Page 49 of SEAL Ever After

“We don’t know what she’d do,” Patrick said in a low voice. “What if they threatened to harm you or me if she didn’t cooperate? Or if they threatened my kids? She’d go along with anything to keep them safe.”

Ryan froze, the horrible truth dawning on him.

She would. Sarah would cooperate to keep him safe if she felt he was threatened. And she’d probably do damn near anything to keep her young niece and nephew from harm.

“We’ve got contacts down in Mexico,” Patrick said in a low voice. “Assuming this guy Juan is tied to them, we could start calling in favors, asking people to look into this. Just because we rounded up the heads of that sex-trafficking ring doesn’t mean it stopped. Hell, the leaders are out there somewhere.”

Ryan nodded. “Agreed. I don’t think they’d keep Sarah here for long. We need to get ahead of this even if the police can’t provide us with more information yet. We can’t wait for a name or a license plate when we already have an idea of where else to search.”

Evan looked up from his seat in the bullpen. “I’ll start making some calls. An old buddy of mine that’s DEA is down there. He can give me some other contacts.”

Ryan looked back to Patrick. “How are your parents doing with all of this?”

“They’re a mess, as can be expected. I don’t think they slept at all last night.”

“I should call them,” Ryan said.

Patrick shook his head. “They know you’re doing everything in your power to get Sarah back. Rebecca’s with them at the house and has things under control. They’d want you to focus on finding Sarah as quickly as possible, not worry about them right now.”

“You’re right. It feels like we’re losing her just standing around here though. Let’s make some calls and pull in everyone else that we can. I don’t want to wait for the PD to get back to us.”

Hunter pulled his vibrating cell phone from his pocket, his eyes widening. “That’s the police detective I spoke with earlier.”

Ryan snatched the phone from him. “This is Captain Mitchell.”

“We’ve got a new name,” the detective said. “The prints from the hotel room had a match in AFIS. This guy got arrested for solicitation two years ago but never served any jail time. His name is Juan Gonzalez. He’s been in the States for several years, and his last known address is down in Miami. The Miami PD are already headed to his home.”

“He wouldn’t take Sarah there,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “Not after everything he did to kidnap her.”

“Probably not, but we’ll search the home anyway. Interview his neighbors. Any and all information found could be helpful in tracking her down.”

“We’ll run his name through our databases here,” Ryan said. “I bet he’s tied to a sex-trafficking ring down in Mexico that my men went after.”

“Yes, your team filled me in yesterday,” the detective said. “I understand the other missing American woman was kidnapped from Miami. We’ll work this locally if you want to pursue other avenues.”

“Understood,” Ryan said.

He ended the call as everyone gathered around him. “They got a match on the prints. His name is Juan Gonzalez. He’s been using multiple aliases, but the prints in the hotel room got a hit in AFIS under that name. They’re going to search his home in Miami.”

“That’s where the other women caught up in the sex trafficking ring were kidnapped from,” Patrick said with a frown.

“Exactly. If he lives down in Miami, there’s a strong possibility that he’s involved in that ring of sex traffickers. If they so much as touch one hair on Sarah’s head—”

“We’ll find her before that happens,” Patrick spat out, his voice deadly.

Lexi was already tapping away at her laptop, running the new name for information. Christopher peered over her shoulder for a moment before taking a seat beside her and running his own search.

“Yep, look at that,” Lexi said. “His name comes up in a recent SITREP. He’s got ties to one—no, make that both of the men arrested and released from jail.”

“Sonofabitch,” Christopher muttered.

Ryan and Patrick exchanged a glance.

“Wait—what are you two thinking?” a senior officer who’d just entered the room asked. “You’re going down there? Because we don’t have a specific location yet not to mention the authority to even conduct a mission like that.”

“Fuck protocol,” Ryan said. “Sarah is my fiancée; she was supposed to be my wife. Patrick’s team was just down there rounding these assholes up. They know the area well. It’s likely they’re still somewhere in or near Mexico City, and that’s exactly where Juan will be headed.”

“We don’t know for certain that’s where Sarah is,” the officer said with a frown. “She could still be in Virginia while you’re flying off on an unauthorized mission. They could move her anywhere.”

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