Page 52 of Operation: Integrity

After what felt like a long time, the car slowed, then turned. Nathan lifted her from the floor, and she groaned as she saw the apartment complex she’d left months ago in the FREE International trailer.

The arrival of whoever had showed up at the warehouse had saved her life in that moment, but had they condemned her to a life of slavery all over again?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sam stared out the window of Edwyn’s car, glad that he’d been resigned to the back seat. He wasn’t as sure as Connor was about where they were going, but he wasn’t the boss. Connor had decided to head for Denver after the police had checked highway cameras and found a limo matching the description of the car that escaped headed south of Cheyenne.

Sam was pretty sure there was a lot more south of Cheyenne than Denver, but Connor agreed that these types followed a pattern. They would go where they felt comfortable. For Nathan, that was Denver.

“Are we going to meet up with any of the local human trafficking task forces to see if they know where she might be?” If Connor was right, they should be able to find the few places where Nathan was comfortable and find out quickly if Kelly was there. Nothing was ever done in a vacuum and tips were the best way of finding missing persons.

“There’s a group I’m trying to reach, FREE International. I don’t know if they can help us, though.They are out of Las Vegas, but the site says they travel all over. It’s a long shot, but aside from government agencies, this group comes up first when I search.” Connor scrolled on his phone. “That’s where I’ll start.”

Nothing about this felt right. He wasn’t even sure Kelly was still alive. For the first time in his life, he felt completely out of control. His usual easy-going nature took a back seat along with him and he only wanted to do what would get results. The quicker the better.

Zeus nudged his hand from his spot on the seat next to him. Sam scratched the dog behind the ears. “It’s okay, boy. I know you did everything you could.” He’d already picked a dart out of the dog’s neck that he hadn’t noticed before. Someone had shot it at the dog, but he didn’t know what impact it had on Zeus, since whatever drug had been in the dart had worn off by the time Sam had found Zeus.

The dog inched closer and whined. If there was one thing Sam had learned about this particular dog it was that he didn’t take well to what he considered failure. Zeus hadn’t done his job. He’d let Kelly get taken. It didn’t matter that Sam didn’t blame him. Zeus would be morose until they got Kelly back.

“Maybe she’s right. Maybe you would make a good service dog. You have the mind for it, the temperament for it, and you have the drive. I just don’t know if I want to give you up.” Zeus might not hold his heart like Bubbles did, but that was only because Bubbles was nearly useless as far as ranch dogs and Bubbles played with Pete, Cole’s son, which made him a favorite.

“Would you like that? Would you like to train to help Kelly?”

Zeus perked up and his ears turned like he was focused on Sam.

“What are you thinking about back there?” Connor asked. “Isn’t having a dog trained to be a service animal kind of expensive?”

It was, and Kelly had no money to her name. She’d even commented that she would love to do it, but there was no way to find a job and she couldn’t get her account back with no money. “What else do I have to spend my savings on?” And if he couldn’t ever show Kelly love any other way, he could do it this way. He could give her something that would help her heal and protect her when he couldn’t be there. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect. Zeus hadn’t been able to keep Kelly out of the hands of her captors, but once Kelly came back, he wanted to make sure she stayed this time.

“I suppose you have a point. There’s only so many dogs you can rescue. I can’t fault you for wanting to do something for her.”

Edwyn snorted. “I guess we’re just throwing everything out the window on this one, huh? Should I assume that we’re just going to start wedding planning on the way home? Are we pushing this any further?”

“Your concerns are noted, Edwyn,” Connor glanced over at him. “Sending a dog out for training that will take months and is very expensive isn’t offering marriage. Sam never said he was doing this with any romantic intent. He’s the closest she has to family right now. Her parents and grandparents are all dead. I wasn’t able to find a single aunt or uncle for her. We would normally have someone go live with their family after they’ve been with us, but she has nowhere to go.”

“Except with Sam.” He snorted again. “How convenient. I wonder what she’ll choose.”

Sam tried not to let Edwyn’s words get to him, but that was impossible. He cared about Kelly and what had happened to her, where she was, and what was going on with her. He couldn’t deny that. She’d already told him she might never be able to love him in return. He wasn’t sure how he was going to live with that, but he would if he had to. At least he wasn’t going to see her fall for someone else along the way. She didn’t think she could love anyone.

“I’m not sure why you’re so concerned that we aren’t following the rules with Kelly. I am already completely aware that our chances are somewhere between slim and none.” The only sign of hope he had was that she’d said she was sorry. Before she’d kissed him, most likely to distract him or maybe to say goodbye, she’d told him she was sorry. That was enough.

On the outskirts of Denver, Edwyn pulled into a hotel. He and Connor went inside to rent a few rooms and verify the place was dog friendly while Sam took Zeus for a short walk. Denver, even though it was only about an hour and a half from where they’d started, felt much warmer.

Zeus ran off a little pent-up energy in the end of the parking lot while Sam waited to hear back from Connor. A few minutes later, Connor came up to his side.

“Edwyn is already in the room. I asked him to let me come get you alone.”

Sam snorted, knowing it wasn’t for his benefit that Edwyn wasn’t there. “And?”

“He has a point, but I don’t know what to tell you. You seem to be doing everything right so far. I don’t want you to feel like I don’t trust you. I already told you I do. But, ifanything goes south, you need to be okay reaching out for help. Maybe not help from Edwyn, but someone.”

“Thanks.” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Edwyn. He liked the foreman most of the time and his insight was invaluable when it came to the ranch. This was the only time they’d gotten on each other’s nerves. “I just hope that his unwillingness to let this be is just his need to follow rules and not any feelings for Kelly. I’m not about to let anyone else near her.”

Connor laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. “That’s not it, and I think you know that. He’s nervous. I’ve only just reached Nadine, but she won’t return any message from me. I think he’s nervous that his second chance could be even harder than this one.”

“You don’t think Nadine was a victim, do you?” Sam hoped not. Just knowing that he might someday learn just what Kelly had been through was terrifying. He wanted to see victims on the upswing, not reliving the past. But if Kelly was the woman he wanted to know better than any other, she couldn’t just shut that part of herself off, and he didn’t want her to.

“No, but I do get the feeling that she knows a lot about cyber security. More than the average person.” He gave Sam a weighted look that conveyed trouble.

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