Page 21 of Stripped Bare

“What?”Stace asked, looking at Shep in confusion.“What happened?”

“You touched her,” Shep said.“Remember I told you, no matter what happened, not to touch her?”

“She was screaming,” Stace all but yelled at him.“What the hell was I supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to listen and let her hold the connection as long as she could,” Shep said, but there was no judgment in his voice.

“I… Damn it!”Stace shook her head.She’d never seen anything like it.Watching Ally had scared the hell out of her while also giving her the first bit of hope she’d had since discovering her sister was missing.

Shep pulled her to his chest and hugged her close.“I know.”

“She’s alive, Shep,” Stace whispered against his shoulder.“Sick but alive.”

“Yes,” he agreed.“When Ally wakes up, she’ll be a little weak, but she tends to recover quickly once she’s awake.She’ll be able to tell us more then.”

“She said cabins.”Stace focused on that for a moment.“Cabins everywhere.I’m drawing a blank.I can’t think of a place like that.”

“We’ll look online at camping sites,” Shep offered, leading the way to the front door.He kept a firm grip on Stace’s hand as they walked.“That many cabins, it has to be a camping ground or some other outdoorsy place that would keep a number of cabins.”

“She’s sick.”Stace shook off the fear that edged in at the way Ally had described the fever.“She has whatever those people have.Twenty-five and some only children.What the hell is my sister caught up in?”

“Don’t panic, but it sounds like she was taken by traffickers.That many people held together.Did they take her to traffic, or because the others were sick and they knew or suspected she was in the medical field?Why was she separated when she got sick?”Shep fired off questions.

“What did Ally mean that he saw her?Was that scream from her or Chloe?”The fear beat with hummingbird wings in her chest.Had that scream been one her sister had given in her last moments?

“Don’t overthink it,” Shep warned.“We’ll get more answers when Ally regains consciousness.”

“Did I hurt her?Am I why she passed out?”The thought that she’d unintentionally hurt Ally didn’t sit well with Stace.

“Any touch while she’s locked in like that is jarring.It breaks the link with a sharp snap instead of letting Ally ease back from it.”

“I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to do that.I… She screamed in fear.I couldn’t let her face that alone.”

Shep hugged her tight again.“I know, and Ally will tell you it’s okay.”He stopped outside the door and cupped her face.“Are you okay?”

“Human trafficking.Here.I’ve spent years going to other countries to rescue people.People in the wrong place at the wrong time, but never once did I think that person would be my sister.It didn’t cross my mind that it could happen in my backyard.How stupid is that?”

“Rarely do people think things like that will happen to them.It’s human nature to assume those things happen to other people.I get it.Hell, we did the same thing as you before putting roots down in Legacy.We went into countries where few would venture to help the unlucky ones who did and almost died because of it.The money was good; the adrenaline rush better.”

“Why did you stop?”Stace asked.

“Jack found out he had a daughter,” Shep said, speaking of his boss.The man behind Midnight, Inc.“There were several of us who followed him back and started working in our backyards,” he said, repeating the phrase Stace had used.

They were so much alike.It had to be more than just the circumstance they were in, him helping her find her sister.Perhaps, feelings had developed quicker than they would have otherwise, but she honestly didn’t feel as if it mattered anymore.He was here for her in a way no one else ever had been.Even now, he was pulling her back to him wrapping his arms around her and holding her close as if he needed to touch her even more than she needed to feel his touch.

“We’ll find her, Stace,” Shep whispered against her ear before placing a kiss on the side of her head.“No matter how long it takes, we’ll find your sister.”

And he would.Stace didn’t doubt him for a moment.He was the one who had brought Ally here to help them.He’d had trusted Stace not to judge or sneer at what Ally could do.He had trusted her with something, nosomeone, important to him.Because she, Stace, was important to him.

“We’ll find her,” she agreed, holding him tight.When they did find Chloe, her recovery would come first.It would have to.Her sister deserved no less from the person who’d failed her too many other times.Stace believed Shep would not only understand but would be around to help, as well.Already, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

Chapter Ten

Stace and Shep spent the rest of the afternoon combing through maps and sites online for all camping sites within the entire state.They would start close and work their way outward.They were printing pictures of everything available, hoping that when Ally recovered and came downstairs, she might be able to recognize one of them and narrow their search.

They’d already weeded out the places that were actively running.It had been apparent from what Ally had said it had to be someplace where there was no fear of anyone seeing them.In theory, that should have made things easier.It didn’t.There were several summer camps that were closed for the year or abandoned.There were also a few family camping sites that were closed for a multitude of reasons.

Shep was printing out the last batch of stuff while Stace put everything in piles with the photos on top.They’d narrowed it down to the ten most likely possibilities.Stace had lived most of her life in the area and had never heard of a lot of the places they printed.They were organized by proximity and size.With their history of locating missing people, Stace and Shep both felt the group would be kept in a smaller location.They’d be easier to guard that way.

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