by Rachel Dylan
He laughed and looked at her closely. In broad daylight, she was even prettier than he’d noticed Saturday night. She wore dark jeans and a simple navy T-shirt. Her long brown hair hung loose down past her shoulders. Unlike so many women, she didn’t have makeup caked on her face. That was a plus. But it wasn’t like he had any time to date. Even more so, he didn’t have any business dating. Not right now, maybe not ever again. He quickly pushed those thoughts away.
“Why don’t you just lower the gun so we can talk without threats?”
“And why would I do that? You’d have yours pulled on me in less than a second.”
“You are a smart lady, Ms. Lane.”
She raised her eyebrow at him, and her dark chocolate eyes narrowed in disapproval.
“I’m Special Agent Kip Moore with the FBI. You can just call me Kip.”
“Agent Moore,” she said, as she held her head high. “I have work to do. I don’t have time for baseless FBI inquiries right now.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Lane, but if you don’t talk to me now, I’m going to come back and hound you every day until you do.”
She scrunched up her nose, and he could tell that she was thinking of how to play things.
“What do you want from me?” she asked.
“Answers.”
“I told you on Saturday night why I was there. I was searching for a missing teenager named Megan Milton. I don’t see that there could be anything else for us to discuss.”
“We didn’t find evidence of any missing teenager in the woods.”
“I went on a lead. You have to understand that when a child is missing, every lead must be checked out.”
He was skeptical but was letting it go for now. She was holding back on him. “All right. I can understand that.”
“Good, so now we’re done.”
He put up his hands. “Not so fast. Could you please lower your weapon now? I promise I won’t draw mine on you. You have my word.”
Her lips turned up into a smile and amusement flashed through her eyes. “I don’t even know you, Agent Moore.”
“I’m a federal agent.”
The room fell silent. After a few moments, she looked him directly in the eyes. “I would be a fool to take your word on anything.”
She was frustrating. Even more so because she had a point. “Okay, can I at least have a seat while I talk?”
She nodded. “That’s fine.”
He took a seat across from her desk in a comfortable chair, and took a moment to gather his thoughts. “First, things first. Here’s my FBI identification.” He removed his credentials from his pocket and slid them across the table. She picked up the ID with her left hand, still holding the gun in her right. After studying it for a minute, she nodded.
What was the best way to get through to her? “I need to know what you saw in the woods Saturday night. Take me through it step by step.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he lifted his hand. “And before you say you didn’t see anything, remember that I know you had on night vision goggles. Looked like military grade if you ask me. And since I was in the military, ma’am, I’m quite familiar with how they work. So I know you could see and that you saw something.”
She sighed. “Could I see, yes. Did I see anything? No. I heard a lot of noises, but I never got visual on anything other than some FBI guys. And then you.”
He nodded. Was she telling him everything? “Why don’t you let me buy you lunch and see if anything more comes back to you?”
“It won’t,” she responded quickly.
Too quickly. Maybe he needed to provide her with an incentive to get involved. “I’d like to be able to tell you more about the investigation in hopes that you could assist us.”
“Assist the FBI?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She did that scrunching thing with her nose again and didn’t seem to be too enthused. Maybe he’d made the wrong move. He’d thought she’d be intrigued by the prospect of working with the FBI, but it seemed now that was not the case.
“I’ll have to pass.” She visibly relaxed and set the gun in front of her on the desk.
“Even if it involves working on a high profile case? Taking down some Russian mob types from New York that have shown up in El Paso?”
He watched as her eyes widened and the color drained from her face. Then she tipped over in her chair. He was by her side in a few steps. The woman had passed out on him. He really had his hands full now.
* * *
“Sadie, are you okay?” a deep voice asked. She must be dreaming. Igor’s grimy face flashed through her mind—his ice-cold blue eyes mocking her. Igor could find her. Hunt her down. He was close. So close. She was in danger. She felt strong arms propping her up. She knew the voice from somewhere but couldn’t place it. Then at that moment it came rushing back to her. Her eyes popped open, and her heartbeat raced. She tried to reach for her gun.
“It’s okay, it’s Kip. Sadie, you with me? Have you eaten today?”
She couldn’t process this. She’d been camped out for two weeks waiting to get a glimpse of Igor coming out of the five-star downtown hotel, but she’d never seen him. Her worst fear, confirmed. The Vladimir network was expanding to El Paso. And the FBI was on the trail. She couldn’t let this Kip guy know the truth. She knew Igor could be in El Paso, but hearing the words brought about a visceral reaction within her.
“Sorry. I haven’t eaten. Sometimes I get a little queasy, low blood sugar and all.” She was hypoglycemic, but her reaction was spurred by something much more sinister.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a protein bar. “Here, eat this.” His light blue eyes flashed with concern.
