Page 84 of Auctioned Surrender

“Something like that,” he says.

“Damn. People think trafficking is just a girl here or there. They have no idea the thousands of young people snatched from their lives every single day.”

“I couldn’t agree more, but we’re going to stop this delivery, and we’ll get your sister out if she’s in that van.”

“This means so much to me. Even if I had gotten Bernatelli to talk, the likelihood of me being able to get to the right place and stop this thing singlehandedly is doubtful. I never imagined a scenario where things would go down like this,” I admit.

“You’re welcome, Layla.” He points, gesturing me to follow his gaze where a minivan is making its way down one of the roads to shore. I adjust my binoculars for the distance and the terrain's darkness, focusing in on the people just as they are getting out of the van.

Dereck engages the overhead, and Murph picks up. “You see what I’m seeing, Murph?”

“I sure do. Marenah’s here with me monitoring the cameras. I think she’d give anything to be down there with you. She’s fighting mad that Bernatelli is running girls from the same damn shore, especially after everything that happened the last time.”

“Yes, I am! You still have the son of a bitch?” a woman drawls, cutting into his conversation in an accent that sounds foreign, maybe Russian.

“Hi, Marenah,” Dereck says to the overhead.

“Hi, Dereck and Layla. The team has been monitoring ships coming in and out of this harbor, and not one has gone out without a full inspection of cargo, so we need to be extremely cautious. This very well may be a setup by Bernatelli,” Marenah says.

“He’s not going anywhere until I get Layla’s sister out safely, so I doubt that he’d chance the blowback,” Dereck says.

“We’re here if you need anything,” Marenah says.

“Thank you, Marenah. I appreciate that and all the help you were in finding her. I understand you’ve done a lot of work in the background,” I tell her.

“Well, I certainly can’t take credit for finding your sister, but bringing that no good Bernatelli to heel? Yes, ma’am, I’ll take full credit for helping get him to the right place at the right time,” she says.

I look at Dereck, who’s watching the horizon intently and doesn’t give any indication he’s heard a word she’s said or plans to tell me what she means.

“Gotta sign off, Marenah.” Dereck disconnects and reengages with another number. “Hey, Trent. We have movement to the far east.”

“I’m watching the road to make sure no one else passes through, and Liam’s on his way with your ride.”

“Can you get a close-up?” Dereck says.

“Roger that, Dereck. Give me a second to get focused. We have them in our sights.”

My fingers wrap tightly around the binoculars, trying to focus in at this distance, but my hands are shaking.

“Marenah has connections. She made sure Bernatelli went to the bar last night, which was part of the plan I intended to put together with your help before you left,” Dereck says, watching the shoreline while answering the question on my mind.

I only nod because the words simply don’t come. I decided to protect my family, causing me to be the opposite of submissive, lose another chance to be with Dereck, and find the piece of myself I’ve always been missing. Luisa’s life is worth every single thing I’ve done or will need to do in the future, though, and I know that.

“Steady, princess. Deep breaths to calm your nerves. I need you to focus on the car down by the shore and give me confirmation that it’s your sister when you see her.”

I get the adjustment on the lenses made and breathe deeply, following his instruction, following the gaze of his binoculars, and my chest tightens with recognition. “It’s her, Dereck. It’s my sister. We found her! We found Luisa!”

Chapter 22

Dereck

A minivan pulls up behind the parked car, turning off their lights as another light catches my gaze and shifts my attention to a large fishing boat. It seems like just days ago that I worked backup on this same shore. The organized crime syndicate with far-reaching arms almost got away with trafficking hundreds of people until we shut that delivery down cold and drove that particular faction out of our city, but there’s always someone else looking to make a buck, and as sick as trafficking is, it pays well. Bernatelli seems to be running things on a much smaller scale, probably the only reason Marenah and her team didn’t home in on the fact that they’re starting to run girls out of this dock again.

“He’s never going to stop until someone stops him,” Layla says, and she’s right, of that I have no doubt.

“Ready?” I ask Layla, whose eyes haven’t left the car which holds her sister. She may talk a tough game, but the hard exterior shell is just her defense mechanism, a way to protect herself. I can tell because the soft feminine side of Layla makes me want to do it for her.

“I’m ready, Dereck.”

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