by Becca Van
“Yeah.” Yvonne placed her hand on her forearm. “I can understand that. How long have you been here?”
“Just over two months.”
“Thank God.” Yvonne sobbed and then hugged Prue. “I was beginning to think I would never see you again. I thought you were dead.”
Prue rubbed Yvonne’s back as she cried. They hadn’t known each other for that long but they had just seemed to click from the very start. It still sometimes surprised Prue how close they were because Yvonne was the exact opposite to her in every way, but she valued her friendship more than anything.
Yvonne finally released her and wiped the tears from her face. “I still don’t know why those assholes kidnapped you or me for that matter. Do you know?”
“Yeah.” Prue went on to explain why they had been targeted and with each word she spoke Yvonne became more pale. She squeezed Yvonne’s hand and waited until the information had sunk in.
“Those fucking assholes. What are they doing to try and find who is running this ring?”
Prue hesitated. Although she didn’t know much she knew a little, but for some reason she felt it wasn’t her place to tell Yvonne what she did know. “I don’t know. They don’t talk about their work around me.”
“So what are these guys, government agents?”
“No idea.”
“Hmm, well I’m just damn glad they were able to rescue us both. Just thinking about what could have happened…” Yvonne shuddered.
“Don’t think about it. You’ll go crazy if you do.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Yvonne slid a glance in her direction. “All those men are big and handsome. If I wasn’t with Billy I would definitely try to hook one of them. That Hunt is sex on legs, as are Thorpe and Adam.”
“I don’t like the way you were touching Hunt.”
Yvonne looked at her and then her mouth gaped open before snapping closed again. “I thought you were cozying up to Adam.”
“I am, I was. Thorpe, Hunt, and Adam belong to me.”
“Three? You are getting it on with the three of them?” Yvonne screeched and then she burst out laughing “Oh that is priceless. Who would have thought the miss meek and mild would be brave enough to fuck three men.”
Yvonne’s statement hurt her but she hoped it didn’t show on her face. Yvonne had always been blunt and a little brash and probably didn’t mean anything by it.
“I would appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself.”
Yvonne held her hands up palms out and smiled at her. “Hey I didn’t mean anything by it. You know how much I love Billy. I was just relieving a bit of boredom.”
“Okay,” Prue sighed. “Sorry.”
“Hey don’t sweat it. Is anything else wrong?”
“No.” Prue stood up and headed toward the horses. “I think we should head back. Did you tell anyone where you were going?” Another thought occurred to her and she turned to face Yvonne. “How did you know where I was?”
“I saw you heading out and decided to join you. I grew up around horses, remember, I just couldn’t resist going for a ride when I saw you riding out and no I didn’t tell or see anyone.”
“We’d better head back before they send out a search party. I’ve been riding a couple of times but I was told that if I ever went out by myself I was supposed to tell someone where I was going.” Prue mounted up.
“Makes sense.” Yvonne got on her horse. “If something happened then they would know where to look for you. Do you want to race back?”
“No, I’m not that good. I can barely stay in the saddle at a canter.”
“Maybe I can give you some lessons while I’m here?” Yvonne walked her horse alongside Prue’s. “How long do you think we’ll have to stay?”
“I don’t know,” Prue sighed.
“Why have you stayed here so long? Surely it’s safe for you to go back home?”
“The men don’t seem to think so.”
“Have they told you why? I mean it’s not like you were kidnapped from your home? Surely those assholes wouldn’t know where you live? Did you have your ID on you?”
“Yes. That’s the strange part. They ended up stripping me naked but not once did they search my clothes. Thorpe was able to retrieve my license, cell phone and apartment keys from my jeans pockets. “How long did they have you?” Prue asked.
“I was lucky,” Yvonne looked over at Prue. “I was only held captive for two nights. Those men somehow found out I was missing and found me on the third day. God, every time I close my eyes I hear and see that house exploding.”
