember hearing grumblings at the plant. Your father wasn’t always the easiest boss to work for. And I have a feeling it wasn’t always easy to be his son, either.” She pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No. You’re right. And yet in the end, he still got his way. I’m back in Potterville heading up the family business. But maybe that is a good thing.”

  All the feelings he’d ever had toward her rushed through him. Before he could think about what he was doing, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. His heart pounded at her nearness as she pressed her hand against his chest and kissed him back. For a few brief seconds there were no concerns or worries about someone trying to kill them. Because right now, none of that mattered.

  The loudspeaker announced another stop.

  She pulled away from him and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Levi, but I can’t do this.”

  “Kayla, I—”

  “We need to get off.” She stood up as the tram slowed to a stop.

  He glanced up at her. Worry lines had settled across her forehead. Had he totally misread her? He followed her off the tram and toward the canal, regretting what he’d just done.

  How had he been such a fool?

  Three blocks away, they found the houseboat bobbing gently in the canal. He glanced around them, trying to focus. Trying to forget what it had felt like to kiss her. Despite the extra precautions he’d taken to ensure they hadn’t been followed, he knew he couldn’t be sure. Which had him worried.

  He studied the nondescript boat that was painted a light tan with wooden trim around the windows. A couple chairs sat on a small deck next to several neglected potted plants. It looked as if no one had been here for quite a while.

  “Are you sure this is the right house?” she asked.

  “It seems to be the correct address.”

  Whether her father was onboard, though, was an entirely different question.

  “A place like this is actually prime real estate,” she said, standing beside him. “Permits to moor a home—especially in certain locations—can raise the value of the houseboat substantially. Though apparently I’m not the only person in the city lacking a green thumb.”

  There were no signs of anyone on board, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t left Kayla’s father here.

  “If he’s here, he’s somewhere inside,” Levi said.

  He glanced around. The last thing he wanted to do was get arrested for trespassing. But that seemed like the least of their worries at the moment. While Kayla walked in the opposite direction, Levi stepped onto the boat and started walking around the deck, trying to see if he could see inside. But each of the windows was covered by dark gray blinds.

  “Levi?”

  “There’s no way to see inside,” he said, stepping back onto the dock where she stood.

  “I found an unlocked window,” Kayla said.

  He hesitated before following her, praying they didn’t attract any attention with their search. But if it meant finding Max, he wasn’t sure they had a choice. He slid open the window, then stepped into the houseboat. Inside, the cabin was small but efficient, and it only took a few seconds to search the entire space.

  He stepped back into the center of the room and shook his head.

  Another dead end. Th
ere was no one on the boat. If her father had been here, he was gone.

  Sixteen

  Kayla glanced around the cabin of the houseboat, desperate to find a clue—anything—that would tell them her father had been here. But instead there was nothing. And nowhere left to search.

  “Levi...where is my father? He should be here. The bells in the video, the rental agreement you found—everything pointed to him being here.”

  She turned around and caught Levi’s gaze, trying to ignore the turmoil raging inside her. She’d been so convinced they would find her father and this nightmare would be over.

  But it wasn’t.

  She started opening up the drawers of a wooden desk that sat against the wall while avoiding his mesmerizing blue eyes staring back at her. Their unexpected kiss on the tram had thrown her, leaving her feeling off balance on a day that already had her reeling. She was going to have to sort out whatever was happening between her and Levi later. For now, they needed to find her father.

  “There has to be something here,” she said. “Some kind of clue telling us what they’ve done with him.”

  “Kayla, we need to get out of here. If Nicu followed us—”

  “Wait a minute...” Kayla pulled a large zippered pouch out of the back of one of the drawers. “These are passports.”

  “Passports?” he asked.

  A sick realization washed through her as she started spreading them out across the table one by one. Each passport represented a girl who’d had her entire life ripped away.

  “Nigerian. Romanian. Slovakian. Ukrainian. When they bring the girls into the country, they take their passports and any legal identification away.”

  “Why?”

  “So they have nowhere to go. They’re told they’re now in the country illegally, and if they’re caught, the authorities will send them to prison.”

  “But that’s not true.”

  “No, but most have come from countries where things like that do happen. Corrupt officials make you have to guess at who’s the good guy. Which to them isn’t a chance worth taking.”

  Kayla flipped open one passport that belonged to a young girl from Slovakia. According to her date of birth, she was sixteen years old. She looked barely thirteen. “So they have no one to trust and are forced to do as they’re told. They’re usually told they need to work in order to pay back the price of the plane ticket and any other expenses.”

  “Which could take years, I’m assuming.”

  “Exactly.”

  Levi walked over to where she stood. “But I’m still trying figure out why they don’t just run away. Maybe not to the police, but to someone else, even a client, for that matter. Surely someone would try to help them.”

  “You didn’t see see Mercy’s tattoo. The one reminding her of who she belongs to. These girls are completely controlled by fear. Even those who end up coming to us are terrified. Most came to support their family. They think they’re coming to wait tables or work in a hotel. Some are sold and even resold, told they have to work to pay off the debt. Their phones are monitored and they have no internet access. If they protest, they are beaten or told their families back home will be killed.”

  A car backfired, and Kayla jumped.

  “We need to go,” Levi said, glancing toward the window. “If Nicu realizes we might have come here, he won’t be far behind.”

