I cut off the lock and lifted the trailer door to get a look inside. It was dark, so using the light on my phone, I shined it inside.
“Holy fuck.” I’d never seen anything like it and had no idea what to do. I was totally freaked. Whoever was involved with this kind of shit went way higher than Liu at the port in Savannah.
Think, Acer, think.
There was only one person I knew who would help me without judging. So I made the call.
“Acer, how’s my baby brother-in-law?”
In a rush, I said, “Reynolds, I’m in trouble. I need your help.”
“Trouble? What do you mean?”
I glanced around, now fearful I was being watched.
“It’s really bad.”
“Are your parents making you move?” she teased.
“Nothing like that. Worse.” Then I explained.
With an urgency in her voice I’d never heard before, she said, “Call the FBI. Right now.”
“The FBI? Reynolds, what if they think I had something to do with this?”
“Acer, you don’t have a choice. Right after you call them, get off the phone. Don’t tell anyone other than the FBI where you are. Text me your location so I can come and get you. I’m texting you the FBI’s local number now.”
“What should I tell them?”
“The truth. And then lay low until I get there. I’m on the way.”
The line went dead. I checked my messages and there was the number. I made the call.
“FBI Atlanta Field Office. How may I direct your call?”
“Yeah, uh, I need your help. I’m in serious trouble.”
Chapter One
ISLA
“Mama, you know I can’t come home tomorrow.”
“Isla, it’s the weekend and your Mimi’s birthday. Besides, I’m cooking Sunday dinner and I know how much you love my fried chicken.”
That was true. Mama’s fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy were the best, especially when she made the chicken hot and spicy. And there was no one I adored more than my grandmother. I’d sent her a birthday gift already, but there was nothing I’d love more than to hug her on her eightieth.
“I know, Mama, I do.”
“I made Mimi a tall chocolate cake too.”
“Mama, please don’t tempt me. I can’t. I’m on duty this weekend. I’m sorry.”
“Your brother is coming and bringing that friend of his and his wife.”
“You mean Brax and Reynolds?” Brax was a teammate of my brother’s. They played professional football together.
“Yes, them. They’re so nice. Are you sure you can’t come?”
I groaned. “Honestly, I wish I could, but I have to work. Tell Mimi I love her though.”
My boss yelled out right then. “I need a team, ASAP. We have a situation on I-75, between Macon and Atlanta. Let’s move it, people.”
“Mama, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.”
I ended the call and headed down to the parking garage to gear up. When I arrived, we had two vans and two SUVs assembled. The weapons, Kevlar vests, and ammunition were already in the vehicles. The FBI kept all vehicles prepared so if and when a call came in, the only thing we had to do was load up.
After we piled inside, the information was delivered to us. We were headed approximately forty miles south of Atlanta. A call came in from a man who’d been hauling a trailer from Savannah. He suspected he was in danger and when he opened the trailer, he’d gotten the shock of his life.
“Does he know how many are in there?” someone asked.
“No. He couldn’t see very well and got the shit scared out of him when he saw what was inside. That’s when he made the call.”
“Where is he now?”
“He may still be there, but said his sister-in-law was coming to get him.”
“Shit. That’s another body we need to worry about.”
“Make that two,” I added, thinking about the sister-in-law he’d dragged into it.
With that said, the lead car sped up.
“I hope we get to him before anyone else does,” someone mumbled.
“Boss apparently tried calling him back but he didn’t answer,” another agent said.
Someone else swore, “Fuck.”
I was worried about him. What if it were my brother? I would not have let him stay out there alone. My legs bounced as I thought about the situation ahead.
As we sped down the interstate, some of the guys talked about football. I never engaged in conversation. They did it to get their minds off what we faced, but I was solely focused on going through the procedures of getting that man out safely and then handling the rest. If whoever set this whole thing up was there, we may end up with massive gunfire on our hands. Those situations never ended well for anyone. I’d already lost two close friends since I joined the bureau. Losing any more was pretty darn low on my list.
We arrived at the destination but had to cross the median to get over to the rest area. The highway was busy with traffic speeding by. But then again, when wasn’t this interstate busy? Even at this hour, you’d think the traffic would be thinned out. No, it wasn’t bumper to bumper like I’d seen it before, but it certainly wasn’t sparse.
After all the vehicles made it across, I noticed the trailer and SUV, but that was it. Everything was dark. We received our orders by radio.
One group was to cover the other as they approached the trailer. We’d brought in extra lights to brighten up the lot afterward. There were woods bordering the property, making it appear sinister. No wonder the guy had gotten spooked.
The group approached the trailer with no sign of activity. The other group, which I was a part of, saw nothing. But when the trailer door was raised, I almost screamed.
The inside was packed with women. Someone shined a light in there to get a better look. There were women of all ages, from maybe early thirties to young children. All of their mouths were duct-taped and their wrists and ankles bound with cable ties.
The first thing that came to mind was thank God it was fall and nighttime. They could have roasted to death in there had it been the middle of summer.
“Jesus,” one of the guys swore. “I can’t believe this shit. This is worse than the last case. They treat them like cattle.”
We’d gotten a call a month ago about a van parked in a strip mall parking lot. When we investigated, we found six women inside who’d been missing for over a year. But this… these women were packed in like chickens headed for slaughter.
“Anybody speak Mandarin or any Chinese dialect?” the boss called out.
No one answered.
“Fuck. Chambers, get in there and try to help them.”
“Me? Why me?” I asked. I didn’t speak Chinese and wasn’t certain I could help them at all.
“Because you’re the only woman here. I’ve called the ambulances and an interpreter, but until they arrive, those women are probably scared shitless of us guys.”
He had a point. The way we were all geared up, we resembled some damn scary creatures.
After I took off my helmet, I walked up to the trailer and stuck my head in. “H-hello. We’re here to help you. Do any of you speak English?” I figured that was as good a place to start as any.