“You’re safe here Yvonne.”
“I know, but I miss Billy so damn much. I don’t know how long I can stay here, Prue. I want to go back home.”
Prue saw the tears in her friend’s eyes and felt terrible for her. She knew just how Yvonne felt. Being away from Thorpe, Adam, and Hunt would kill her. And then she realized just how petty she’d been in her reaction to Yvonne and Hunt this morning. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the green-eyed monster had reared its ugly head. Prue just hoped that none of her men had seen or felt the jealousy she’d felt. Yvonne hadn’t been after Hunt at all. The situation had to have been completely innocent at least that’s what she hoped.
When Prue and Yvonne rode into the yard, Thorpe, Hunt, and Adam were just coming out of the main house. None of them looked too happy to see them. Thorpe helped her to dismount while Hunt did the same for Yvonne. After handing the reins over to one of the ranch hands Thorpe took her hand in his and pulled her toward their house. Prue looked back over her shoulder to see that Hunt was holding Yvonne’s hand, but he was scowling at her friend just the way Thorpe was scowling at her. Adam brought up the rear and his usually happy visage was stoic. When he caught her looking at him he frowned.
After leading the way into the house and the living room, Thorpe released her hand and pointed to the sofa. Hunt did the same to Yvonne. When they were both seated the three men stood in front of them with their hands on their hips.
“What the hell did you two think you were doing?” Thorpe snapped out his question.
Prue glanced at Yvonne and saw that her friend looked a little nervous. She didn’t want her to be scared of her men. In fact she wanted Yvonne to like them because as far as Prue was concerned they were going to be in her life permanently. If that was the case, and she damn well hoped it was, she wanted Yvonne to like them too. Prue decided she wasn’t going to let Thorpe run roughshod over her or frighten Yvonne.
“Well, duh.” Prue rolled her eyes. “What did it look like we were doing?”
“Don’t you get smart with me, Prue. We already told you that you needed to let someone know where you were going if you went for a ride. Do you think we make up these rules just to be a pain in your ass? God, what if either or both of you had fallen off and hurt yourselves. No one would have known where you were or where to even begin to start looking for you.”
Prue felt a little guilty now that Thorpe had explained things to her more fully, but if he had just told her what he just had in the first place none of this would have happened.
“Okay, I concede that the reason you want to know where I’m, we were going was reasonable but you didn’t tell me that before.” Prue gave Thorpe a glare of her own. “If you had told me the why of it, none of this would have happened. Plus I just needed a little time to myself and when Yvonne joined me we took the opportunity to talk without being interrupted.”
Thorpe sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, all right. This was partially my fault. I’m sorry.”
“I am too.” Prue got to her feet and held out her hand. “I promise if we go out again to let one of you know where we are going.”
Thorpe took it between both of his and his expression softened. “Thank you, baby.”
Prue saw Yvonne looking at her and Thorpe from her peripheral vision and the speculation in her friend’s eyes. And from the determined look she was giving Prue, she
wasn’t about to get away with sidestepping her curiosity.
She’d told Yvonne about these three men being hers and she figured that Yvonne was going to want more details. Prue didn’t want to talk to her friend about being intimate with her men. To her way of thinking, everything they did in the privacy of their bedroom was just that. Private. But from the determined look in Yvonne’s eyes she wasn’t going to let Prue get away until she told her all. Prue couldn’t understand why she was feeling a little hesitant with her friend but then put it down to how she had acted with Hunt. Now that that incident was cleared up she had no reason not to talk. She pushed her uncertainty and hesitancy aside when Thorpe began talking again.
“We have to get going.” Thorpe squeezed her hand before releasing it. “We have work to do. We’ll see you at lunch.”
“Okay,” Prue sighed and watched her three men turn away and head toward their office. She loved the way their butt cheeks flexed when they moved.
“All right, girl, start talking,” Yvonne said when her men were no longer in sight.
