Page 93 of Lethal Abduction

I clench my fists in frustration. It isn’t that I’m not grateful for Luke’s help. I’m just not used toneedinghelp.

I’m usually the help that others come asking for.

Then call Roman, you stubborn prick.

But I know I can’t.

Wherever this thing takes me, I need to do it alone.

Pete appears on the veranda with a bag in his hand. Hestops to hug his wife. “Bye, love. I’ll call you as soon as we know anything.”

“Find our girl, Pete.” She clings to him, giving him a watery smile.

Fuck.I’m not equipped to deal with this kind of wholesome.

“Call your mate,” I say to Luke in an undertone. “I’ll try to head this shit off at the pass.”

He shakes his head wryly. “Good luck.”

I plaster on a smile and go up to the veranda.

“All set.” Pete nods at his bag. He holds up a pump-action shotgun. “And I’ve got a license for this, along with a lockbox, so I can legally carry it.”

Oh, well, that’s a relief.Wouldn’t want to do anything illegal, after all.

Fuck.

I shoot Luke a worried glance behind Pete’s back. He just grins at me, puts his thumb up, and keeps talking in a low voice into his phone.

I scowl at him.Great help you are.

The idea of hunting down human traffickers with a wholesome Australian farmer, one who also has every reason in the world to hate me, holds little appeal.

I try to keep my voice even. “I’m not sure that you coming with us is a good idea, Mr. Chalmers.”

Not to mention the fact that every minute we spend here is wasting fucking time.

“Abby’s my daughter.” Pete breaks his shotgun down and packs it carefully away. “And it’s my fault I wasn’t looking for her sooner. I’m coming.”

I catch Suze watching us from inside and tilt my head toward the vehicle. Taking the hint, Pete follows me out of his wife’s earshot.

“Look.” I turn to face him, bracing myself. It would havebeen nice to have a halfway decent relationship with Abby’s father. But I’m not exactly son-in-law material anyway, and right now, I don’t have time to play nice. I nod at his gun. “That’s not going to help you. For starters, you can’t take it on a plane.”

His eyes narrow. “Why are we getting on a plane?”

“Wearen’t.” I stare him down without smiling. “From the different pieces of information we have, it looks like Abby has already been taken out of the country. Probably to Thailand.”

Pete frowns. “How did you—”

“It’s what I do.” I cut him off. “I’m good at finding things. But that also means going to some dark places. Talking to a lot of unsavory people.”

He glares at me beneath a pair of very bushy eyebrows. “I know what it means.”

I swallow my frustration. “With respect, Mr. Chalmers, I don’t think you do. Look.” I hold his eyes. “We came here because we thought there was an off chance you might know something that could help us find Abby. And you did. You told us she spent time in Thailand, which is something I didn’t know before. That gives me a place to start, which is all I need. But finding her will mean moving fast and hard. Staying ahead of the people I ask questions of to avoid getting shut down. Sometimes that’s going to mean doing things you’re probably better staying out of.”

Pete folds his arms. “But you’re used to doing these things, is that what you’re trying to say?”

I could lie. Could dance around it. But there’s no time for that shit.

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