“Thanks,” she muttered. This was it. She wasn’t safe here any longer. She’d been tracking Vladimir’s network closely, well, as close as possible, but hadn’t been sure Igor was in the area. Parts of his crew, but not Igor himself. She had known all about his continued operations in New York. The human-trafficking ring that spread up to Canada. As she suspected, his next move had to be expanding into Mexico. But now she had to focus, she had to pull herself together, and quickly. She took a couple of bites of the protein bar as Kip sat silently watching her eat.
“You feeling any better?” he asked.
“Yeah. Where were we?” She needed more information from him to determine whether her initial research was accurate. And while she’d never trust the FBI after what they let happen to her family, she needed Kip’s knowledge right now.
“I was saying that we could use your help in the investigation involving a Russian crime syndicate. It’s actually a family business of sorts that started in New York. They’ve sprung up a satellite office down here, so to speak. Human trafficking over the border.”
“And where do I come into this?” She wanted to close her eyes and pray that there was no way he knew about her past with the Vladimir family. He couldn’t. That person no longer existed.
“I saw you in action on Saturday. You’re good. I also think you know more than you’re letting on. So I was hoping you could consult on the investigation with us.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I’ve seen enough. And of course, I had the FBI run a background check on you.”
Thankfully, her history before joining Witness Protection was in a sealed file that wouldn’t even show up on his search. Add on to that the additional Witness Protection security protocols. But still she wouldn’t put anything past the FBI. Igor Vladimir may have pulled the trigger and killed both her parents, but it was the FBI’s fault that he had been in her house in the first place.
“So what do you propose?”
“Lunch.” He smiled.
“Not happening,” she said. She wanted more information, but
she needed to do it her way.
“Coffee?”
“Possibly. I wasn’t lying. It’s Monday morning. I’ve been busy catching up on things with more ground to cover. We can set something up for later today if you’re really serious.”
“I am. And I can work with your schedule.”
“Meet me back here at two,” she said. That would give her enough time to do some digging.
“All right.” He turned and walked to the door, then looked over his shoulder. “Please don’t draw the gun on me again.” He winked and stepped outside.
She needed to drink some water and clear her head. The room felt like it was closing in on her. Her panic attacks had gotten better, but at times like these they threatened to claim her again. She couldn’t believe she’d passed out earlier. That was dangerous. Super dangerous. She knew the information she’d been given about Igor was probably true, but hearing it out of Kip’s mouth had still been a shock. She was smart enough to know this Kip Moore wasn’t one of the FBI agents responsible for her parents’ death, but the fact he was still a part of the Bureau made her uneasy.
She laughed to herself. Work with the FBI? Really? She despised the FBI’s bureaucratic maze for failing her parents, and rightfully so. However, it would seem that she needed to work with them now to get what she ultimately wanted. Justice. She’d been working toward this goal for years on her own. Going against the shadowy Vladimir network in any small way she could. This, though, could provide her an opportunity to deal them a huge blow. Her two greatest enemies. Could she work with one to take down the other?
TWO
Sadie worked furiously updating her research on the Vladimir network. The FBI had more resources than her. But they’d both been in the woods Saturday night, so they weren’t too far ahead. What was the FBI going to be able to do anyway? The same old thing, which in the end meant nothing.
She felt the pressure building around her temples. Her phone rang loudly, and she shook her head trying to focus.
“The Lane Group, this is Sadie,” she answered.
“Sadie,” a woman’s voice said. “It’s Carrie Milton. Have you found out anything more about Megan? It’s been over a week now since she’s been missing.”
“Hi, Ms. Milton.” Sadie dreaded telling her that basically the only news she had was no news. “I followed up on a potential lead over the weekend. But unfortunately it didn’t go anywhere.”
Ms. Milton sniffed. “I’m just so worried about her. The police aren’t taking this seriously enough. It doesn’t seem like they’re totally focused on this.”
“Nothing’s ever going to be enough until we find her. I’ve talked to the local PD. They are looking for her, but it’s always better to have more options. From what you’ve told me, Megan is a very smart girl. I’m going to do everything in my power to find her.”
“I wasn’t meaning to imply that you weren’t doing your job. I know you’ve only been on the case a few days. I just can’t describe to you what it’s like to know your child is in danger. But that’s not the main reason I called. Megan’s best friend, Lauren, wants to talk to you. She thinks she might be able to help. They are very close.”
“Send me her contact information, and I’ll get in touch with her right away.”
“Thank you so much, Sadie. Now, we haven’t got around to talking about your rates yet. I don’t have a lot of money. I work two jobs as it is. But I’m willing to do whatever I need to do to help find her. Maybe we can work out some sort of a payment plan?”
Sadie’s heart ripped in two. “Don’t you worry about that right now, okay? I’m sure we can work something out within your budget. I’ve already started investigating, and I’m not going to stop. In the meantime, I’ll need you to send me some additional pictures of your daughter and Lauren’s info.”
“I can’t thank you enough.”
