RunningScaredBN (24 page)

“Oh shit,” Kelly whispered.

“Yeah. The level of depravity defies description. As you know, we habitually search these kinds of sites, hoping we can stem the flow. We traced the IP address back to one of Larson’s places, but this child isn’t one of the ones we knew about. This one is a fifteen year old boy.”

“So he does have more,” Ingram said.

“Yes. We thought he might. It’s good we waited, but dammit, we can’t wait any longer. We’ve got to move now.”

“When’s the sale?” Kelly asked.

“The ad said he’ll be ready for purchase in a couple of weeks.”

“You’re right,” Ingram said. “We have to move now.”

“When we get this piece of shit alone,” Kelly snarled, “we better make damn sure he spills his guts on how many kids he’s got now and how many he’s sold over the years.”

“Trust me,” Noah said with lethal quietness, “the man will talk.”

Chapter Twenty-two

LCR Branch Office

East Tennessee

Things were moving fast. Tomorrow their team would leave for Los Angeles. Several operatives were already there, keeping eyes on Larson’s houses. If one of the locations indicated something hinky, they would have to raid all the locations and rescue the kids immediately. Larson would go down, but Dimitri would probably stay free.

Riley had accepted that inevitability. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but with so many different components, they had no choice but to stay loose. There were too many innocents riding on this to not allow for deviations.

Justin, Noah, Sabrina, Angela, Jake, Aidan, and Riley had reviewed the plan and each of their roles. Riley could have recited it in her sleep. If they were able to carry it out, she had no doubt they would be successful.
 

Even though the reason they’d had to move the mission up was a deplorable one, Riley couldn’t help but be relieved. Carrying out a deep-cover operation was draining enough. Carrying one out that held such emotional impact was much more wearing. She wanted this over and done with. Kids saved and perverted, disgusting pieces of slime like Larson and Dimitri put out of business for good.

Very soon she would be in the presence of the people who had betrayed her in the worst way possible. Would she see both Larson and his wife? Or just Larson?
 

Though she had nothing but hatred and revulsion for both of them, she needed answers. Were these people really her parents, or had she, as Noah suspected, been abducted as a child? If so, did they know who her parents were? Was it possible that she had a blood family out there? One that might still be looking for her? Want her? Was it possible that the blood running through her veins didn’t belong to vile human traffickers? She prayed that was so.

She told herself it didn’t really matter. She knew who she was. Being related to evil didn’t make one evil. And LCR was her family. She couldn’t ask for a better one. But still, the fantasy that she had a mother and father who had once loved her was something she couldn’t dismiss no matter how much she tried. What would it feel like?

She glanced over at Justin sitting at a desk a few feet away, staring intently at his laptop. Things still weren’t right between them. There was awkwardness, an uneasiness, between them. It was similar to how they’d been with each other when they’d first become partners. Every word weighed, every sentence measured, every glance wary and questioning. She didn’t like it but wasn’t sure how to break the tension.

They slept side by side, in the same bed, each night. When nightmares woke her, she only had to turn to him. He immediately knew what had happened and would take her in his arms, hold her, whisper comforting words until she went back to sleep. It was beautiful, soothing, and comfortable.
 

She wanted more.

She wanted him to make love to her. She wanted those knee-melting kisses, his hands moving over her, his hard body surrounding her. But not once had he given the slightest indication that he wanted anything more to happen.
 

She refused to believe his feelings changed. No man could kiss a woman like he had, or make love to her as if he could never get enough of her, and not have a strong desire for her. So why didn’t he ask for more?

Riley stifled an inward groan. She hated these squishy, girlie feelings. They made her feel vulnerable and alone. Having no experience with how romantic relationships were supposed to work, she struggled with the least little thing. Like, was she supposed to make an overture? Her heart was telling her to do what came naturally, what her instincts wanted her to do, which was touch him, kiss him, and tell him she wanted him.

A chair scraped across the floor, jerking Riley from her thoughts. Justin gave her what she could describe only as a fierce glare and growled, “I’m going out for a while.”

Wordlessly, she watched him walk out the door, wanting so badly to call him back. Yet at the same time, if she did call him back, confront him with her questions, and he told her he no longer wanted her that way, she was pretty damn sure she would cry. And since she hadn’t cried in over eight years, she feared tears almost as much as she feared him no longer wanting her.

“Okay, mopey girl. You’re coming with us.”

She looked up. Anna had spoken, but McKenna, who stood beside her, wore the same firm expression as Anna.
 

“What?”

“You need a girls’ night,” McKenna said. “We all need one.”

“I’m not really in the mood to go out.”

“Then we’ll stay in and order takeout. Come on, it’ll be fun. Just us girls.”

Riley frowned. “We’re not going to paint each other’s nails and eat ice cream from the carton are we?”

Eden stuck her head in the open doorway. “Did I hear something about ice cream?”

“We’re having a girls-only party in our apartment. Ice cream and takeout, not necessarily in that order. Are you in?”

“Definitely.” Beautiful gray eyes sparkled with delight. “I haven’t had a girls-only party since college. Jordan and I are just heading out. Need me to bring drinks?”

“Lucas flew in briefly last night” McKenna’s golden skin blushed a bright pink. “He brought soda. No beer, though.”

“I’ll grab some beer and a bottle of wine. See you in a few.”

Anna turned back to Riley. “You ready to go?”

“You never did answer me about the nail-painting part.”

“No nail painting. I promise. We’ll order Chinese from that place down the street. And if you’re extra sweet, I might even let you use a bowl for your ice cream.”

“What kind of ice cream?”

“Whatever kind you like. I polished off the last carton this morning for breakfast.”
 

