Page 87 of Keeping My Girl

She doesn’t answer. I hear a rustling noise, and it sounds like she’s struggling with someone. And then the line goes dead.

“Fuck!” I yell, gripping the phone so tightly in my hand that I hear an audible crack.

“Is she okay? Where is she? Did they hurt her?” Renato fires off the questions frantically.

Quickly, I type a short text to my father while I tell my friend, “She was sold to a man and is being held captive in Mexico.”

“Mexico?” Renato repeats while running a hand through his hair. “Holy shit.”

My father instantly responds, telling me to meet him in the computer room. “We need to go see Aldo. Maybe he was able to trace the call somehow or can find out more information on this guy.”

Renato nods before running out of the room. I grab my stuff and chase after him. I just hope Aldo can help us somehow.

* * *

I watch Aldo’s fingers move across the keyboard in a blur as he types in all the information I was able to give him. Behind him, my father paces impatiently.

“I wonder how she was able to get to a phone,” Renato wonders aloud.

“My baby girl is smart,” my father answers in a gruff. “I just hope she’s not suffering for her bravery.” He grimaces and stops pacing, gripping the edge of a desk in a white-knuckle grip. “We need to find her as soon as possible.”

Aldo’s fingers finally stop moving, and he moves his right hand to the mouse, clicking on a few things. “I think I have a hit.”

We all gather around the huge monitor screens as a grainy picture of a man appears. He looks to be in his late twenties, early thirties with black hair and dark eyes.

“This is Mateo Navarro,” Aldo announces.

“This is the bastard who bought my daughter?” my father asks, fuming.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure just yet, but I would say this is the man. He’s almost a ghost on the internet. He’s really good at hiding his tracks.”

“That doesn’t bode well for us,” I mutter.

Aldo’s expression sours. “I’ll get as much information on him as I can, try to figure out what we’re dealing with.”

My father scrubs a hand down his face. “Looks like we’re not going to get Aria back anytime soon if this guy is a goddamn ghost.”

“I’ll work night and day on this, sir,” Aldo promises. “I won’t stop until we know everything we can on this asshole.”

Dad gives him a nod. “Keep working. I’m going to go tell my wife that Aria called. It might lift her spirits a little. I want everyone to keep her in the dark about everything else, however. She’s been suffering enough. She doesn’t need to know that the odds are stacked against us right now.”

We all agree to that. My mom has been worried sick about my sister. The last thing I want to do is break her heart even more.

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