Prue laughed. Her uncertainty no longer a problem, she grabbed Yvonne’s hand and led her into the kitchen. Now that she had made up her mind to stay with her men she was excited and wanted to tell Yvonne everything. She just hoped that Thorpe, Hunt and Adam wanted her in their lives permanently too.
* * * *
The Infiltrator had watched that bitch as she had sat by the small stream, totally oblivious to another’s presence. The time to do something was coming closer and the Infiltrator was filled with anticipation. The email had been sent late last night to the second-in-command who would have sent it on, and the boss would now know where those interfering assholes lived.
Would the boss send in more men? These fuckers had no idea who they were dealing with.
The Infiltrator had found it easy to get into that home and onto their email software. The laptops had all been sitting on desks in the office and hadn’t even been turned off. No hacking had been necessary. It was wonderful that all the people living on the ranch, besides the ranch hands, went to the bigger house to eat. It had made the Infiltrator’s job that much easier. After sending the email the Infiltrator had made sure to delete everything from the hard drive.
The Infiltrator could see the natural blonde bitch in the kitchen. She looked so damn happy. Well, all that was about to change and none of them were the wiser. Glee filled the Infiltrator’s heart. They were all so fucking stupid. There was no way the Infiltrator would ever be so complacent.
The Infiltrator couldn’t wait to see that happiness change to horror and fear.
Yes. It wouldn’t be long now.
Chapter Nine
Hunt couldn’t wait for dinner to be over. He’d spent all afternoon working in the office with his brothers trying to find out who all the criminals were as well as the businessmen placing orders with the Japanese Underworld villains, but he felt like it had been a waste of time. None of them had found a thing. Often he caught himself daydreaming about Prue and would have to snap out of it to concentrate on the task at hand. What frustrated him the most was that someone, somewhere, from the Japanese law or government had to know at least one of the assholes involved in the sex slave ring. Right?
What if whoever their team leaders and CO Tony Sullivan couldn’t find out who was the leader because they were one and the same? What if the contact was involved in the sex slave ring?
Hunt’s gut started to do loop-de-loops and he knew he was on the right track. If what he thought could be true, then no wonder they hadn’t been able to come up with anything. Whoever was in Tony’s ear could be leading them in the wrong direction. But then he remembered that Yumi Itou and Mika Takahashi had been on the list Whit had been sent and they were now both dead.
No matter how hard he tried to get his head around everything, Hunt knew he was missing something. And the way that house in Chadron had been rigged to blow niggled in the back of his mine. It was like that whole fiasco had been a set up. Maybe Yvonne had been kidnapped on purpose after all, even if she didn’t fit the usual MO. But how did those Japanese bastards know that Yvonne and Prue had been friends? Someone must have been watching both women before Prue was abducted. That made sense and if they saw that they knew each other it also figured that they would kidnap Yvonne to get to them. So Chadron had been a set up after all, but they were still no closer to finding out who the head honcho was.
“Thorpe, Adam, I think we were had.” Hunt turned his seat to face his brothers and then began to explain his scenario. The more he spoke the grimmer his brothers faces got.
“We need to call a meeting.” Thorpe scrubbed a hand over his face and then pulled his cell from his pocket. “If what you suspect is true then we are never going to bust this ring down, especially if Tony is being fed bullshit. We’ll make it half an hour from now.”
Thorpe began tapping on his cell screen as Hunt turned back to his laptop.
“What we need to do is get a list of every single member of the Diet, the Japanese government.” Adam suggested.
“I just had the same thought, bro.” Hunt tapped away at the keyboard. “The Diet is comprised of two houses, the Representatives and the Councillors. The Representatives have four hundred and eighty members, while the Councillors have two hundred and forty-two.”
“What about the emperor?” Thorpe asked.
“As far as I can tell the emperor doesn’t have any effective power at all. He’s just a symbol of state.”
