They probably had to clean her up to sell her off. Wasn’t that how these things worked?
Ryan had absolutely no idea where she was. She didn’t know who these men were or if Juan was even around here. And Ryan and Patrick didn’t even know who Juan was—she hadn’t mentioned him. She’d planned her wedding as if she hadn’t a care in the entire world.
Brushing a tear aside, she looked back at the door. Someone would be coming back. They’d come for her—take her God only knew where to do God only knew what.
Letting out a shaky breath, she pounded on the ground in frustration.
There was no way out of this. No one to help her.
Hot tears spilled down her cheeks.
Although she’d told herself yesterday that she only needed to hold on for twenty-four more hours, she knew that truth was something far worse.
Ryan and his SEAL teams weren’t here. No one was coming to help her.
She could only rely on herself.
Chapter 24
RYAN ADJUSTED HIS HELMET, ensuring his mouthpiece and headset were in place, his eyes narrowing as he looked around the cargo space of the C-17 cargo plane. The Alpha Team was hustling into action, strapping on their gear as they readied to land. He’d grabbed an extra set of gear from Little Creek, rushing onto the plane right along with his men.
“ETA?” Ryan asked into the headset.
“Eleven minutes,” the pilot responded.
“Roger that.” Ryan’s gaze swept the area. Patrick was talking to Evan near the front of the plane, both men dressed in their Kevlar vests, helmets, and protective gear. Brent was securing his sidearm, and Christopher was closing the laptop he’d been working on during the flight, stuffing it into his rucksack.
Christopher spoke into his mouthpiece so everyone could hear him over the roar of the engine. “The latest sat imagery shows a small plane did arrive in Mexico City on Saturday. It fits the description of one that flew out near Richmond.”
“That’s them,” Ryan said in a deadly voice. Richmond was only two hours from Virginia Beach. Lexi had been able to confirm that the vehicle Juan likely left the hotel in passed over the bridge shortly after Lexi went missing on Saturday. And the interstate they’d been driving on led directly to Richmond.
They’d taken her and run, Ryan thought grimly. Sarah had been gone by the time they’d even begun searching.
“Hunter spoke with the police detective,” Patrick said as he walked over to Ryan and some of the other men. “As we expected, they searched Juan’s house in Miami but came up empty.”
“That mother-fucker took her to Mexico,” Ryan said. “I feel it in my bones.”
“And now we’ve got sat imagery confirming it,” Christopher said.
“Are there any surveillance cameras near the small airport?” Ryan asked.
“Lexi’s still looking.”
Mathew sauntered over to them. “All hell’s about to break loose. Word is the Pentagon is not happy about this op.”
“You’re goddamn right all hell is about to break loose. I’ll deal with the Pentagon and Navy when I return. Those assholes who took Sarah are going to wish they were never even born when I get through with them.”
The pilot came over their headsets. “ETA is two minutes. Strap in and ready for landing. The control tower informed me a Mexican military official will be ready to meet with the CO upon arrival.”
“Let’s hope it’s not the same motherfucker that sold our names to the enemy,” Brent muttered, grabbing a seat.
“Remember, not a word about Sarah,” Ryan instructed the men. “As far as they know, we’re here for the other missing American woman. We don’t know who the dirty players are, and we don’t want them to know we’re coming for her.”
“Roger that,” the men replied.
A minute later, they were descending in the sky and rushing along the runway. The back of the plane opened up after they came to a stop, and the men grabbed their gear and strode down the metal ramp, with Ryan leading the way.
“Who’s running this from Little Creek?” Patrick asked in a low voice.
“An officer friend of mine, Lt. Commander Morris.”
Patrick nodded. “He’s a good man.”
“He’s jeopardizing his own career as well,” Ryan said, “but I’d do it for him in a heartbeat.”
“Any one of us would,” Patrick confirmed. “The intel is solid. We might’ve moved quicker than they wanted, but we had Juan’s prints and real name, security camera images of his vehicle traveling westbound on I-64. He’s a known affiliate of the sex-trafficking ring. It all adds up.”
“Precisely. I’m not going to sit around on my ass while Sarah is taken somewhere else for me to never see her again. These guys move quick—they grab the women, move them down to Mexico, and sell them off to the highest bidder. Our chances of finding her decrease with every passing minute. It’s already been too damn long.”
“We’re not leaving here without her,” Patrick said, his voice cold.
Matthew sauntered up beside them, catching part of their conversation. “Ice is right,” he drawled. “The intel all points to moving Sarah here. You know what they say—better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.”
“I sure as hell don’t need anyone’s permission to save my fiancée,” Ryan said, his blood boiling.
Brent fell in step beside the group of them, frowning. “Hell no. None of us do. If someone took Ella, nothing on this Earth would stop me from finding her.”
Ryan nodded, adrenaline pumping through his veins as they walked off the tarmac and toward the control tower, where the Mexican authorities were waiting. “We’ll deal with the repercussions of this mission when we get home. I’ll take the heat from dragging the rest of you into this. Until then, my only priority is locating Sarah. Who’s got the list of targets from the last op?”
