Chapter 1
Logan Redding dressed quickly for the job he was heading out to this morning, but Levi had yet to give him any details. In fact, the text had come through just before midnight. Logan had grabbed as much sleep as he could, then showered, shaved, packed and now he was ready to go. He entered the dining room to find six other team members already in place. Conversation died when he approached. “Good morning.”
With a full cup of coffee, he sat beside them. “Levi, what’s the job?”
“You and Harrison are heading to Boston. Four men held on suspicion of human trafficking were released—not enough evidence to hold them—and disappeared underground. The detective who hauled them in knows Jackson, who then called me privately. He asked if we could take a day or two to consider the case. It’ll be pro bono. Detective James Easterly says something was rotten with those men and is afraid it’s a much bigger issue, but he can’t find any proof. He’s been pulled off the case due to budget concerns and manpower shortages. He doesn’t know Jackson has called me.”
“We’ve budgeted forty-eight hours for this,” Ice said. “Hopefully that’s more than enough to sort it out.”
“It’s basically an intel-gathering mission.” Levi lifted the folder and added, “I have names, backgrounds, and pictures of the suspects’ faces. Jason Markham, Lance Haverstock, Barry Ferguson, and Bill Morgan. All deemed to be leaders in a human trafficking ring.”
Harrison nodded. “We’ll check out the men, and we won’t do anything major. I suppose in that folder you have a few addresses of friends, family, or businesses that they’re known to frequent—or ideas about where these guys may have gone to ground—so we’ll casually walk around and observe. See if we find anything of importance. If we don’t, well, it is what it is.” He shrugged. “We won’t even be official. Hell, we both have friends and family there. Logan can visit his friends, and I’ll go check on my sister-in-law,” Harrison continued cheerfully. “Besides Logan and I are getting seriously housebound. We need to get out. The love boat is a little bit much to handle right now.”
Levi glared at him.
But Harrison’s good humor was irrepressible. He grinned at Levi and said, “You know what I mean, Levi. A whole lot of cooing and sexy stuff is going on around here.”
Katina reached across the table, grabbed Harrison’s hand and said, “That’s okay. We understand you’re feeling left out and lonely. Maybe you’ll find somebody special on this trip.”
Harrison pulled away his hand, groaning under everyone’s laughter.
Logan lifted his hand to share a high five with Harrison. “Perfect. I’m ready to go.”
Harrison jumped to his feet. “Give me two minutes, and I’ll meet you in the garage.”
Sienna walked in. “Seats are still available on the flights out of Houston later this morning,” she said. “I’ve reserved two.” She turned to Levi. “Who’s going?”
Levi motioned at Harrison and Logan. “Book the tickets for these two. Returning three days from now.”
Sienna smiled, filled her coffee and said, “Be back in a few minutes then.” She walked out as Harrison bolted behind her, calling out, “Make mine the window seat. Logan gets the aisle.”
Logan could hear the two of them wrangling as they left the dining room.
“Watch your backs,” Levi warned Logan. “It might look like a bullshit mission, but these guys weren’t picked up in the first place without good reason.”
Logan looked at Levi and said, “Are we talking kidnapping? Murder? Human trafficking within US soil or being shipped overseas?”
“All of it,” Levi said. “You both be careful. We can be in the air and at your side within six hours at most. But that’s still six you have to handle on your own.”
Logan nodded as he walked into the kitchen. Alfred was making breakfast, his usual sausage and bacon entrées. He glanced at Logan and said, “It’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
Logan nodded. “We’ll probably stick around then. But we’ll have to eat and run.”
Logan returned to the sidebar in the dining room, filled his coffee cup and sat again. He had more questions, but the conversation had already moved on. Levi shoved the folder toward him. Logan opened it to find files inside—damn slim ones, at that—for the four men they would be looking for. He quickly read all the documents, finding nothing there.
He closed the folder and shoved it toward Levi. “I gather we’ll take a copy when we leave?”
“Sienna is putting that together.”
Logan nodded.
Then Alfred came in with a platter of toast and hash browns. “Tell Harrison to get down here for breakfast.”
Logan sent a quick text to Harrison.
By the time Alfred had dished out the rest of the food, and Logan’s plate had been filled, Harrison showed up. He dropped the paperwork beside Logan and said, “These are our flights and bookings, plus our copy of the file.” He glanced at Levi. “Considering this is a pro bono job, do you want us to bunk with friends and family?”
“We’ll book you in a hotel so we’re sure you have a place.”
Logan finished eating, and with Harrison at his side, they made quick good-byes and hopped into one of the trucks.
By now Levi had quite a fleet of vehicles. They often used a small truck for quick trips in and out of town, although it’d be a forty-five-minute drive to the airport. They would leave this one at the long-term airport parking while they were gone for the next few days. No sense in tying up somebody else’s time to drop them off and pick them up.
At the airport, they cleared security in time to board straight onto the plane.
When they landed in Boston four hours later, they stepped outside the airport and stood, gazing at a misty afternoon, gray and cloudy. Logan looked over at Harrison and said, “Let’s grab the rental car and get to the hotel.”
