Page 2 of Lacey's Fight

Kicking against the current, Lacey broke the surface, sucking in a breath. Rain pounded down against her head, and as she looked from side to side, searching for a glimpse of the girl, she could barely see through the torrent.

If she didn’t find the girl soon, it could be too late.

No.

She wasn’t going to let that happen.

That girl was completely innocent. All three girls held prisoner on the yacht were in their late teens or early twenties. All had been snatched off their college campuses around the country. They’d been trafficked quickly through a dark website that sold mostly women and young girls, but boys and men as well. They’d been gone for between five weeks and two and had been with this group of six young men for nine days now.

In that time, they had lived through an horrific ordeal.

One she could empathize with far too closely.

Lacey didn’t have to imagine to know how awful it had been for those girls as they’d been passed around and violated by rich, drunk young men who thought they were entitled to do whatever they wanted without consequence.

Well, they were about to find out all actions had consequences.

And one thing she knew was that nobody should want consequences rained down upon them by the world-renowned Prey Security. As one of only two all-female teams who worked at Prey, Artemis Team worked almost exclusively with human trafficking victims. Something she and her sisters were all passionate about.

Her team might not be as big and physically strong as Prey’s other teams, but they were highly trained, skilled, and good at what they did. They also had an edge that the guys didn’t, they were constantly underestimated just because they were women.

Lacey loved men, particularly loved to flirt with them, and was always up for a one-time romp in bed, but sometimes she did wish that she was taken a little more seriously. Not that any of the men at Prey ever looked down on her or the other women who worked there, but a lot of the men they encountered on missions thought women were nothing.

Just like those men who had bought these girls for their own amusement.

Battered by the wind and the rain, Lacey found her strength flagging even though she had been in the water for barely a minute.

How would she find the girl, keep them both afloat, and get them back to the boat alive?

At this rate, she wouldn’t even be able to find the boat again.

The yacht was only a few feet away from her, but the storm had already consumed it like it wasn’t even there at all.

A huge wave crashed over her, throwing her under the surface and tossing her about like she was nothing. Out here she kind of was nothing.

If you wanted to feel small and inconsequential then jump into the ocean.

Kicking with all her might, she broke the surface again and sucked in a couple of breaths of air, knowing that at any second the water could just wash her away.

While she trod water, Lacey lifted a hand and tried to use it to shield her eyes. How was she supposed to spot the missing girl when the ocean and rain kept tossing water in her face?

A crack of lightning split through the night, lighting the sky and everything beneath it for a couple of precious seconds.

Lacey didn’t waste a single one of them.

There.

Around ten yards away from her was the girl. Dressed in nothing but a flimsy white satin nightgown, there was no way the teen could survive long in this frigid water.

Even dressed in the wetsuit beneath her clothes, Lacey could feel the cold seeping into her body. They had to get out of the water quickly or it wouldn’t only be the storm that was a risk to them, it would be hypothermia as well.

With quick, even strokes, Lacey fought against the waves trying to toss her in the opposite direction. She had to get to the girl.

Had to.

Only it felt like she was making zero progress.

Another bolt of lightning lit up the night, and she caught a glimpse of the teenager. Closer than she had realized. She was making progress after all.

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