Page 46 of Loving Lex

He immediately picked up his phone and rang the security desk, mumbling something low under his breath. A few seconds later, a scowling Lucky was escorted in by Jarod.

Kane rose to greet him. “Sorry about that. Please. Come in.”

I watched Lucky size him up in seconds, cataloguing every detail, categorizing him as friend or foe, in true military fashion. He kept his expression stoic, giving nothing away, but I saw it. Through it all, JD stood silently in the corner, his eyes never off the action, his hand never far from his weapon.

“Maverick said he had something?” I demanded. “Does he know where Shay is?”

Lucky shot me a quick glance. “Not exactly. We were hoping your boss might.”

My brow thundered down as I shot a look at Kane. “What?”

“Explain,” Gideon demanded of Lucky, his body rigid.

In the corner, JD’s spine grew taller, his eyes glittering dangerously. Lucky simply flicked him a dismissive glare as he stood his ground, clearly not intimidated.

Lucky inclined his head toward a corner table, silently asking permission to set up the laptop he had under his arm. Kane nodded his okay, so he sat and opened his computer. As he did, he got Maverick on speakerphone to explain more.

Maverick answered on the first ring.

“What the fuck, man?” I demanded.

“I know,” he said. “Just hear me out.”

Lucky moved the phone so everyone could hear him. “Start talking.”

I glanced at my watch. “And please be fucking quick. Clock’s ticking.”

“Basically, since we’ve been looking into Stone’s case, we’ve monitored all cell phone activity on everyone of interest. Nothing out of the ordinary pinged. Until early this morning.”

“Who?” I demanded, my heart pounding so hard against my ribs, it was painful.

“Sloan.”

“Sloan,” I slowly repeated, placing the name. “The slimy fuck that works with Shay’s dad?” My gaze slid to Gideon. “Who used to be a Kane attorney?”

“The one and only,” Maverick said. “And if Lucky has the info up now, you’ll see his call records.”

Kane rounded the table to look at the screen. “How can I help?” he asked, his voice not exactly one of a guilty man.

Lucky and I both shot him a glance, but his attention was laser-focused.

“There are several calls right around the time of Shay’s disappearance to the same number. They tried to cover it up, but I was able to trace it to a Viktor Fedorov.”

Gideon ran a hand over the back of his neck as his head dropped. “Fuck.”

I faced him. “What? Who’s Fedorov?”

He turned to pace away, his eyes on JD. “Fedorov is a nobody. A low-level wannabe for the Russian Syndicate. It’s what he does that’s troubling.”

Something in his voice made my blood run cold. “What does he do?”

Gideon’s eyes were black coals as he faced me again. “He runs security for their sex trafficking ring.”

“Their...” I couldn’t say it. The words wouldn’t come. I spun back to Lucky, feeling my throat closing. “What else did you find? Can’t you figure out where she is?” My voice was gravelly and desperate, but I didn’t give a shit.

Lucky clicked into another screen as Maverick explained. “Sort of. The cell phone is pinging off a tower now out west near the Red Rock Canyon. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where just yet. But it’s a remote area, so I’m working on some satellite imagery to see what I can come up with. There can’t be much out there, especially something big enough to hide a bunch of women.”

“What if it’s not a large group?” I asked. “What if it’s just Shay?”

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