Page 14 of Kyle (Gold Team #3)

Anaya was nervous. It was the wobble in her voice that gave her away.

I doubted Zane missed it, he didn’t miss much.

Thankfully Declan changed the subject and asked, “Is Harry still in Connecticut?”

“Yes. It seems Harry Landry and Ruiz are in some sort of negotiations. But our intel says Ruiz wants out.”

I kept my eyes on Anaya as she worried her bottom lip in concentration. Which also served as a reminder to have a chat with Zane in private about his Hot Lips Houlihan comment.

“What’s wrong, Anaya?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you staring off into space again?”

“I’m trying to remember how I know that name.”

“What name?” Zane asked.

“Harry Landry.” Her eyes flashed and she nodded. “I know someone by that name but it can’t be the same man. Just a coincidence they have the same name.”

“How do you know the man?” Zane questioned .

“The Harry I know made a sizable donation to a project I worked on when I was with the NCMEC.”

“I don’t remember Landry making any donations to Missing and Exploited Children,” Declan said. “We checked all of his personal donations.”

“Technically, the donation came from his company, but Mr. Landry attended the gala for the donors,” she explained. “But it couldn’t be the same man. The Harry Landry I know gave over a million dollars to help fund a cyber program to stop sextortion.”

Declan glanced at me with his brows pinched together, no doubt thinking the same thing I was. Harry Landry was a smart motherfucker, donating to NCMEC was right up his alley. Diversion at its finest.

“What’s sextortion?” Zane asked.

“Online exploitation of children. Some of these assholes don’t know how to use the dark web, so they still troll chatrooms. Gaming, social media, WhatsApp chats, even online made-up tutorial groups, you name it and they try to worm their way in.

And it doesn’t always involve meeting for sex.

Some of these offenders are happy with pictures or will engage in sexting or online sexual role play.

Some of the victims have been as young as eight years old. ”

“Do the donors get updates about the program? Advances that are being made. Anything like that?” Zane inquired.

“Yeah. Nothing in-depth. But as a way to get them to donate more money, a quarterly newsletter is sent out. It wouldn’t detail the backend of the programs being used, but it would get a general update how their money is being spent, and what’s being planned for the future.”

“Fuck,” Zane growled. “Do you remember the name of the company Harry was representing?”

“Corella,” she told him.

“You’re sure? ”

“Yeah, I’m positive. I remember thinking it was funny that I’d been to Australia the year before and a Corella bird had been driving me crazy squawking nonstop outside my hotel room.”

“Would you recognize him if you saw a picture?”

“I think so. It was years ago, but I’m pretty good with faces and I did speak to the man that night. But it really can’t be the same person. Harry Landry wants to help stop the exploitation of children. It sounds like the man you know sells them.”

“I’ll send a picture over for you to look at, Anaya. If Harry Landry owns Corella Industries, shit just got even worse. I’ll be in touch.”

That was an understatement. Corella manufactured smart chips. Most of their business was government contracts. God knows what kind of intel they could be stealing.

Zane disconnected and I could feel Declan fidgeting next to me. We had no idea Landry had any involvement with Corella. How the hell was that missed?

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Anaya started. “It really can’t be the same person.”

“It’s the same person,” I sighed.

“There’s—”

“What I’m going to tell you is never to be repeated. Not to anyone, ever. But for you to understand what’s going on, and how deep this runs you need to know a few things.” Declan was being weirdly delicate and frankly I was shocked he was going to share.

“Okay. I won’t ever repeat it. But please don’t sugarcoat it for me. You sound like you’re speaking to a toddler.”

“Harry Landry put together a network of former CIA, FBI, and other three-letter agency personnel to form a group he called The Company. He propositioned these highly intelligent individuals and convinced them The Company was a black ops group working under the CIA. Of course the very nature of being off the books meant no one could check. This was a front for him to work military style operations using operatives the government had trained. The agents thought they were working for the good guys, taking out drug smugglers, human traffickers, and all sorts of scumbags that the government couldn’t officially touch.

What they were really doing was eliminating the competition.

Landry is a part of a much larger group called Omni.

It’s an organization that infiltrates governments and uses their leverage to ensure their wealth continues to grow.

