Hell or High Water by Jerrie Alexander Page B

forced his libido to the back burner, and followed her into the living room.  
    Holly’s eyes flashed wide, and she threw her arm around Kaycie’s shoulder.
    “Did we interrupt something?”  
    “No.”
    Kaycie snapped her answer a hair too fast, which pleased Nate immensely. It also pleased him to find Marcus and Tyrell were with Holly.  
    “Somebody’s been in Kaycie’s apartment,” Nate said.
    “Any thoughts as to what they were looking for?” Tyrell asked, following Kaycie into the kitchen.
    He opened a cabinet door and removed mugs. Nate bit back the haunting question of why Tyrell seemed to know exactly where things were stored.  
    “None,” Kaycie said. “A few CDs were out of order. Nothing else was disturbed.”  
    “That she could tell,” Nate interjected.
    She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. Damn, she pretended this situation didn’t scare her, but he knew better. The urge to wrap her in his arms and tell her not to worry nagged him.  
    Right now, he needed to concentrate. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms overhead, trying to get his blood moving.
    “You look like shit,” Marcus commented. A smile spread across his face.  
    “Thanks.” Nate returned the grin. “I’m glad you’re here to point that out.”
    “You’re dead on your feet,” Marcus continued. “Let’s wrap this up. Let you get an hour or two of shut-eye. I’ll take watch tonight.”  
    “No. I’ll stay,” Tyrell piped up. “I’m between gigs. Time for me to pitch in.”
    “Fine,” Nate agreed. “Let’s hear what Holly found.”  
    The small team gathered at the table. He inwardly hoped Kaycie hadn’t stumbled onto a human-trafficking ring. They were the scum of the earth. People who operated without remorse or conscience. Her situation moved up the critical ladder if she was right.  
    “The number of missing teenagers spiked around the time of the Super Bowl.” Holly slid an Excel spreadsheet to the center of the table. “Law enforcement expected these bastards to show up. Human trafficking and prostitution increases in every town before and during a large sporting event. Here in Dallas, the number of operations didn’t diminish as it did in other major venues. Three other investigators reported a rise in missing girls after the game was over.”
    Marcus’s eyebrows pinched. Nate remembered the quiet man liked to collect his thoughts before speaking. Marcus glanced up from the documents. “The numbers are high, and so are the girls’ ages. These pedophiles prefer seventeen-or-eighteen-year-olds.”
    “What?” Tyrell turned his gaze toward Kaycie. “That not usual. Is it?”
    “No,” she said. Sadness filled her tone. “They’ve found a niche in the market.”
    “So how do we stop it?” Marcus asked. “Should we expect pushback from the cops?”
    “Count on it. From the FBI too, just as soon as they learn we’re digging around,” Kaycie answered. “First thing in the morning we need to see if we can link the missing girls. Where’d they hang out? Where were they last seen?”  
    She impressed Nate with her take-charge attitude. The young girl had become a woman who’d truly come into her own. He liked this stronger, more independent version. Her self-assurance made her even more beautiful. If that were possible. He folded his arms over his chest and let her run with the ball.  
    Kaycie removed a picture of Hank Walsh from a file she’d set on the table. “And were any of them seen with this man?”

Chapter 12
    Kay kicked off the covers and stretched to the soulful sounds of Tracy Chapman. Tyrell must’ve taken charge of the radio and found a station that better fit his music preference.  
    She showered, put on a pair of jeans, a lightweight blue blouse, and her Western boots. If Nate had ridden his Harley, she’d be ready.  
    She walked down the hall to a surprisingly quiet apartment. Considering Holly’s monster crush on Tyrell, her morning chatter