“I’ve got the imagery—maps and locations of the houses and buildings,” Christopher said. “We moved out quickly last time after grabbing the missing American woman. There were multiple other places to search.”
“But that wasn’t the mission,” Ryan confirmed.
“No sir, we only had the whereabouts of the first woman.”
A middle-aged man in a Mexican military uniform began walking toward them. “You recognize him?” Ryan asked, frowning.
“Affirmative,” Patrick replied. “We met with him a month ago.”
“Commander Foster,” the Mexican official said, his gaze landing on Patrick. “I came to the airport with my men to welcome you and your team back.”
Patrick’s gaze slid toward Ryan, but he nodded, letting the man believe Patrick was higher up the chain of command. No sense in drawing attention to himself. They didn’t know who was involved in leaking their names, but if someone had gone through the trouble to kidnap Sarah, he sure the hell didn’t need to blow it now by revealing himself. Not when they were so close to finding her.
“Colonel Rodriquez, good to see you,” Patrick responded, his cool blue gaze scanning the area. Ryan saw some other members of the military off in the distance, as well as what he assumed to be airport officials.
“You’re back for the other American? The friend of the woman you rescued? I haven’t seen any new information about her, but that’s wonderful news if you’ve found her.”
Patrick nodded as the men gathered round.
“We’ll need to go into the area we were before to conduct the search.”
“Understood,” Colonel Rodriquez said. “You have the full support of the Mexican government to obtain the missing American woman. I’ve made our local police aware of your pending arrival as well. I must admit, I was surprised not to hear from your State Department this time.”
“We were in a rush due to the sensitive nature of the operation,” Patrick said coolly.
The colonel nodded. “My men are waiting to escort you. You have your own transportation again, si?” he asked.
“Yes, we’ve got our own
vehicles. We’ll be moving out immediately.”
Patrick turned toward the SEAL team as Colonel Rodriquez went to update his own men. Their headsets crackled, and Lt. Commander Morris began speaking from Little Creek. “While you were mid-flight, we obtained some additional information. Lexi was able to hack into a computer network down there—something the military has been attempting for weeks, as you may already be aware.”
“Sonofabitch,” Christopher muttered, looking impressed.
“What’d she find?” Ryan asked, clenching his jaw.
“We’ve got a new address. It’s an old plantation on the outskirts of town—not where you were searching before, but it’s referenced multiple times in the communications she’s intercepted. It looks like the prior group of houses is not being used as of this morning.”
“Damn it,” Ryan muttered, his eyes blazing.
“Send me the address, and I’ll work the new route,” Evan said, putting down his rucksack and pulling out a tablet computer.
“I’ll go tell the colonel we’re searching elsewhere,” Matthew said as the others nodded. He jogged off after the Mexican military official.
“What’s at this location that makes you believe she’s there?” Patrick asked, exchanging a glance with Ryan.
Ryan felt like the world stopped as he waited for the answer.
This could be it. If they rushed off to the wrong place, maybe they’d find some other women there, but Sarah could be prisoner at one of the original locations and would slip right through their fingers and disappear.
Forever.
If they moved her from Mexico City, Ryan had the sickening feeling he’d never see her again.
They had to be one hundred percent certain of her location, and there was damn little way to be. His heart pounded in his chest, and he wanted to beat the hell out of anyone who stood in his way to finding his woman. They needed more men to simultaneously search multiple locations, and they didn’t have it.
“As I said, Lexi was able to obtain some intercepts of the communications,” Lt. Commander Morris said. “It seems that they are directing potential buyers to this new address.”
“Potential buyers,” Brent muttered, punching one hand with his fist. “They’re selling goddamn women.”
Ryan crossed his arms, glancing at the Mexican military members in the distance as Lt. Commander Morris continued. “Multiple buyers. This is big. The area the Alpha team was before looks to have been recently abandoned. But the new plantation is large enough that multiple women could be held there.”
“Hell,” Ryan muttered, anger rising within him. They’d been about to rush off to the wrong damn place. Sarah was here, in Mexico City, and they’d been about to lose her.
Christopher looked over him, offering reassurances. “The imagery looked good before our flight—we had sat imagery of the plane at the airport and vehicles moving off in the direction of town.”
“It was good,” Lt. Commander Morris confirmed. “This is a very new development. The other buildings appear to have been deserted between yesterday evening and this morning.”
“But why would they leave?” Patrick asking, frowning.
“That’s unknown. It could have to do with Juan’s arrival with Sarah. We just don’t know.”
“Then we head to the plantation,” Ryan said, his voice hard. “They wouldn’t keep her somewhere alone—not when they plan to fucking sell her. Is there imagery of the car they were traveling in at this plantation?”
“They arrived at night, so unfortunately we don’t know. There’s been lots of activity this morning.”
“Meaning the vehicle’s not there,” Ryan said.
Patrick glanced over at him. “But Sarah might be. They could drop the women there as a holding spot before the buyers arrive.”
“Then we move in,” Ryan said. “We don’t have time to waste. If Lexi discovered they’re directing buyers there, they could be moving the women as we speak.”
“I’ve got the new coordinates,” Evan called out, looking over at them. “Safest route is keeping to the outskirts of town.”
