Page 12 of Gray

“Kaylee said the men planned to assault them as well,” Nick said, looking slightly sick at the thought. “When they were done using them, they’d be sold to the highest bidder.”

“Fucking bastards,” Ford said.

“Do I feel bad that Cronin and Levins are dead? Nah,” Sam said, crossing his arms. “Not one bit.”

“They deserved everything they got,” Gray said, his voice hard.

“Ivan Rogers is extremely dangerous,” Jett said, moving to his laptop and pulling up a picture on the big screen at the front of the conference room. He clicked a button, and a map appeared beside it, pinpointing the locations of Ivan’s properties around the globe. “He has connections everywhere. These are his homes,” Jett said. He pushed another button, and crisscrossing red lines, a messy web of trouble, appeared. “And these are the known locations his operation has trafficked women from so far. The Feds have asked for our help in locating Ivan and bringing him in. Let’s get down to business.”

***

An hour later, Gray’s stomach was churning. “This guy’s a sick fuck,” Sam said, looking enraged. The men had seen a hell of a lot in their careers, but knowing innocent victims were being hurt by ruthless men never got easier. And Ivan was more twisted than most.

“I’d like to have five minutes alone with him,” Nick muttered. “I’d beat him to a pulp and have him begging for mercy.”

Gray’s jaw ticked.

The man was pure evil. Ivan and his men had taken girls as young as thirteen and auctioned them off to foreign buyers. Some had eventually turned up dead, their bodies bloodied and bruised. Many of the victims had been lured online. Teenagers. College students. Women in their twenties and thirties. It had been a profitable scheme for Ivan, but it made Gray ill to know that Lena had experienced part of that dark, twisted world.

“Were his bank accounts frozen, boss?” Ford asked.

“Yes, the ones the Feds were aware of. It’s likely he has money hidden offshore. Tracking them all will be difficult if not impossible. Given we’re aiding in the search to find him, locating where the money is would be helpful. We’re going to chase down other leads first.”

“Do they believe he’s still in the U.S.?” Luke asked.

“There’s been no trace of him since the kidnapping. He wasn’t inside the home when it was raided.”

“Well, no shit,” Gray muttered. “If I was him, I’d get the fuck out of there, too.”

Jett turned toward the big screen. “While the women and girls trafficked were taken from multiple locations around the country, I’d like to focus on where they ended up. The Feds are currently reviewing his personal files and information storedon his computers, but as you know, we like to do things our own way. I’ve asked West to get the IT guys on Ivan’s known travel. His preference is to use private jets, avoiding commercial airlines.

“Makes sense given he’s trafficking women,” Ford said.

“We’re going to get the information on which companies and planes he used and scour the flight records. While he doesn’t own a jet, he uses the same services frequently. He’s also arrogant enough to book them under his own name.”

“Why the hell hasn’t the government looked into any of that yet?” Nick asked, looking irritated.

“The Feds move at a snail’s pace,” Gray muttered. “If they just raided the homes, it’ll take weeks to move on this intel.”

“And we’re jumping ahead without them,” Jett said. “We’ll obtain the flight records and determine the most likely places Ivan is hiding out. If he’s not in his private homes, Ivan is likely where his business is. He’s still running his shitty enterprise and will need the cash with some of his assets now frozen. West is tracking the services he uses to book private jets. From there, we’re going to determine what his most common travel destinations are. We’ll narrow it down to determine where he most likely fled.”

Sam was drumming his fingertips on the table, eyeing Jett. “We’ll have to pose as buyers.”

“Potentially. If he’s selling women, he’s going to be where the action is. Once we have city names, we’ll narrow down specific locations. Ask questions.”

“And then we’ll grab that motherfucker,” Gray said, a sudden surge of adrenaline spiking through his veins. While they’d been in the dark the past couple of weeks, the new intel on his useof private jets was proving to be timely. Ivan Rogers might be missing, but they’d determine where he was likely holed up, move in, and bring that asshole to justice once and for all.

Chapter 6

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry about this weekend!” Anna gushed, rushing over and enveloping Lena in a big hug. “Jett told me all about the creep who cornered you in the basement. Men, am I right? They all think they’re God’s gift to women. I’m so glad Gray was there to scare the shit out of him.”

Lena pulled back, smiling despite herself. She wasn’t surprised in the least by Anna’s exuberance. Lena guided her away from where the receptionist, Clara, was currently talking on the phone with a client. “It was creepy,” Lena admitted. “The guy had just started working here but claimed he’d noticed me around. He said he didn’t see a ring on my finger and wanted my number.”

“The nerve of him!” Anna said, her voice rising. “So what if you don’t have a ring? You could still be in a relationship or not at all interested in an ass like him. What an absolute dick. That’s the last thing you needed after what just happened to you and Kaylee. You’ve barely been back at work.”

“Exactly,” Lena said, shooting her a knowing look. “I’m glad he’s gone. I don’t think I’d have felt comfortable running into him at the office after that little encounter. Gray rushed out of the gym looking like he wanted to murder the guy.”

Anna nodded, a look of glee suddenly crossing her face. “The guy from IT probably pissed his pants when that happened. Gray’s a good guy but badass. I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark alley, you know what I mean?”

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