Read SEAL’s Desire for Free Online Page B

nine months ago. One of the women had died chained to the bed. She’d been shot up so many times and overdosed after being raped by who knows how many men. If Kelli is in a place like that…” She shook her head. “I couldn’t live with myself if I stood back and did nothing.”
    “What exactly is your plan?”
    “You’re not going to like this.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out, then stated, “I’m the bait.”
    Remy’s blood pressure shot up. “No fuckin’ way.”
    She stepped close and laid a hand on his arm. “Hear me out. Multiple agencies have suspected human trafficking was going on in this area. In the past six months, at least one woman a month had disappeared. Two college coeds, a couple of prostitutes and some teen-aged girls known to have a drug habit.
    “A week ago, a friend of mine became the seventh woman that we know of who has disappeared. Navy Lt. Kelli O’Neal was reported AWOL from duty at Norfolk Navy Base. I’d had dinner with her the Friday before she didn’t show up for work on Monday. They got NCIS involved because Kelli is Navy but the case was handed to an imbecile, Brendan Wallace.”
    “Why not you?”
    “Because she was my friend, and I couldn’t be objective.”
    “Who would have more incentive?”
    “My point exactly.” A hand slapped her chest. “I knew how important it was to move quickly. In missing persons’ cases, the longer they are missing, the more likely the trail will go cold. Brendan was moving too slow, so I did some checking on the side, ran the stats through the crime databases and discovered the pattern of missing women. Hit up a few contacts in the FBI and found out they’d been looking into the possibility of a human trafficking ring. They suspect Rocco Hatch, but have no solid evidence to substantiate. They’ve had a couple witnesses claim he was up to something, then the witnesses disappear, too.”
    Remy pushed a hand through his hair. He knew how she felt about finding her friend. He’d have been as concerned if the missing had been one of his teammates or Mitchell. “Why don’t you turn over what you’ve found to Brendan and ask your supervisor to follow through?”
    “I tried. He wants Brendan to do all of the legwork, starting with what I’d already done. He told me specifically to stay out of it, since I couldn’t remain objective and he didn’t want the evidence tainted if they had to take it to a trial.”
    His lips quirking on the edges, Remy said, “I bet that went over well.”
    Mitchell’s lips twisted. “Right. I told the boss that if I couldn’t at least assist on the case, I wanted to take two weeks of leave. He denied me access to the case, and granted my request for leave.”
    “How did you come to the conclusion Hatch had anything to do with this?”
    “The Friday before when we’d had dinner, she’d told me about this man she’d met, and what a gentleman he’d been. He’d taken her out to dinner at an expensive restaurant in his limousine and basically treated her like a princess.”
    “And the man was Hatch?”
    She nodded. “I warned Kelli to be cautious and not trust the man until she got to know him better.”
    Remy’s mouth tightened. “Or not to trust them even when you know them well?”
    “I also warned her not to rely completely on her own judgment.” Mitchell gave him a sad smile. “We all have regrets for decisions we’ve made. It’s how we learn and grow.”
    Remy reached out to take her hand. “I’ve never regretted making love to you.”
    Mitchell squeezed his hand. “Me either. But I have regretted the timing. It’s something I’ve had to live with. I still have a hard time forgiving myself.”
    “I had hoped we’d have gotten past it by now.”
    Mitchell held his hand a moment longer, then let it go and walked away. “Whatever is between you and me is secondary to getting back Kelli alive.”
    “True.” Remy gave her the distance she needed, but he wasn’t done