Page 46 of SEAL Ever After

“None of you were planning your wedding,” he ground out. “Sarah wanted to handle the majority of the planning, but it was stupid of me not to do a background check on every damn one of them.”

“Negative,” Hunter said. “Absolutely no one thought she would be in danger because of them. The woman was forced to work with Juan and then tied up and left alone. He’s the only person to blame here.”

“We’re already running a trace on the new name,” Christopher assured him. “It may be old, but if we can find a connection to anyone down in Mexico, that will widen our search and give us some new leads.”

Ryan clenched his jaw. “I told everyone to be on alert because the leaders of the sex trafficking ring had men here in the U.S. He’s the bastard we should’ve been watching for. He was right here in front of us, and he fucking took her!”

“We don’t know—” Hunter started to say.

“It’s them,” Ryan said, his blood running cold. “There’s no way a common criminal would have orchestrated something like this. You know that as well as I do.”

“We should pull ties to the leaders that were arrested last month,” Christopher said. “The guys that bribed their way out of jail. Contacts, family members, everything. We’ll keep running searches on Juan/Jesus/whatever the hell his name is, but let’s start expanding our scope, too. If Sarah’s already been moved out of Virginia Beach, then let’s start searching elsewhere.”

Ryan nodded, adrenaline beginning to course through him. “Yes, and let’s contact our guys down in Mexico, see if they’ve heard of this asshole. She could be on a goddamn plane down there right now.”

“We’ll find him,” Christopher assured everyone. “And we’ll find Sarah.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed as he walked over to look at the traces being run on Christopher and Lexi’s laptop screens. “Hell, we’ll search the homes of every damn person he knows if we have to. Nothing is going to stop me from finding her.”

The door to the bullpen opened just then, and Patrick stormed in, his eyes furious as he looked at Ryan and the other men. “Tell me the latest,” he said, clenching his fists. “We need to find my sister.”

Chapter 21

Sarah winced as Juan gripped her upper arm, forcing her to move to the front of the airplane. The men had left her alone for the flight, and she’d been too scared to so much as move a muscle when she’d been awake.

Whatever they’d drugged her with still hadn’t completely left her system either, and after they’d taken off, she’d slept for several hours.

Her stomach roiled as they moved forward, and she didn’t know how long it had been since she’d last had something to eat or drink. Every hour she was awake seemed endless, and every moment was taking her farther and farther away from Ryan.

The door to the plane opened, and she felt the hot air against her face.

Blinking at the bright sunlight, her mouth nearly fell open in shock as her eyes adjusted. They’d landed on a dirt airstrip somewhere, but that wasn’t what was most concerning. The mountains in the distance let her know she sure the hell wasn’t on the East Coast of the U.S. anymore.

Juan had said they were going to Mexico, but a part of her had hoped that he was bluffing. He’d actually kidnapped her and taken her to another country. No one knew where she was. No one could help her.

Sarah began to tremble, and Juan shoved her forward.

Taking shaky steps down the stairs, she grabbed hold of the metal railing.

There were several armed men standing around the perimeter of the airstrip, which was fenced in with barbed wire, and she wondered if this was also some sort of drug operation. It seemed like an insane amount of work had gone into kidnapping her. Were there more women being kept somewhere else around here? Were they trafficking women from all around the U.S.?

None of this made any sense. She’d befriended Juan, sort of, and he’d orchestrated this entire thing. Was it because of Ryan? Because of her brother?

Certainly it would be easier to kidnap a woman alone late at night than to drug and take someone from a hotel.

Maybe they had some other sort of illegal operation that she’d accidentally gotten involved in.

She shuddered and heard Juan’s harsh laugh behind her.

Stepping onto the dirt ground, she felt the soft earth beneath her bare feet. Would they give her shoes to put on? Expect her to walk around barefoot everywhere?

Where were they even taking her?

A man walked over and began talking to Juan and the others in Spanish. She picked up a few words but couldn’t follow what they were saying.

“We’ll be traveling to my home for the night,” Juan said, his fingers gripping her upper arm more tightly. “The buyer has been delayed until tomorrow, but there’s no point in keeping you with the other women when I can have you all to myself. He is thrilled to be purchasing you. I’ll collect a hefty sum for my troubles, and you’ll never see U.S. soil again.”

Her stomach tightened, but she held her chin up, determined not to let him see how frightened she was.

---