The younger of the two walked toward Reynolds and me, adjusted the baseball cap she wore, and stopped. “Reynolds, is that you?”
“Yeah. Oh, gosh, Isla. I never imagined running into you here.” They both laughed, but only for a second. “This is horrific,” Reynolds said.
“It is, but why are you here?”
“Oh, right. This is my brother-in-law, Acer. He’s the one who called it in.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” I said. As I watched her, she didn’t strike me as an FBI agent, although her jacket bearing the insignia, along with the cap sitting on her head, said otherwise.
“You were really lucky the people who did this didn’t catch you.”
“That’s true. I’ve never been so freaked in my life as when I opened up that trailer.”
She gripped my arm. “Hey, it’s a damn good thing you did though. You’re Brax’s brother then?”
“Yeah. You know him?”
She and Reynolds both started talking at the same time and then stopped. Reynolds went on to say, “Isla’s brother plays for the same team Brax does. He’s a wide receiver, and Brax’s best friend.”
A slight chuckle escaped me for the first time that night. “I see. Isn’t this a small world?”
“I’d say so. I can’t wait to tell Lenox.”
“Wait. Lenox Chambers is your brother? Oh, my God. He’s amazing. I knew he and Brax were great friends. It really is a small world. So you’re FBI, huh?”
“I am. And actually, Lenox is my half-brother. His mom died when he was just a little thing and his dad married my mom a couple of years later. Then I came along and he got me as his obnoxious baby sister.”
“I doubt you were obnoxious.” There was no way a woman this hot could be obnoxious. It was difficult to see her hair because she wore it in a ponytail under that cap, but her face was stunning. Huge green eyes and lips I could gaze at for days. A crooked grin curved her mouth, which made it an even more enticing smile. “Besides, you’re a lot prettier than he is.”
That got a laugh out of her. While we were talking, Reynolds’ phone rang. It was my brother, aka, her husband, calling. She walked away to take the call.
When she came back, she said, “Brax said to tell you both hello.”
“Pretty sure that’s not all he said,” I answered.
“No, but we can talk about it later. Isla, will you be at your mom’s tomorrow?”
“Afraid not. I have to work, unfortunately, where I’ll probably see you, Acer.”
“Yes. I’m supposed to come down and give a statement.”
Reynolds said she was going to head home. “If you don’t need me, that is.” She gave me a conspiratorial look. What did that mean?
“No, I’m good. I’ll see you back at the house. Thanks, sis.” I watched her walk away.
“Um, I probably should’ve said something, but how will you get home?” Isla asked.
“My SUV. The one attached to the trailer.”
She sighed. “Let me check with Art. They may have to impound that too.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I wanted to give you a ride.” Then she winked at me. Was she flirting? I hoped so. I could use a little fun about now.
Agent Sanderson was talking with a group of guys when we approached. Isla told him about our mutual friends and then asked if I could leave.
“We need to impound the trailer, of course. Usually, we keep both, but we searched the vehicle and it was clean. You’re clear to go. Just don’t leave the area and I’ll call you tomorrow with a time to come in. Here’s a card with my information on it just in case you hear from your friend. Thanks again for calling this in.” He handed me his card.
Isla walked me to my SUV. “I guess I’ll see you at the office tomorrow then,” she said.
“Looking forward to it.”
She laughed. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.”
Chapter Three
ISLA
The women were a mess—completely traumatized. I’d worked on human trafficking cases before, but this one was different. These women had been sold by their husbands or another loved one. Even the young girls had been sold. Who could do that to another human? My mind refused to accept it.
But meeting Acer had made this case more interesting. No, that wasn’t the right word. He made it more intriguing, as bad as that sounded. He was a steam-fest to look at. My God, the man was scorching. Those dark bedroom eyes and almost black hair, along with that sexy mouth, were more than a woman—especially one who hadn’t had a man in a while—could take. He had a broody look about him that screamed sex.
The rest of the night, envisioning his beautiful face, made my job much easier. And all I could hear was his raspy voice.
After we cleaned up the rest area, and all evidence was removed, we returned to the field office to write up our reports. I didn’t get home until four in the morning. And even then I couldn’t sleep. All I thought about was how those women had been sold into slavery by people they’d trusted, even loved. How terrible to feel so betrayed.
An hour later, after rolling around in my bed and freaking my dog, Ruffles, out, I got up and opened my laptop. A search for former human trafficking victims didn’t yield much. I checked the FBI’s website in hopes of finding a special unit dedicated to sex trafficking. I didn’t find much. This was an area I wanted to research further when I went into work. It intrigued me and my heart hurt for these women. I felt an indescribable urge to help people like them who had been trapped and abused by others.
The sun was coming up, so I took Ruffles for a walk and then showered. I threw on some clothes, put my hair in its usual ponytail, grabbed some coffee, and was out the door. Then I turned around because I forgot to turn on the video camera. I’d bought one so I could watch Ruffles during the day. She was my buddy, my best friend. If something ever happened to her, I didn’t know what I’d do.
The office was bustling already. There was no such thing as getting here early. Agents scurried around, making jokes, doing paperwork, and grabbing coffee. Art saw me as I headed toward my cubby.
“Chambers, you’re early today,” he said.
“Couldn’t sleep. Kept thinking about those poor women.”
“It was pretty bad. I spoke with one of the hospitals this morning. One of them is in critical condition. Apparently she has a heart problem.”
“Oh, no. Do they think she’ll make it?”
Art shook his head. “They don’t know yet.”
“If she doesn’t, this moves to murder then.”
“True, but we have to find the perps first. I’m worried about Kent’s friend.”
“Kent?”
He was staring at his phone. “The kid who called it in.”
I wanted to smack myself in the head. Of course that was Acer’s last name. My tired brain needed to wake up. “Right. Why are you worried?”
“He hasn’t answered or returned any of our calls.”