Anna cheerfully ignored both McKenna’s and Riley’s grimaces as she draped her purse strap over her shoulder. “We’ll pick up more on the way.” She held out her hand to Riley. “Let’s go.”

Grabbing her keys, Riley allowed Anna to pull her to the door. Gratitude flowed through her, and a strong surge of emotion built in her chest. Blood ties didn’t matter. LCR was her family. The only one she would ever need.

***

Aidan Thorne flew through the air, landed with a thud on the mat, and let loose a cursing groan. Raising his head slightly, he glared at the sweaty, grim-faced man a few feet away.

“Hell, Kelly, when you said you wanted to spar, you might’ve mentioned somebody might die.”

Rasping breaths heaving from overtaxed lungs, Justin looked down at the man. Frustration and fury made a lethal combination. He’d challenged Thorne to a spar, but he’d forgotten to mention that it would be like the ones they had at Bruce’s in Virginia. Whenever they sparred at an LCR gym, they held themselves back. Today he hadn’t been able to keep the anger inside and had let loose a flurry of punches that had Thorne battling to stay on his feet. The last one had sent him flying halfway across the room.

Grimacing an apology, Justin held out his hand to help his friend up. “Sorry. That shouldn’t have happened.”

Thorne accepted his hand and stood. Working his jaw to ease the ache, he shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. After sitting on our collective asses the entire week, working off some steam feels damn good. Thing is, I’ve got a date tonight. Hate to mess up this pretty mug of mine.”

Justin snorted. “We’ve been working round the clock. How’d you have time to meet someone?”

“Didn’t just meet her. I’ve known her a couple of years. We go out whenever I’m in her area or she’s in mine.”

“So nothing serious?”

His eyes went wide. “Serious? Hell no. Not my style.”

At one time, Justin would have said the same thing. He’d had a few relationships over the years. Had even gotten semiserious a couple times. But none of them had lasted. But now? With Riley? He couldn’t imagine wanting anyone else ever again. And, oh hell, did he want her. But since that one night together, she hadn’t indicated she wanted more. Once this shit was over, though, he was planning some major time off. That place in the mountains might not look like a fairy-tale romantic castle, but it would definitely fulfill his privacy requirement.

“So you still want to beat the hell out of someone? If so, I’ll go get my face gear and we’ll go at it.”

Oddly enough, he was over that need. He shook his head. “Come on. I’ll buy you a beer. Take the sting out of your jaw.”

Grabbing a towel, Thorne swiped it down his face and chest. “Might take something stronger.” He worked his jaw again. “Something must’ve pissed you off mightily today.”

Pissed him off? Yeah, but not just today. It happened every time he thought about Dimitri. “Ever wanted to rip a man apart with your bare hands?”

A hollow darkness flashed on Thorne’s face. “Every. Damn. Day.”
 

***

Ensconced on the sofa, Riley gazed around the room. A dozen half-empty Chinese carryout boxes, beer and soda bottles, and numerous fortune-cookie wrappers cluttered the coffee table. After stuffing themselves with half the menu from the Chinese restaurant down the road, they’d opened all the cookies and proceeded to try to outdo each other with their hilarious fortunes. So far Anna was winning with
Look before your behind
.

Anna giggled. “That’s not even anatomically possible.”

“Fortune cookies aren’t what they used to be.”

Eden shook her head. “They never have been. You make your own fortune.”

The room went silent as each woman considered that profound statement. Riley glanced at each face and considered what she knew about them. Eden had endured a horrible event and had remade herself into someone else. Flawlessly beautiful, she had been with LCR for years and was the most seasoned operative. She and her husband, Jordan Montgomery, ran the LCR office in Paris.
 

Even though much of Eden’s past was shrouded in mystery and intrigue, she had found the peace and happiness she sought, not only with LCR, but also with her very own hero. Riley didn’t know a lot about Eden’s personal life, other than she and Jordan had two adopted children, she could speak eight languages fluently, and she could assume a deep-cover alias in a matter of seconds.

When she’d first met Eden, Riley remembered being incredibly intimidated. Eden had a sophistication that seemed an innate part of her personality. After working on a couple of missions with her, Riley developed a less narrow view of the beautiful operative. Not only did she have a warm personality, she often went out of her way to encourage other operatives.
 

Turning her head slightly, Riley looked over at McKenna, the operative formerly known as Ghost. Unfortunately, much of McKenna’s past was known. Her story had been splashed all over every tabloid. Though it was horrific and tragic, what McKenna had overcome was awe-inspiring. She looked as delicate as a flower, but beneath the façade was a backbone of steel. Married to Lucas Kane, one of the wealthiest men in the world, McKenna stayed deep undercover the majority of the time. No one would ever suspect that the same woman who hobnobbed with celebrities at world movie premieres and was a frequent guest of the royal family spent several days a week rescuing kidnap victims and taking down evil people.

Switching her gaze, Riley watched Anna nibble on a fortune cookie, a pensive look on her pretty face. She knew more about Anna than the other two women combined. Riley and Anna might be as different as night and day, but from their first meeting, they’d been fast friends. And considering she’d never been allowed friends and knew nothing about being one, she was surprised at how very easy it was to be Anna’s friend.

All three women had survived horrendous events and come out on the other side, whole and healthy. And both Eden and McKenna had found the loves of their lives. It didn’t take a psychic to read the soul-deep contentment in their eyes.
 

“How did you two do it?”

She hadn’t meant to blurt the question out, but since all three women were looking questioningly at her, she forced herself to continue. She really wanted to know the answer.

“Eden, you and McKenna, you both found happiness. Found love. How did that happen?”

It was awkwardly worded, and she wasn’t sure either of them could understand what she was getting at. Eden surprised her, though, and said, “You mean, how did I heal emotionally enough to find happiness with a man?”