Think of them as the ultimate special interest lobbyists.

They are worldwide and have their hands in a multitude of different financial sectors. ”

“Well, that’s actually scary how smart of plan that is. But—”

“There’s more,” Declan continued. “Landry is one of the largest human traffickers in the world. He controls the majority of the women taken from the US. He’s smart.

He works all angles. Him donating to NCMEC makes perfect sense.

Those quarterly newsletters would keep him up to date on their progress and he’d be able to stay one step ahead.

You said it also talks about future projects. ”

Declan’s phone vibrated. He picked it up, tapped the screen, then turned it toward Anaya.

Her face paled and she looked like she was going to be sick.

“I take it that’s the Harry you know?” I asked.

Anaya nodded and closed her eyes. “I danced with him,” she whispered. “He had his sick hands on me. He crooned on about how happy he was his company’s financial donation would help stop the harm of children.”

“That’s what criminals do,” Dec reminded her. “They lie, Anaya. Ones who are sick fucks like him are smooth. The lie rolls off their tongues like silk.”

“Are you going to eat that?” I pointed to Anaya’s untouched breakfast.

“God, no. My stomach is in knots.”

“You gotta eat something,” Dec told her. “We have a long day today.”

“I will. Later.” Anaya covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. “Maybe I just need some coffee to wake up first.”

Anaya stood and picked up her plate and started for the kitchen. When she was clear of earshot, Dec turned to me.

“Are you sure about this?”

I thought about his question and the answer was no.

I wasn’t sure about anything I was doing.

I had a riot of conflicting emotions. I wanted Anaya home in the US far away from this mess.

Especially away from Preston Lockhart and Harry Landry.

I didn’t want her near Amisha’s house and the horrors of what that woman was doing to those girls.

However, I didn’t want her out of my sight and it went beyond keeping her safe. I wanted more quiet nights with her. I wanted her comfortable with me. I wanted her to know she could trust me never to hurt her. I simply wanted more and I couldn’t explain why that was.

“Yeah. I’m positive.”

Dec frowned. “You know she’s going to be an uphill battle, right?”

“You have it all wrong.”

“Don’t bullshit me. This ain’t my first rodeo, friend.

I’ve already seen this twice. Brooks took one look at Tatiana in that UN Annex and it was on.

Thaddeus and Em, well, that was a given.

The man was off his chain as soon as she was around.

You have that same look. So I’m gonna warn you.

This isn’t smart. We have Omni threatening the company as a whole, and the women.

You bringing Anaya into the fold will put her in danger.

And with all of her issues…brother…I’m not sure you wanna attempt to take those on.

There’s a strong possibility she’ll burn you. ”

“Let me ask you something, Dec. Say you’re right, do you really think I’m some shallow prick that would turn my back on someone because of their issues?”

“That’s not how—”

“It sure sounded like that’s what you were saying to me.

That because of what happened to her, what still lingers inside of her, she’s not worth the effort.

But I’m telling you, the man who finally breaks through Anaya’s walls will be one lucky son of a bitch.

That woman is strong as hell. When she finds the right man, she’ll let him in and he’ll find paradise. ”

Part of me wished I could be that man. But the fuck of it was, Dec was right, there was too much going on, it was bad timing, and I didn’t have anything to offer Anaya.

I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going to be beyond today.

My life was in constant turmoil. I didn’t even have a place to live.

Anaya deserved stability and peace. Two things my life would never offer no matter how badly I wanted to give those things to her.

I was not the type of man who wanted to settle down.

I didn’t want kids and I didn’t want to ever be tied to one place.

I enjoyed being a nomad, travelling when I wanted.

Not worried about what I was leaving behind.

But for the first time in my life I wished I could be that sort of man. I wanted to be that man for Anaya.

I was being an idiot thinking I could keep her, allowing my feelings for a woman I just met cloud my better judgment. She’d made it clear she didn’t want to stay with me, and I had to respect that even if it wasn’t what I wanted. The knot in my gut tightened and acid started to build.

I had to let her go.

“I just want this done and her safe. That’s all,” I told Dec .

