Page 16 of Illicit

Rocco

The heat.

She’s right about one thing.

The heat will do me in.

But visions of Robichaux leering at Teagan and my curiosity get the best of me. “It’s a deal. Tell me everything.”

She smiles, and it even touches her dark eyes. Hell, it reminds me of better times.

“Do you promise?” she demands.

I narrow my eyes. “When have I ever lied to you?”

I might’ve pissed her off or hurt her, but I’ve never lied to her. She shrugs because she knows that’s the truth.

“Fair enough. Stella Hayes lives in southern Mississippi, close to school. She’s in her thirties, married, and has two little kids. I met her through the nonprofit I’ve been volunteering for, A Life of Justice.”

I huff an exhale. “You and your unsolved crimes obsession.”

“Always and forever,” she confirms. “Anyway, poor Stella has been snubbed by the State Department and the FBI, not to mention her local police department, not that they could do much. They’re made up of four part-time officers and don’t have jurisdiction outside of their little town, let alone outside the country.”

“Wait.” I sit up straight and hold out a low hand. “The State Department and FBI? What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

She frowns like I’m an idiot. “Our own government turned its back on her. Someone has to help her.”

“I do work for that big, bad nemesis, remember?” I deadpan.

“But for drugs.” She emphasizes the last word, like that makes any sort of difference when it comes to the U.S. Government turning their back on poor Stella Hayes. “This is different. This is about humans. One in particular that I’m trying to help Stella find.”

I stand and stretch. “I can tell you right now, you’re in over your head. You need to step back and be grateful I was there today to extract you from the situation.”

Teagan looks up at me from where she’s made herself too comfortable on my sofa for the current conversation. She crosses her legs and looks proud of herself. “I’m not stepping back from anything. You might’ve fucked up my day, but I promised Stella I’d help her. And you promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone. We are where we are. But I’ll admit, this might go faster with your help. A Life for Justice can do a lot, but we don’t have access to the systems you do.”

“Are you talking human trafficking?” I demand. “Because the way Robichaux was looking at you today, I see it. And I’ll tell you, I don’t fucking like it.”

“See, that’s the thing. I don’t think this is officially considered human trafficking. I mean, it was consensual, but it’s still fraud.”

I pick up my beer and start to pace. This whole thing pisses me off, and I have no fucking idea what I’m dealing with yet. “That makes no sense.”

She claims her own beer and stretches her legs out in the space I was sitting. “I’m not sure it’s a thing, but I’m calling it elder fraud.”

I stop and look down at her. “Elder fraud?”

She nods. “Heath Hayes is Stella’s father. He’s seventy-seven and owns a small farm in central Mississippi. Farming isn’t what it once was—he’s been behind on his property taxes for a few years. The only thing he wants in life is to leave his farm to his family.”

“What does this have to do with human trafficking or fraud?”

“Heath has been missing for months,” she says.

I take another drink and fight for patience since I’ve finally got her talking. “Has she heard of a missing person’s report? Not that any missing person isn’t important, but it doesn’t involve the State Department or the FBI. Well, maybe the FBI, but only in certain circumstances.”

She leans forward. Gone is the person who’s pissed at me and shut me out for the last two years. Who I see in front of me is the old Teagan. The one who’s passionate about everything.

In fact, if she’s not passionate about it, she doesn’t give a fuck.

That hasn’t changed.

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