“Into the Humvees,” Ryan commanded. “Ice, call Matthew back and notify the colonel. As far as he knows, you’re running this op.”
Patrick nodded, jogging toward the Mexican military members as Ryan and the Alpha team climbed into their vehicles. Ryan’s heart pounded in his chest, his grip tightening on his assault rifle.
“Keep me apprised,” Lt. Commander Morris said over the headsets. “I’ll be watching from Little Creek.”
“Roger that,” Ryan said.
Out of all the missions he’d conducted while serving as a SEAL, this was the damn most important of his life. The riskiest thing he’d ever done. He trusted his men implicitly, but that wouldn’t stop him from being the first in to rescue her.
Sarah was his.
There was nothing he wouldn’t do to rescue her. Nothing he wouldn’t give to find her.
They were close. So damn close to ending this entire nightmare.
“Hold on, baby girl,” he murmured to himself as he grabbed his seat.
He couldn’t let anything stop him now.
Chapter 25
SARAH CRIED OUT IN shock as two older women poured cold water over her head. She shivered, frantically trying to cover her head and face with her hands. The Mexican woman who’d brought her food earlier stood off to the side, talking rapidly in Spanish.
“Clean! Take off clothes!”
Tears smarting her eyes, she trembled as the women poured more water over her head.
The women began pulling at her sweatshirt, and she swiped at them, backing away as she wiped the water off of her face. Her wet hair hung around her, and now her clothes were soaked as well.
“Undress! Need undress!”
“Fine, fine,” Sarah finally muttered, pulling the soggy sweatshirt up and over her head. She knew she looked ridiculous standing there in her bra and oversized sweatpants, but a part of her was relieved to be semi-clean again.
Shivering, her eyes darted around the cellar and she wrapped her arms around herself. Why couldn’t they have taken her somewhere else to bathe? Certainly, there must be a bathroom or something in whatever house or building they were keeping her in. These women all appeared to be clean and groomed. Did they live here? Work here?
Sarah watched in horror as they tossed her sweatshirt off to the side, leaving it in a soggy pile on the cold floor. What was she supposed to wear?
One woman gestured at her sweatpants, and Sarah shook her head, no. She wasn’t about to completely undress in front of them. Wet sweatpants or not, what if the men came back? She wasn’t about to stand down here buck naked.
The door to the room rattled, and her mouth dropped open in shock as it opened and another woman was pushed inside. She was thin and frail, wearing only an oversized tee-shirt, and her eyes widened in surprise as she took in Sarah.
Sarah didn’t miss the dark circles under her eyes or hollows of her cheeks. She looked like she hadn’t slept well in weeks or been fed or cared for.
“You must be new here,” the young woman said, her voice hoarse. She coughed once, and Sarah realized in shock that she sounded American.
“Quiet!” the older Mexican woman admonished, hustling toward her.
Grabbing some clothing from the other bucket she was carrying, Sarah realized they had dresses for each of the women to put on.
“What’s going on?” Sarah asked, her voice trembling. She almost didn’t want to know the answer. As horrible as being locked down in this dimly lit room had been, no one had harmed her. Bathing and dressing her did not look to be a good sign.
“Today. We move you today,” one of the women said, grabbing onto the newcomer’s arm and bringing her over to where Sarah stood.
Sarah gaped as the woman turned, and she saw a huge bruise across the back of her thighs. Apparently resigned to the situation, she pulled the tee shirt up and over her head, standing there naked as
the women poured water on her. There were small bruises covering her back and stomach, and Sarah wondered what had happened to her. Had she been beaten? Raped?
Her ribs were practically poking through her skin, and Sarah wondered how long the woman had been in captivity.
She averted her gaze, not wanting to stare.
She was lucky no one had actually harmed her yet, but what had happened to this poor woman at her side?
Sarah squealed as one of the women tossed cold water on her from behind, feeling it run down her bare back.
Why the hell were they attempting to bathe them this way? When she escaped—which she would, because there was no way this was her new life—she was going to take the longest, hottest bath of her life. Heck, maybe she’d never get out of the bath. Ryan would hold her in his arms and—
Splash!
She yelped as more water ran down her back.
Shivering, Sarah took the dress the woman shoved at her and took a step backwards. Her wet hair hung limply around her face, and her soaked sweatpants were practically falling off.
The very last thing she wanted to wear was this tiny dress with its thin straps and barely enough material to cover her ass. It was better than running around naked though. Moving to the far corner, she pushed down the wet sweatpants and quickly pulled the dress on. Her bra and thong were wet, but there was no way in hell she was taking them off.
She cringed, realizing she’d been wearing the same undergarments for days.
She wanted to thoroughly wash her hair, brush her teeth, and forget she’d ever been in this horrible place. Looking over, she saw the second woman pulling on her dress, too, and it hung loosely on her frail body. The older women were already gathering their things, readying to leave.
“What’s happening?” Sarah asked. “What’s going to happen to us?”
The newcomer shot her a look, and the three women grabbed their buckets and walked out without so much as a single word. Sarah heard the door locking behind them and then turned to the young woman.
SEAL Ever After Page 14
