Page 62 of Redemption

Ivan was back to business as normal. It was bold. It was a fuck you to Delta team, practically serving up two middle fingers, begging them to come back and take him down again. “What are we gonna do about it?”

Jared shook his head. “Nothing. At least, not right now.”

“You mean to tell me that we know there’s a trafficker out there, and we’re not gonna go—”

“Do you know how many human traffickers and sex trafficking cartels there are out there? On how many continents? How many countries, how many billionaires to street thugs are doing this? We have to pick our battles.”

“Right.” But it didn’t feel like the truth was supposed to be that way.

“We went after Ivan before, and we were able to take out so many spokes in that wheel, but we’re not going to hop on a plane and go—”

Ryder stepped forward. “It doesn’t have to be a ‘we’ thing. It can be a ‘me’ thing.”

“No,” Boss Man said.

“I’ll go.” Ryder kept pleading his case. “I’ll snipe his ass from a thousand yards out. The only thing I need with me is a rifle. You’ll have complete deniability. I won’t even say another word.”

Brock sat down and leaned against the couch cushion. “Do you want to know who she is?”

“I know who she is,” Ryder snapped back. “I know what she’s told me. And when she’s ready tell me more, I’ll know more.”

Jared nodded. “Do you want to know how she got there?”

Tension sprang in the back of Ryder’s neck as his molars ground down. Of course, he wanted to know how she’d ended up there, but the rage that pulsed inside of him at the thought of her ending up as a Mikhailov sex slave made him ready to kill. “Yeah, sure. I’m interested.”

“If interested means homicidal, you look interested,” Brock added.

“You know, brother.” Jared cracked a knuckle, making Ryder wait for whatever advice Boss Man was conjuring. “When it gets emotional—”

“It’s not emotional.”Fucking hell. Ryder wasn’t waiting on advice about being emotional.

“And if it was?” Jared asked.

He fought away a grimace and forced a solemn face. “Then you know I could tamp that shit down. Nothing but the job is my only focus when I’m on the clock.” He eyed them. “And you both know it.”

They exchanged looks, and Brock nodded. “Our Aussie sniper is stone cold. I’ll give him that.”

“Next question is,” Jared said, “do you tell Victoria?”

After what Ryder just promised her in the shower? That everything would be okay? “No. Absolutely not. She doesn’t need to know.”

“You sure?” Brock asked. “Maybe I need to tell you a little bit about who she is.”

“No.” Ryder shook his head. “I know who she is, where she’s from, and what she did. None of that matters because I made a promise to her that everything would be okay. Andthatis not okay. Nothing about Ivan going back into business and selling women is okay,” Ryder’s voice was so low it rumbled and growled. “She’ll never know, at least not right now. And I’ll let her know when the time is right. But it’s not right now. It’s for her own good.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Australia

“Look,” Zoe pointed as they walked up the drive. An unfamiliar car sat by the house, and a suitcase waited by the front door. A lamp lit the parlor window, and the room was never used unless there were potential parents looking at the kids. “Looks like someone’s here for their little bundle of joy.”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry.” She squeezed his hand. “You know there’s never enough homes.”

“I know.” Ryder hated that he still felt the sting of pain. Sixteen years stuck in these horror shithouses, some nicer than others, but none ever met the standard of having a family. Babies and the little ones were who potential families came to see, and no one ever took an interest in him. Eventually, he stopped caring.Maybe.Still, it hurt. Zoe was right, though. There wouldn’t be as many kids as old as him in the homes if there were enough people to adopt them. But not everyone started in government care the day they were born…

“Come on,” she said as they ran up the stairs, cutting it close to curfew.

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