With a lift of his chin and disbelief in his eyes, he stood. “If you say so. I’m gonna go walk the perimeter again. After we hear back from Zane, we’ll figure out the rest of our day.”

I sat back into the couch and pressed the heels of my palms against my brow trying to relieve some of the pressure building.

What the hell was I thinking, forcing Anaya to something she didn’t want to do? She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. And the truth was, going to Cambodia with us would put her in more danger.

“You okay?” Anaya asked.

I opened my eyes and she was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Smart woman. It was best she stayed far away from me.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I talked to Camilla.” Anaya held her cellphone up so I could see it. “She said they’re catching an earlier flight. And good news, one orphanage in Tutuala has room for ten girls. If there are more than ten, they’ll take them to West Timor. Either way, they’re ready to go.”

“After this is over, where’s your next assignment?”

“Assignment?”

“With the Peace Corps? Where do you go next?”

I held my breath hoping she’d tell me she was going back to the US for good. I might not be in a place where I could keep her, but maybe there would be a possibility in the future. Maybe after we took out Omni, I could seek her out and see if there was more to these crazy feelings I had.

“Oh. I’m not sure yet. South America, I think. Maybe Guyana or Peru. The volunteers who were pulled from Timor-Leste are being sent wherever they’re needed.”

Hearing the possibility of her going to Guyana had my gut clenching. The team had just come back from there. I’d seen firsthand what a corrupt government could do to good people. The country was beautiful and should’ve been thriving. Instead, greed and criminals had a stranglehold.

“How long will you be gone?”

“Every assignment is a two-year commitment. But I don’t know what the Peace Corps will do in a case like this. Why?”

Two years? Fuck. I had no business even entertaining the idea of getting involved with Anaya. Declan was right—yet again, he’d warned me I could get burned. What he didn’t know was, that burn was now hearing she’d be gone for years and all thoughts of a possible future had gone up in smoke.

“You wanna stay with the Riveras and help transport the girls?”

My question had my stomach churning.

“I thought we already worked that out.” Her brows pulled together in confusion.

Yeah, sweetheart, I’m confused, too.

“No. I worked it out. I didn’t leave much room for your opinion.”

She continued to study me and something that looked a lot like hurt crossed her face before she stiffened her spine and pushed off the wall.

“Then, yes, I want to stay.”

Fuck, that hurt—more than I thought it would. Everything I’d thought I’d been feeling toward her was one-sided. She had no interest in staying with us—with me.

“Then you should stay and help.” My chest ached at the thought of leaving her behind. “But you need to be careful. It’s dangerous here. The rebels are still a problem. Tonight when we go in to get the girls you have to stay hidden. We can’t take the chance someone sees you.”

“Tonight is so soon.” Disappointment flashed before she covered it up. “That’s still the plan, huh?”

“Looks that way. We’re waiting on Zane to call back. ”

“Oh.” She paused for a moment. “That’s good. We need to get them out of there.”

Declan walked back into the house as he was shoving his phone back into his pocket.

“That was Tex,” he announced. “Preston Lockhart is on his way to Cambodia. We need to grab the girls tonight. Anaya, make arrangements for Donny and Camilla to be ready. We’ll hit the house as soon as the last man leaves.

Load the girls and get gone. Garrett has three tickets booked for the first flight out of Dili.

Oh-five-hundred. That doesn’t leave us much wiggle room. ”

“Call Garrett back and make that two tickets. Anaya’s gonna stay,” I told him, trying my best to keep my tone flat even though my heart was pounding.

It felt wrong leaving her behind. It went against everything I wanted and my gut was screaming at me not to let her go.

But it didn’t matter how badly I wanted her.

She would never be mine. What’s the saying?

Right girl, wrong time. Not that it would ever be the right time for me.

I’d always known that but somehow Anaya had made me forget.

Forget I was a man who didn’t want commitments or a family. Didn’t want to tie a good woman to me only to have her hate me when she saw the real me later.

We both had lives to live and we weren’t on the same paths. Not even close. I knew myself well enough to know that I would never be okay with my woman traipsing around the world, putting herself in danger. Not without me by her side.

But damn, it sucked having to let Anaya go.