Sadie provided Ms. Milton with her email address for the pictures, and she jotted down Lauren’s contact info. Ms. Milton promised to send pictures right away, as soon as they discontinued their call.
The bell on her door jingled, and Kip was standing there with his arms crossed. She looked forward to the day when she could have a more sophisticated entry with a receptionist. It must already be two o’clock. Ugh, he was the last thing she needed to deal with right now.
“Glad to see you’re not armed.” He took a few steps toward her.
“I don’t have much time to chat. I just talked to the mother of the missing child I told you about. I have to do more to find her.”
“Shouldn’t the police be taking the lead on that?”
“The mother isn’t satisfied with the police’s effort. Can you blame her? It’s her child.”
His eyes softened. “I understand.”
“Let’s make this quick.”
“No coffee?”
“I can make some here if you’d like?”
He smiled. “That’d be great.”
She loved coffee. It was one of her biggest weaknesses. Sadie was glad he wanted some too; she liked being able to brew a pot for more than just herself.
Her office wasn’t large, but she had what she needed. She dreamed of expanding and having another investigator and eventually an assistant. Maybe one day. Then it would really be The Lane Group; for now it was just her and her trusty coffeemaker. She started the coffee and then took a seat back at her desk. While she had told him she wanted to make it quick, what she wanted was more information. With Megan’s disappearance, her personal goals might have to wait.
“I just want to make sure you didn’t see anything more on Saturday night? No matter how small, I want to know everything.”
“I can walk you through it. Again. I was there, in position. When I felt the bullet literally graze by me. I could hear noises but couldn’t see anyone. In fact, the only people I saw were in FBI flak jackets—two of them. And then there was you, of course.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “Yes, then there was me. And you left out the part about holding me at gunpoint.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “I didn’t think you needed to relive that, right?”
“Seriously, though. This Vladimir group is bad news. They’re involved in a bit of everything, but the most egregious part of their operation is human trafficking. I’m guessing I don’t need to tell you what that all entails. They also have a full drug and money-laundering scheme. And they run a variety of legal businesses that help serve as cover.”
“So why the move from New York?”
“Easy. The Mexican border. They move these poor girls over the border, and then...I can’t tell you how awful these men are.”
He didn’t have to. She knew. “And I could help how, exactly?”
“You’ve already shown you’re a good shot. Plus you’re a P.I. I’m sure you have expertise that could help out the FBI investigation.”
She nodded.
“But mainly, you probably have your ear to the ground with sources we don’t have at the FBI. If you hear anything, see anything in your work, we’d appreciate knowing about it. As you can imagine trying to take down an operation like theirs is a huge job. And we still may not succeed. They’ve eluded us before. This isn’t a simple takedown. It’s a very complex operation.”
She thought for a moment then asked. “How long have you been in the FBI?”
“Three years.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, before that I was in the military.”
“What branch?”
“Army.”
“You weren’t just the in army though, were you?” she asked on a hunch.
“Ranger.”
“I could tell.
“And how is that?”
“You have an edge about you.”
“I gue
ss I should take that as a compliment?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“So what do you say?”
“If I have any information, I’m happy to share. But right now my top priority is my client and trying to find this missing girl.”
“What do the police say?”
“That they’re overstretched on resources but still doing everything they can. No leads though.”
“Are you concerned?”
“After talking to her mother, yes I am. Moms know best. If she believes something happened to her daughter, then who am I to question that? The girl’s friends also haven’t heard from her. That’s key. A teenager might ignore her mom but definitely not her friends.”
He frowned. “Doesn’t sound good. How old is she?”
“Sixteen.”
“When did she go missing?”
“Saturday before last while out downtown with her friend.”
He frowned even deeper this time.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He shook his head.
She knew that wasn’t really what he was thinking, but she’d let it go.
“I know you’re busy. So I’ll get out of here. I’d like to take you to lunch sometime, though.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good.” He stood up and walked out the door.
She couldn’t help but notice how sweet his smile had been. Or his concern over Megan. Army ranger. Those guys were no joke. Why did he have to join the FBI? She shook her head in disgust. The FBI had a way of messing everything up. She hoped Kip hadn’t been corrupted. She shouldn’t focus too much on his sweet smile. Megan Milton was her top priority.
* * *
Sadie didn’t waste any time getting to work after Kip left her office. She needed to talk to Lauren and retrace Megan’s steps from the prior Saturday night. She’d gotten the teenager’s address from Ms. Milton and arrived at the house out in the El Paso suburbs. Lauren’s family had money. The two-story white sprawling house with a perfect fence was so cliché.
She’d called ahead of time to confirm the meeting. Lauren and her mother were actually eager to talk to her. She rang the doorbell and was greeted by a woman with bleached blond hair, in her forties, dressed in a tennis outfit. However, her perfume and heavy makeup didn’t seem consistent with an intense tennis match.
