Page 2 of Merciless Protector

David had hired the best private detectives, or so he thought. None of them had been able to find his sister. He needed someone with their hands dirty to even have a shred of hope of finding her. When he visibly relaxed, I assumed he had come to the same conclusion.

Without words, he slid a picture across the table. I picked it up. A striking woman smiled up at me, carefree. A woman who could model on the cover of fashion magazines. One who would be eaten alive in the human trafficking world. She was just that stunning.

“Not much of a resemblance,” I said.

Besides their facial structure differences, she had more color to her than her brother, as if she’d been tanning on the beach.

“She’s Dad’s. A DNA test my mother insisted on proves it.”

There was a story there. “But you’ve only recently connected with her?” I guessed.

“After Dad took ill, I took over. Certain monthly payments led me to the truth.”

“How old is she?” I asked. She didn’t look like a child, but young. Based on his statements, I couldn’t imagine his mother would approve of her husband continuing to pay child support for an adult. Besides that, age was an important factor. It was sick to even contemplate, but some human traffickers only dealt with kids.

“She’s not a kid. Mom doesn’t know Dad’s still sending money. And Dad’s guilt is long,” he said, answering my unasked question.

“Have you met her?”

He nodded. “We spoke a few times. I met her in person only once.”

“What happened?” I wanted to know what he knew about her disappearance.

“According to her younger sister, who is twelve, by the way, she had been communicating online with another girl who shared her love for dogs. She was going to meet said girl at a park near the Magnificent Mile when Tayla caught and stopped her. She thinks Tayla went to the park as she left in a rush and never returned.”

It was a classic story. The internet had opened a lot of doors to predators and kids who didn’t understand stranger danger.

“She’s barely out of college,” he pleaded, speaking of Tayla, not her younger sister.

I nodded. “Do your brothers know?” about her, I didn’t add.

David was one of three sons by the elder Royal. “No. Declan wouldn’t understand, and Dean… well, Dean has no boundaries. Tayla wasn’t exactly excited to meet me after the way my mother treated hers.” His face hardened. “Can you help?”

“I’ll need some information from you.”

I laid out everything I would need, including the full names and birth dates of Tayla and her sister. I also needed Tayla’s sister’s email address. My brother-in-law was one of the best hackers. If we could trace the sender of the email, we might link him or her to whatever group was organizing the sale of children, as Tayla’s sister had been the target.

He promised to get me that information as we ended our meeting. Not wanting to be linked with the likes of me, he left first. I called Connor and filled him in.

Less than two weeks later, I found myself outside of a warehouse where an auction of human beings was to take place. Everything in me wanted to go in guns blazing. Instead, I became my next persona, code name Rook, a billionaire with a taste for innocence.

Matt, the name I was born with, was shoved further into the darkness.

Later, when I set eyes on Tayla, I knew I was going to hell. What I would have to do to save her. Only God could save my soul because David Royal was going to kill me...

2

TAYLA

Only now did I realize the life of privilege I’d lived. I’d dumbly assumed that the bad guys couldn’t win as I rushed into danger. How wrong I’d been. No amount of training could have prepared me for how things had turned out.

In chains, I sat at the feet of my captor like a modern-day Jedi princess, especially in the getup I was wearing. It was the sexier version of a cosplay outfit Princess Leia would have worn with Jabba the Hutt.

The man called Ruin was no Jabba the Hutt. He was a monster formed with handsome features and a cruel smile. He was the contradiction that left me feeling insane. His grooming game was working. The pressure cooker of wanting to save my life was slowly breaking me.

“What do you think, pet?” There was an edge to his tone that let me know this wasn’t the first time he’d asked.

I hadn’t heard the question, lost in my thoughts as I was most days. I opted to shrug.

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