Page 43 of Forgotten Girls

“We can discuss all this on the way.” Carter pulled on his coat and gloves and whistled to Zorro. “We’ll meet you back at the ranch.” He looked at Beth. “I’ll make sure the bag you left in my truck is on the chopper.”

Beth smiled at him. “Thanks.” She turned to Styles. “I’m good to go.”

From the moment they stepped from the hotel, Beth noticed a distinct change in Styles’ demeanor. His shoulders had stiffened and his mouth formed a straight line, as if he was trying to prevent saying something to her. He drove like a man possessed, weaving in and out of traffic and taking the narrow backroads to the ranch at high speed. Agreed, Carter was nowhere in sight, but Bear needed a potty break before they left and they had fallen a little behind. “Is there a problem?”

“Nope.” Styles didn’t look at her and they slid around a corner on a dirt road in a cloud of dust and loose gravel.

Gripping the side of her chair, Beth turned to look at him. “Well, if you keep driving like a maniac, we’ll never live to arrest Shoebridge. I’m sure you want to see him brought to justice.”

“I’d like to see him dead.” Styles laughed but it wasn’t meant to be funny. “I’m having this inner turmoil. It’s FBI agent versus brother. One part of me wants to see him locked up for life; the other part of me wants to beat him to death with my bare hands.”

Relieved that he wasn’t going to question her about the death of the doctor and why she had been so careless searching the room, she puffed out a sigh. It wasn’t as if she could tell him. It had been her only chance to make an excuse for any latent DNA that Wolfe discovered after she’d killed the doctor. She turned in her seat to look at him. “If it helps any, I feel the same way, but Ginny isn’t my sister. After seeing the images he had in his possession, there’s no saving a man like that. There’s no way he can be rehabilitated or whatever the do-gooders believe, and from the files I pulled from the doctor’s laptop, the pair of them orchestrated an entire selection of horrific uses of a child. He should get the death penalty and so should a great deal of the men connected with them. They all have code names, but we can lay traps for them.”

“How so?” Styles’ shoulders relaxed as they headed into the ranch.

Beth smiled. “They would travel across the country to get to a kid. Many of them have been trapped by cops pretending to be kids online. If they believe they can get to them—the kids, I mean—they’ll go to any lengths. Trapping them by, say, holding a live auction where they get to actually see the kids, which is something they do. We could round up fifty of them at one time. It all takes careful planning and held at a place they believe is safe. I’m sure we have people in the FBI capable of taking the entire ring down, piece by piece. The trick is making everyone believe that it’s business as usual.”

“Will you help coordinate that? I’m sure it will take a ton of people to keep something like this running.” Styles stopped outside the ranch house and looked at her. “We’d need to involve all the countries this network has infiltrated. I know they have task forces for this type of thing.” He shrugged. “I’m so glad you’re an expert in cybercrime. This is way over my field of expertise.”

Beth gathered her things. “You just concentrate on finding Shoebridge and saving Shiloh. Leave the tech part of it to me and Kalo.”

“You got it.” Styles slid from behind the wheel and opened the door for Bear. “I just hope he resists arrest.”

FORTY-EIGHT

Shiloh barely had time to stuff her coat behind the sofa before the door flew open and Evan filled the entrance. They’d made it to the door only minutes before he arrived. Trembling, she made herself look busy by adding more wood to the fire, but she could feel his eyes boring into her. She turned to look at him. He was looking at her strangely as if assessing her. With trembling legs, she straightened.

“Move the bookcase into the corner.” Evan stared at her and then scanned the room. “Callie, get in here and move the bookcase. I need to set up two camp beds. You’re getting roommates in the morning.”

They rushed to do as he asked and heaved the bookcase along the wall. The moment they’d made a space, Evan dragged in two camp beds and dropped them onto the floor. He went outside and came back with a plastic bag. When he motioned her closer, Shiloh winced but, not wanting to cause trouble, went to stand before him. “That will be nice.” She forced her lips to curl into a smile.

“You learn fast.” Evan cupped her chin and turned her face back and forth. “I like that about you. I might keep you. Although if the other girls are prettier, you’ll be auctioned.”

Shiloh frowned. “Auctioned? What is that?”

“That”—Evan dropped his hand—“is another word for money.” He righted the cots and tossed the bag on them. “Sleeping bags. The girls won’t be here for long. Callie will be leaving soon and then it’s just you and me.” He tousled her hair and then went to the door. “I’m late for work. I’ll be by later. I only work a couple of hours tonight. Seeing as it’s Saturday, most of the miners are in town letting their hair down.” He chuckled. “Maybe I should bring a few home to meet you?”

Terrified, Shiloh backed away shaking her head.

“No? Okay.” He walked out and locked the door, his laughter echoing behind him.

After he’d left, Shiloh stared at Callie. “Maybe we should leave when he goes to work? It will be easier in the forest now it’s not full dark yet.”

“How far do you figure we’ll get in a couple of hours?” Callie frowned. “We don’t know the forest or which way to go. He’ll come by when he gets home and see we’re missing. It’s better to wait until he’s asleep, then we’ll have eight hours at least before we’re missed.”

Shiloh nodded. “Okay, but we’ll get everything ready before we escape. We’ll go to the house when he leaves for work and collect what we need. We can leave it in the forest and collect it along the way.”

“Good idea.” Callie smiled. “The moment we hear him leave I’ll start on the lock.”

They had everything set and waited for the sound of Evan’s truck arriving home. He came to the door, unlocked it, and walked in. Shiloh could smell beer on his breath, and she took a step back when he came toward her. She gathered her wits and lifted her chin, frowning. She needed to say something to make him go back to the house. “You look so tired. Did they work you really hard today?”

“Yeah, I am tired, but not because of work, because Doc expects me to do all his chores as well.” Evan ran a hand down his face. His nails were dirty and unkempt, his skin grubby. “I hope Bonnie has something nice for supper. I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned to go and neglected to lock the door behind him.

“He’s been drinking.” As usual, Callie’s voice was just above a whisper. “He’ll sleep well tonight.”

Time dragged by and then they heard the familiar sound of Bonnie coming toward the cabin. The swish of her chained feet made a strange noise. They’d eaten supper. Why had she left the house? The key in the door turned and the door opened a crack. Keeping her voice low, Shiloh stepped away from the door. “What are you doing here?”

“He’s asleep. Get these chains off me so we can get out of here.” Bonnie waved them outside. “Hurry, just in case he wakes up.” She waved a flashlight. “It’s only small, but I found a new battery for it and I have a spare in my pocket.”

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