“Shit!” Adam sighed. “That’s a total of seven hundred and twenty-two people not including the law over there.”
“I’ll make a printout and we can split up the list.” Hunt tapped on his keyboard till he had what he wanted and then hit the print button. Moments later the printer began humming.
“We’re gonna have to get Whit to speak to Tony and see if he can find someone he can trust. Hopefully he’ll be able to cut down on what we have and also find out who isn’t on the take in the law.” Thorpe shoved his cell back into his pocket.
“Wait a minute,” Hunt said as he did another search. “From what I can find on the net, law enforcement is called the Prefectual Police and is watched over by the National Police Agency. The NPA is headed by the National Police Safety Commission which makes sure that the police stay an apolitical body and are free of government control. They are checked by an independent judiciary and monitored by the free press.”
Thorpe sat up straighter in his chair. “Print that out too, Hunt. Better yet take a screen shot and email everything over to our team leaders. That way they can forward that information onto Tony and we can suggest our CO look for a reliable press source, one that has been awarded for revealing dangerous but truthful stories. Just because the cops are under a commission doesn’t mean they don’t have dirty cops in their midst. I for one would rather trust a newsworthy reporter than anyone else at this stage.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Adam glanced at his watch and rose to his feet. “If Tony can find a trustworthy reporter we could find out what we need to know and shut this ring down faster than we thought.”
Hunt stood up and stretched out his aching muscles. “Let’s go. It’s nearly time for the meeting.”
Minutes later Hunt and his brothers were ensconced in the large meeting room in the main house and explaining what they had hypothesized. After hearing them out and reading the emails Whit was on the phone to Tony. By the time Whit hung up the phone from their CO he was smiling.
“Tony thinks you guys are onto something. He’s going to see if he can find a reliable reporter and grease his palm for more information. Hopefully in the next few days or so we’ll have what we need and know who to look for.”
“Well done, guys.” Dalt glanced at his watch and stood up. “Hopefully this shit won’t drag out for years like we began to think. Let’s head out to the dining room. It’s time for dinner.”
Each of their team members slapped Hunt and his brother’s on th
e back, thanking them for their input and all of them hoping it wouldn’t take more than a couple of months to close the sex slave ring down, at least in the US. It was up to the Japanese police to take down the racket on their end, but if Tony managed to get a list of the criminals they would be passed on to the Japanese law.
Hunt’s instincts told him they were on the right track, but there was nothing the team could do now except wait. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any other women snatched from the streets of the US before they had what they needed to be able to go after these assholes. But for now he wanted to concentrate on their relationship with Prue.
He’d wanted to spend the afternoon with her and reassure her that he wasn’t attracted to her friend in the least. He’d felt a little of her jealousy and pain when Yvonne had been putting the moves on him earlier in the day, but he hadn’t wanted to make a scene with the rest of the team looking on. He just hoped he hadn’t thwarted any opportunity to have a permanent relationship with her. His brothers had knocked on his shield and shown him their displeasure, but Hunt hadn’t done anything to encourage Yvonne Butters’s overtures. As far as he was concerned she was a trouble maker and couldn’t wait to have her out of their house. Maybe he could get Cal, Fletch and Law to take her in. That way he and his brothers would have more privacy and wouldn’t have to hide their “gifts” from Yvonne, but he didn’t think Prue would agree to that.
Prue was a loyal friend and even though she had been upset, she still spent time with Yvonne out on a horse ride. If he and his brothers were able to win her over he had no doubt she would be just as loyal, if not more so with them.
Pushing his thoughts aside he entered the kitchen and his eyes immediately locked onto Prue. She was helping May, Sara, and Nicole putting out the food. When he glanced over at the large dining table he saw Yvonne flirting with Ty and his brothers. Swinging his gaze back to Nicole he was glad to see she was angry at the other woman and not jealous. Nicole’s lips twitched when Ty, Rand, and Brom got up and went to help the women.