Page 13 of Bulletproof Love

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Port names, container numbers, times. At least that’s what we all seem to agree on after studying the patterns. The problem is, the list ends abruptly, and we haven’t been able to gather any more intel from Brennan’s hard drive. My stomach churns thinking about how they’re using this information for heinous shit.

I’ve been tempted to call my dad for the first time in months, and see if he has any colleagues in the human trafficking department that could lend us a hand. He may be in rural Ohio, but weirdly, the law enforcement community has ties that run deep in more jurisdictions than I would have ever imagined.

There just so happens to be three brooding pains in my ass that would kill me if I got him involved. Which, okay, I get that they’re closer than they’ve ever been to finding Bailey, and that they need to lay low with Alexander still out there, but I can’t sit here and do nothing. It’s not in my nature.

Thinking of my dad makes me remember the email I got earlier from that DNA matching site I joined last week. Something about all this searching has made that itch to find my birth parents come back stronger than ever.

A knock at my door has me spinning my desk chair. “Come in.”

“Hey, how’s it going in here?” Blake looks around my disheveled room, holding my favorite kitten, Havoc. Her and Damon took to the kittens as soon as they saw them, much to Leon’s aggravation.

“Wonderful,” I say, slumping further into my chair.

“The guys are heading out to Brooklyn later. That terminal, I think it’s called Red Hook. Damon’s been itching to get his hands dirty. To ask around. I’m not sure if that’s the best idea, but of course, they’re not listening to me.”

“I don’t blame them. We’re all going stir crazy. Not sure what they think they’ll find. We’ve already combed through their database a hundred times. Those container numbers never existed.”

I hold my hands out and Blake plops the kitten into my arms. I love how she always knows exactly what I’m thinking.

“You’re right. I’m just nervous. Who knows where Alexander is, or who he has working for him. Those codes meant something to Brennan, which means they must have meant something to Alexander and Ivan, too.” She wraps her arms around her chest and taps her foot.

“They’ll be okay.” I straighten my back, hoping that’ll help bring any small semblance of confidence to my words. “It pains me to say this, but I know they can take care of themselves. Jasper may not know how to brew a pot of coffee, but I’ve seen him handle himself, and we have nothing to worry about.”

Did I sound convincing? I hope so. Blake doesn’t need more on her plate.

Blake narrows her eyes in a look of all knowing mischief, a small smile lining her lips. “You’ve seen him ‘handle himself,’ huh? And how good was his ‘handling’?”

I scrunch my lips and glare. “Trust me, there’s been none of that. I’m actually dying for some dick… I think my vagina’s going to dry up and wither away.” She raises a brow, not buying my distraction. “We should go out tonight. Just the two of us. Get some dinner, blow off some steam, maybe find some hot guys to flirt with.” I wiggle my brows until she laughs.

“Yes to the first few ideas. I won’t stop you from finding a hook-up. I’ll even help. We can bring back our system from college.”

“The hand signals?” I laugh. “Okay, remind me again.”

“You don’t remember?” she asks, shocked. “Two thumbs down for ‘save me right now from this mouth breather.’ Jazz hands for ‘eh, I’ll make out with him but that’s about all.’ Finger guns for, ‘clear out of our room tonight because this bitch is getting some.’” She tilts her head to the side, thinking. “I feel like there was one more, but I can’t remember.”

Little Havoc meows at the exact moment the memory comes back to me. “Wait! That time you got pissed at me because I went out back to that really fucking hot guy’s car and you had no idea where I was. You made another sign that meant, ‘I can’t wait until we’re home, I’m doing this now.’”

“The fist pump!” She shakes her head. “I was so mad at you. Jealous, but also mad.”

I wince. “Yeahhh, I wasn’t the best at communicating then.”

“And you’re a master at it now.” Her voice drips with sarcasm.

“Very funny,” I say, matching her tone. “So, do we have a date?”

Standing and stretching her arms above her head, she smiles. “Sounds perfect. I’ll tell Damon so he’s not a worried mess.”

I flip my computer back open, feeling better than I did ten minutes ago. “Yeah, you probably should, although, I’m sure he’ll know exactly where we are every second of the night.”

She huffs and heads for the door. “Oh, maybe we can make a pit stop to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. I haven’t gone since I was a kid.” Her voice trails off but I barely hear her through my pounding pulse. My eyes are fixed on a notification on my screen.

“Holy shit, Bee. Brennan just got an email.”

She hurries to my side. “What? How?”

“No fucking idea. It’s not encrypted or anything, just a normal email. Sent from someone named Fairfax. It looks like an invitation.” I stare at it like it’s a ticking time bomb. “What if it’s some kind of trap? They could hack my system. We need to tell Leon so we can open it with one of his devices.”

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