At the rental office, they completed the paperwork and walked to the parking lot to locate the midsize vehicle.
Logan sat in the driver’s seat. “Does your sister-in-law live anywhere close to the hotel?”
Harrison shook his head. “No idea. I didn’t have a chance to confirm before now. I’ll see once we’re checked in.”
“Did you tell her you were coming?”
Harrison shook his head.
Logan glanced at him and said, “Some history or problem there?”
“Not sure,” Harrison said easily. “My parents have been asking me to check on her.”
“What’s the story?”
“My brother was killed in a car accident, and his wife lost the baby she was carrying shortly thereafter. Haven’t heard a whole lot from her since.”
“Wow, okay. That’s a lot of really depressing news all at the same time.” Logan thought about it and said, “She’s probably moved on completely. I’m sorry about your brother and your niece or nephew.”
“Tough times for all of us back then.” Harrison glanced at him. “Have you contacted your friends?”
“Not yet.” Logan winced. “I haven’t stayed in touch, so not sure who’s even still around. But for some reason, I really wanted to come to Boston.”
“Were you close with any of them?”
“No. Not really. Just friends with the group. Still it might be nice to touch base. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine too.”
At the hotel, they checked into their room. Harrison sat down to figure out where his sister-in-law lived, comparing her location to the hotel’s and to the addresses Levi had given them to check out.
Logan walked out onto the balcony to make his calls. Half an hour later he was no further ahead. One of the guys had laughed and said he wasn’t even in Boston anymore. Another got back to Logan and said he was on vacation in Hawaii. When Logan called Kandy, it never went through. Logan shrugged. That’s what he got for not making plans ahead of time.
He went inside to see if Harrison had any more luck and found he’d already mapped out the known addresses for a quick drive-by. He’d also talked to his sister-in-law, who wasn’t interested in a reunion. She’d moved on. Apparently that worked for Harrison too.
Logan checked his watch. “We have time this afternoon to check out a couple of those addresses.”
They were back outside in the vehicle, the GPS on the rental already programmed. They hit the first one in a relatively wealthy section full of brownstone townhouses. Lots of parks, nice family area. They didn’t drive around; instead they stopped and parked. They walked several blocks to a park and sat, studying the layout and address in question. The numbers on the house were clearly visible. It was a quiet, unassuming area—no sign of anybody coming or going. The curtains on the upstairs bedroom windows were closed. Logan studied the residence for a long moment and said, “I didn’t get any hits on this. What about you?”
Harrison shrugged. “It looks deserted to me. I’m not getting any vibe off it at all.”
They returned to the car to drive to the next address. On the way, Logan said, “Did you hear us? Talking about vibes and hits? How different is that from Terk and his warnings?”
“I’d like to think my vibes are more from years of experience looking for trouble.”
“Absolutely. That’s how I feel. But maybe that’s what Terk feels too. Maybe he has a more developed instinct than we do. Perhaps that’s what his insight is.”
Harrison nodded. “Whatever it is, I’m not too bothered. If he doesn’t start wearing a great big turban and carrying a glass ball, I’m good.”
“I’ve never met the guy. Have you?”
Harrison laughed. “I haven’t.”
“Alfred appears to take Terk quite seriously too. He knew of him from the military as well.”
Harrison turned to him in surprise. “Alfred?”
Logan nodded.
“Wow.”
The second address appeared to be an apartment. They parked, then got out and walked the block, checking to see what the area was like. It looked middle-class family. No security system was on the main entrance, but as they stepped up, somebody unlocked the door and let them in. They headed toward the correct apartment, taking the stairs to the fourth floor.
They stepped into the hallway, found the apartment number but of course, saw no name or identification.
As they walked toward the elevator, one of the neighbors came out, and Logan spoke with her.
She smiled. “I’ve heard women at various times, but I don’t know them and haven’t seen one for months.” With a shrug, she added, “I did hear some banging and noises the other day, but that’s all. It’s been damn quiet since.” She beamed at them as she pushed a button to close the elevator door. “I did hear him yell at a woman this morning though, so maybe he has a new girlfriend.”
As the door closed, Harrison asked, “I don’t suppose you got anybody’s name, did you?”
“Oh my, yes. This morning he called her Alina. I remember thinking that was such a pretty name.” Then the double doors closed in front of her.
“Alina?” Logan asked as he glanced toward the apartment, his vibe triggering a strange feeling. “I’m definitely getting a hit on this place.”
He walked to the apartment and pressed his ear against the door. No sign of anything. He gave a hard knock. Nobody answered. Harrison joined him as he knocked a second time. This time he thought he heard crying. “We have to check this out.”
“We’re going in?”
Logan already had his tools. The door opened in seconds. With a quick glance to make sure they were alone, he slipped inside with Harrison on his heels. This was not legal, and Levi certainly wouldn’t sanction it, but they had to get in. Sometimes one had to follow instinct, and right now, Logan’s was screaming at him.