  If he didn’t already know where they were, Kayla thought. Somehow he always managed to find them. But not this time. She crawled back through the window behind Levi, then hurried off the boat and onto the street that ran along the canal, hoping no one had seen them.

  “So where do we go now?” she asked, hurrying to keep up with his long stride.

  “Somewhere where we can regroup and figure out what we’re missing. We’ve narrowed it down to this area of the city. We have the passports now, which are proof of what he’s doing. We’ve just got to narrow it down further. Another piece of property. Another address in the files. I had to have missed something in there.”

  “There’s a café not far from here that should give us some privacy.”

  And that would also have enough people coming through to make her feel safer. They also still had the file she’d brought with her on Mercy, as well as the files they’d grabbed at the house where Nicu had held them. Maybe if they went over them again, they’d find something.

  The bells of Westerkerk began their prelude in the background as they headed up the canal. She glanced at her watch. It was almost four o’clock, and they still had no idea where her father was. No idea what their next move should be.

  God’s pretty good at using ordinary—and even sometimes inadequate—people.

  Levi’s words replayed through her mind. It was what she wanted. To fight for what was right. For justice and truth. And she’d been willing to risk everything to save the girls they worked with.

  But I don’t know how to fight this anymore, God. I don’t even know if it’s possible to end this.

  They started across one of the hundreds of bridges in the city as the bells continued to chime. The famous Amsterdam church with its striking blue crown on top of the steeple loomed ahead of them. Rembrandt had been buried as a poor man on the church grounds in the 1600s, and years later a memorial statue of Anne Frank had been added.

  “Anne Frank, whose family was hidden from Nazi persecution during World War II, could hear the chimes from the attics where they hid,” she said, filling the silence that had settled between them. “The tower clock was one of the few things she could see from the attic.”

  Corrie ten Boom. Anne Frank. Mercy. They’d all been affected by man’s hatred and greed. Stolen lives. Shattered pieces that were sometimes impossible to put back together.

  The church bells started chiming the hour. One. Two. Three. Four.

  Four chimes.

  Four o’clock.

  Kayla paused. They had missed something.

  “Levi...we need to recheck the video of my father.” She turned to him in the middle of the bridge, shivering at the chill rising off the water as she tried to put together the pieces.

  “Why?”

  The bells stopped ringing.

  “My father was taken sometime between one and three yesterday afternoon. I know that because I spoke with him just after lunch, and he was fine. When I got home, he was gone.”

  “Okay.”

  “The chimes play a short tune every fifteen minutes, twenty-four hours a day,” she continued. “On the hour, there’s more of a preamble like we just heard that’s followed by chimes that ring equal to whatever hour it is.”

  “How many chimes were on that video?” he asked.

  She pulled out her phone and replayed the video, this time counting the chimes. “Seven chimes. And yet when we received the video, it wasn’t that late yet.”

  “This video was doctored.” Levi took a step back from her. “They added the chimes to the soundtrack before sending it.”

  “But why?” she asked. “Why go to all of that trouble?”

  “The only thing that makes sense is to try to throw us off in case we tried to narrow it down to this area—or if we went to the authorities.”

  “Which is exactly what happened. Nicu wanted us to assume your father was somewhere here. That’s why he wasn’t on the boat. He was probably never on the boat.”

  Levi pushed Play again. Kayla looked away from the screen. Watching her father stare into the camera and plead made her sick to her stomach.

  “Did you catch something else?” she asked.

  “Maybe.” He played it again. “Listen to the background noise.”

  She watched once more.

  “Did you hear that?” he asked.

  A heavy weight pressed against her chest. How had they missed the discrepancies in the video? Their failing to fi
gure this out could cost her father his life.

  “There are multiple dogs barking in the background.”

  “And they sound like the German shepherds we ran into.”

  “My father has to be there. At the house. But we never found signs of anyone else there.”

  “We could have missed something. An attic or basement, maybe a storage building on the property,” he said. “Nicu followed us into town, but now that he’s lost us, I’m going to guess that he’s going to go back to the house and cut his losses.”

  “He knows that we’ll come back and probably bring the authorities with us.”

  “Exactly. We didn’t have time to search the entire property, which means if there are girls there, he’s going to need to clear out any evidence.”

  “And my father? What about him? If Nicu cuts his losses...”

  She couldn’t finish her sentence. She could still hear the desperation in her father’s voice on the video and see the fear in his eyes. They had to find him.

  “We can’t do this on our own anymore.” Levi caught her gaze. “Nicu’s not playing by his own rules, and plus, I think we’ve finally got enough evidence of what he’s doing to bring in the authorities.”

  She nodded, knowing he was right this time. Because not only was Nicu playing for keeps, he was willing to take down anyone who got in his way.

  “You need to call your contact with the police department,” Levi said, squeezing her fingers.

  She pulled out her phone and quickly searched for his number in her contacts. “There was a law put into place a couple of years ago. If the inhabitants of a house are suspected of having illegal immigrants on their property, the police have the right to search without a warrant.”

  Her contact, Commissioner Bram Peeters, answered on the fourth ring.

  “Commissioner Peeters? This is Kayla Brooks from International Freedom Operation.”

  “Kayla. It’s good to hear from you.” There was a slight pause on the line. “Is everything all right?”

  “No, actually. I need your help regarding the kidnapping of an American citizen as well as a possible location being used by a group of human traffickers currently working here in Amsterdam.”