Page 34 of River

“How bad is he,” I asked.

“They’re bringing him home for surgery. His brother-in-law Jason is a Navy Seal; he’s with him now. When Emily and Kash got together, she was raising her younger siblings. So Jason is like his son because he calls him his son.”

“Matt said they have lots of kids there. He said they are all nationalities, and he must be taking them from everywhere.”

“It’s so sad that there are people like that; it’s scary. Their mind is so warped,” Kat said.

“So, are you two a couple now?” Gage asked.

We ignored him. “What are you up to these days? Are you still dating that woman with the blinking problem? Poor thing. That has to be so annoying blinking like that. Or are those thick false eyelashes she wears the cause of that?” Kat asked.

“Okay, I won’t ask any questions. I’m just saying that if I knew, you would break the no-dating-your-co-worker rule. I would have asked Kat out long ago, and she would be at my house instead of yours.”

I looked at Kat, and we burst into laughter.

“I was going to bring over a lemon cream pie that I made,” he said with a grin.

“We would love some pie. Why don’t we have it on the deck, and the puppies can play together?”

Gage stood and looked around, then sat back down. His puppy was sleeping with Penny and Sissy.

17

River

“No,”I said for the tenth time.

“You can’t just say no. You have to give me a reason.”

“I gave you a reason. We need you here running the office. I’m going to shut this fucking child sex ring down.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of everything here. But if you need me, call. I like having you around. Don’t worry, though. I won’t start getting clingy. I hate clingy people. I had this friend once—so clingy with her boyfriend that she never let him go anywhere without her. Even when she came over to see me, he was always with her.”

“Sweetheart, I like having you around, too. You are never clingy; don’t worry about that. I would never think that.” My bag was packed, and I zipped it shut. Farron and Raven were waiting for me. I pulled Kat close, kissing her until we needed to breathe. She wrapped her arms around my neck, whispering, “Come back to me.”

“I will, sweetheart, I promise.” I set her down, realizing I’d lifted her without thinking. Her legs had been wrapped around my waist. I kissed her again. “I’ve got to go.”

“I know. Be careful.” She let me go. I couldn’t look back; if I did, I might not be able to leave.

“So what is the plan? Who shot Kash Walker?” I asked as we drove out of the gates.

“It’s the fucking gangs there. They’ve taken over, and the authorities are in their pockets. Not all of them, but the higher-ups. The local government lost control. A man named Omari runs the show now, and they’re taking kids in broad daylight.”

“What about the families? What do they do?” I asked.

“If the families try to stop them, they get shot in the head,” Raven replied, his tone cold.

“I’m not going over there to do the police’s job. I’m going there to help the kids and kill the bastards who hurt them,” I said, my voice hard.

Leaving Kat behind was brutal. I hated it. I should have told her I loved her before I left. I love her more than anything. I don’t want to scare her, but I hope she feels the same way. Next time I see her, I’ll tell her.

We landed in Johannesburg, and Cyclone picked us up. After a two hour drive we stopped at the building where we were staying.

Matt Grey approached. “Thank God you’re here. We have to wipe this gang out. If they keep operating, it’s only going to get worse. Omari’s already sent men to other communities to capture more women and kids.”

“Where’s Omari based? Why not blow his compound up,” Raven asked. “I was here a year ago, and they were trying to get this bastard.”

“He uses children as shields, keeping the older girls in his compound for the visiting men. If we can extract them, we can destroy the compound—with him inside,” Matt explained.

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