Her Daring SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 5) by Caitlyn O'Leary Page A

considered things, the more she thought the suicide angle was total bullshit. 
    Soon they were driving in more of a rural section, and then they drove onto a gravel road.  They came to an old dilapidated farmhouse.  Rylie could see a dingy red bar in the back.
    “We’re here.”
    “How many of the women are inside?”
    “I am not sure.  I was given these coordinates, along with the strict order to follow your bidding.  Mr. Liu is very unhappy with the events that have gone on, and he was very specific I was to help you in any way possible.”
    He got out, opened her door, and waited for her to get out.  The door to the farmhouse opened, and a man exited.  Huan handed him the keys and indicated the trunk.  That man took out her overnight bag and handed it to Huan.
    Rylie turned to the new man.  “How many women are inside?”
    He ignored her question, as he began to trudge to the barn.  It was obvious he had been expecting them but wasn’t pleased about their arrival.
    Huan grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, stopping his forward motion. 
    “The lady asked you a question.”  Suddenly the man really looked at her and Huan.
    “I don’t answer to women.”
    “You answer to this one.  Mr. Liu said we needed to treat her with respect,” Huan interjected.  “She’s one of the bosses.”
    “A woman?” The other man snorted in disbelief. 
    “What’s your name?” Rylie’s voice could have cut glass.  It got the man’s attention.
    “Howard.”
    “Howard, if you value both your job and your life, you’ll cut the shit, and answer my questions.  How many women are here, and where are they?”
    They all stood in the middle of the field, and she watched as the man’s face blanched.  “There are sixteen, and they’re in the barn.” Rylie frowned, she could see the barn door slightly open from here. 
    “Let me see,” she demanded.
    “Watch your step, Ms. Hessman,” Huan cautioned.
    They got to the barn door, and Howard opened it and let them in.  Rylie looked around and saw no evidence of the women.  The man walked to the center of the building, bent down and slid a bar mechanism that exposed two doors embedded in the floor.  After he had unlocked the doors, he pulled on the handle and opened one squeaky door.  A woman screamed.
    “Let them out,” she growled.
    “What?”
    “I said,” Rylie began again, “Let them out of there.”
    “I can’t.  Mr. Klein would string me up by my balls.”
    “I don’t know who Mr. Klein is, but Albert Liu and I are running this show.  These women are to be sold in six days.  You have them huddled in a root cellar?” she roared.  “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
    “We have no place else to put them.”
    Rylie stared at the stupid oaf.  She squatted beside the hole.
    “Come out.”  She called down.  Nothing.  There was no response.  Normally she would’ve called for Ursula since she was the leader of sorts.  “Ophelia, are you down there?”  She waited, and there was still no response.
    “Do you have a flashlight?” she demanded.
    “They have a couple down there with them.”  He crouched down beside the hole.  “One of you bitches, turn on a flashlight!” he yelled.  Nothing happened.  Rylie stood up, and loomed over him, she grabbed the man by his hair and turned his head so he was facing her.
    “I asked you if you had a flashlight.  Don’t you speak English?”  He fell backwards, and crab walked away from her.
    “I’m sorry, let me get you one, ma’am.”  Rylie watched as he ran towards a table underneath the barn window, and picked up an industrial flashlight.
    “Here you go.”  He handed it to her.  “I’m sorry, I should have got this for you straight away.”  Rylie turned it on and shone it down into the hole.  There was a ladder, and she didn’t see any of the women.
    “How large is the space down there?”
    “Not that big.  They must be squished down towards the end.  They do that