Page 155 of Unexpected Redemption

Her mouth rounds, and she flits her eyes to the ceiling. “Only that it was sent through a VPN. It’s likely a dead end. Alexei’s good at covering his digital tracks.”

Shit.

Immediately, she returns her focus to her laptop. Unfortunately, she’s down too many seats for me to see what’s captivated her attention to this extreme.

“Can we discuss the list yet?” Sawyer asks after two seconds of silence, which is the maximum amount he’s comfortable with.

So I assume, considering he’s always talking.

With a roll of his eyes, Boss waves his hand in a circle, yielding the floor to me.

“Right. The list.” I drag my finger over the trackpad to wake my screen. “It’s a list of seventy-two names. Mostly male.”

“That’s it?” Leo’s brows pull in tight.

I nod. “Just names. Nothing else.”

“Who’s on the list?” Lettie asks, leaning to peek at my screen.

Turning my laptop slightly, I give her a better view. “Still pulling them up one by one. I’m about halfway through. For the most part, they’re wealthy and powerful. CEOs. A few politicians. Some law enforcement.”

“Interesting.” Boss narrows his eyes. “Any average Joes on there?”

“About ten so far. Middle class, for the most part. Some married. Blue collar. It’s a mix. But of the thirty-four I’ve looked up, the vast majority are rolling in the dough.”

Shep groans. “I’m going to regret suggesting this, but do I need to take the names to Yuri?”

“Possibly,” Boss answers, quickly adding, “Not yet. Let’s see what the team can dig up first.”

Still studying the screen, Lettie reaches over the keyboard and scrolls lower.

“Send me the list, T,” Klein says. “I’ll start at the bottom and work up.”

With three clicks, I send him a link to the file. “Done.”

Lettie grabs my hand suddenly. “Babe.”

“What, sugar?”

Letting my hand go, she points at the screen. “I might know who these people are and why Alexei wanted us to have this list.”

My windpipe constricts as I wait for her to explain. As if she can sense my apprehension, she gives me a comforting half-smile and caresses my hand.

“Which name do you recognize, Lettie?” Big Al asks, his tone woven with tendrils of warmth.

“In the house, I heard an unusual name mentioned a couple of times.”Her throat bobs, and her jaw clicks. “They said they had to save the virgins for him. He pays top dollar for them.”

“This one?” I ask her, my finger hovering over the screen.

She nods. “Yeah. They saved the virgins for someone namedHuxley.”

“Full name is Huxley Bowen,” I inform the others since they can’t see where I’m pointing.

Big Al clicks his tongue and sighs audibly. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Did you look him up yet, T?”

“Doing it now.”

Starting with a simple web search, I get a hit. A big fat one.

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