Page 75 of Erik's Redemption
God, what was goingonwith her?
Again, she wasn’t sure if she made a face or a sound, but Erik’s gaze snapped to her, questioning. Quickly, she pasted a smile on her face and stared across the table. “It looks and smells wonderful, Jennifer.”
Erik kepta hand on Hannah’s thigh for most of the dinner. She wasn’t eating much, and there was a permanent crease in her brow. Was her headache getting worse?
His fingers tightened around her. He was about to lean down and ask her if she wanted to go when his phone vibrated from his pocket.
Chandler’s name was on the screen. He had to take this.
He leaned over and kissed Hannah’s head. “It’s Chandler. I’ll be back in a second.”
She nodded, her smile not quite reaching her eyes as she watched him go.
Damn, he needed to find out what was going on with her. Had her head injury been worse than they thought? Did they need Andi to look at it?
He waited until he was outside on the deck to answer the call. “Chandler.”
“Hey. Two things. First, I got into the necessary database and found the names of the kids who were in Clarence Burns’s care at the same time as Hannah.”
“And?”
“There were five of them. Two are dead. One lives in Mexico and hasn’t traveled in a year. Another’s in a wheelchair and living in Texas. The fifth is a female who’s working as a teacher in Tennessee. None of them seem to have traveled to Redwood in the last few months, but I’m keeping an eye on the remaining three for you.”
Erik gritted his teeth. If it wasn’t any of them, then who the hell was it? “What’s the second thing you have for me?”
“We have the all clear to move on this human trafficking organization Nico used to work for, and I need official confirmation that you want in.”
The door opened behind him, and he turned to see Rachel stepping outside. “I’m gonna put you on speaker. Rachel’s here.”
Chandler knew Rachel, not only because Erik was friends with her but because she worked in the same industry.
“Rachel James,” Chandler said, humor in his voice. “I heard you were in Redwood, annoying my boy.”
“Yourboy?” Rachel scoffed. “Erik has always been mine, Chandler.”
He chuckled.
“So, what’s this call about?” she asked, leaning her hip against the railing. “Is there some asshole you two can’t handle on your own?”
“A human trafficking ring,” Erik explained.
Rachel’s eyes hardened, all traces of humor leaving her face. “I want in.”
Erik lifted a brow. “You want to work a job with me?”
“You know you need me. I’ve saved your ass more times than I can count.”
“You’ve saved my ass once or twice, but I think I’ve saved yours more.”
She rolled her eyes. “Keep dreaming. Who’s the target, Chandler?”
“The head of the group is a man by the name of Miles Moreno. Mid-thirties. Fit. The trafficking ring is based just outside of Seattle, and he’s got a few other associates who help to run things. The FBI have actually had a guy on the inside for a few months, so he can feed us information.”
Erik’s jaw tensed. So they’d had a guy on the inside but still hadn’t been able to shut the organization down? “When?”
“I can probably set it up for a week’s time.”
Rachel met his gaze, her brow rising. It was Erik who answered. “We’ll do it. But if, on the off-chance Nico’s alive and working for them again…I’m taking him in.”
