Page 78 of Mountain Refuge

If the trafficking ring might be as close as Langley, then she needed to be even more vigilant when it came to Tracy. Her niece wouldn’t like having the strings tightened. She still complained about not being able to have a social-media presence under an assumed name with an avatar as her profile picture.

The ring she and Mason had brought down was smarter than most gave them credit for. A predator might not know it was Tracy, but they would know the profile belonged to a young girl. Taya couldn’t take that chance.

The doorbell rang. She grabbed the money from the table and opened it.

Sheriff Westbrook stood on the porch, his hat in hand. “Mind if I come in?”

~

“What’s up?” Ryan stepped from the bedroom while buttoning his shirt.

Tracy joined him, one hand on Betty’s head.

“Is there somewhere we can talk without…?” The sheriff tilted his head.

“Ugh.” Tracy whirled and stomped to her room.

“Sounds serious. We can go in here.” Ryan started to lead him to the living room when the door rang again. “Pizza.” He took the money from Taya, leaving her to take the sheriff into the other room while he paid for the delivery. Hot pizza in hand, he set it on the coffee table. “Help yourself, Sheriff.”

“No, thanks, but you might want to appease Tracy by taking her a slice or two.”

“I will.” Taya retrieved some paper plates from the kitchen, put two slices of pepperoni pizza on one of them, and headed down the hall, returning within a minute. “You didn’t start without me, did you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Ryan bit into a slice. A string of hot cheese caught on his chin, and he hissed, then pulled it off. “Okay, Sheriff. You have our undivided attention.”

The sheriff perched on the edge of the sofa. “Three girls, all matching the description of Tracy, have disappeared from Langley. The latest was last night from a dance studio. This leads us to believe the trafficking ring is in our county. I’ve called in the FBI.” He glanced at Taya. “Can you get ahold of the group you worked with?”

She shook her head. “It disbanded with the death of our leader.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I have been in contact with another group, but they work mostly online gathering information rather than field work.” She took a deep breath. “However, they’ve asked me to do some investigating in Langley.”

“Did you plan on telling me this?” Ryan frowned. Was she keeping secrets from him?

“I literally found out fifteen minutes ago, and I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. My concern is Tracy.”

“With your expertise, we could use you in the field.” The sheriff rose to his feet. “Think about it. You could be an asset to the FBI when they arrive. Ryan can watch your niece.”

Didn’t he get a say in any of this? He couldn’t keep both Tracy and Taya safe if they were split up. “I’m not military or law enforcement, Sheriff, and although I’ve read a lot of books, that doesn’t qualify me to be a bodyguard to a teenage girl who will resent my attention.”

“Are you regretting your decision to help these two?”

“Of course not. But, you’re asking a lot of me. I don’t have the training. A fake marriage in order to give them new identities is one thing, but to watch Tracy while Taya is out in the field is another.” His worse fear was about to become a reality. He was going to fail at what he’d set out to do—to keep them both safe.

Taya cut him a sharp glance. “This ring has to be stopped.”

“I know that.” He shot to his feet and paced the room. “Let me at least think about this.”

“Maybe we could find an undercover officer to stay here with you and help guard the girl.” The sheriff clapped his hat on his head. “I’m sorry for springing this on you, but if that ring is in Langley, it could come here. My duty is to protect the citizens of this town. The cowboys from the Rocking W Ranch will take shifts patrolling the town. We will keep this ring out of Misty Hollow.” With a nod, he left the house.

Ryan turned to Taya. “What are you going to do?”

~

“Boss, I seen that girl you’re looking for.” Hank rushed to where Bill sat in a folding chair, beer in hand. “Her hair is different, but it’s the same face. I swear.”

“I’m listening.” He took a big swig.

“They took shelter in the bathroom near my camper during the storm.”

“Today?” Bill frowned.

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