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Z ip wanted to tell Hop to drive faster, but they were going a little above the speed limit, and the last thing they wanted was to be stopped by the police. Before leaving, they’d made sure their weapons were loaded and had plenty of firepower to take down multiple people.

They didn’t want to hurt Talia, so they were planning to go in quiet, and overpower them in stealth. But if things went sideways, they had the ability to drop them where they stood.

“How much farther?” Hop asked.

“Five minutes,” Smiley said.

Trip and Bud were in the car behind them. They planned on driving past the entrance and coming to the marina from the west. He was going to hang back until they located Talia. His emotions were high, and the last thing he wanted was to make a critical error.

“We’re approaching now,” Hop said.

Zip must have been deep in his musings to not notice the last bit of distance they’d traveled. He checked his watch, seeing they had about twenty minutes before Talia was set to arrive. He was ready, or he thought he was. If they hurt her, he would make sure they paid.

The lot seemed deserted as they pulled in, but then another car pulled in right after Hop killed the lights and engine. They’d taken care of the dome light before leaving Thario’s place so they wouldn’t draw attention.

“They’re going for the trunk,” Hop said.

“That has to be her,” Smiley said. “I’m texting the rest of the guys and letting them know she’s here.”

“You ready?” Hop asked.

“Yes.” Zip was glad the guys were ready to move. They didn’t wait until they had confirmation that Talia was in the trunk. Waiting would put them at too big a deficit.

He slowly inched out of the car, not even trying to close the door. It would make too much noise and alert Talia’s captors that he was there.

Hop and Smiley were already out of the car and approaching the group of four. Two men were dragging, half-carrying Talia. Anger rose as he watched her struggle to walk. What had they done to her?

Someone stepped off one of the boats and onto the ramp leading from land out to the boats farther out. The guy was big, and from the glimpse Zip got, it looked like he was going to be a problem.

“We ain’t taking damaged goods.”

“She’ll survive,” the woman said.

That had to be Talia’s sister. He wanted to hurt the woman and make her pay for being such a freaking jerk to Talia.

“Can she walk? We aren’t taking her on this boat if she can’t stand on her own.”

Zip inched closer. He was about five feet behind Hop but could hear the conversation going on between the trafficker and Talia’s sister.

“She can stand. Stand on your own, Talia.”

The two guys tried to let go of Talia, but she dipped to her knees. Zip wanted to cheer her on, but he stayed silent as they moved closer. The idiots weren’t paying attention because they had five men surrounding them, and not one of them had realized it yet.

“We made a deal. She’s fine, just a bitch.”

The guy shook his head and turned, waving his hand like he wanted nothing to do with them. Zip had no jurisdiction, but the asshole was a trafficker and needed to go down. Of course, the man was a small node in a huge machine. There was no way the boss was picking up women from a marina. Taking him down wouldn’t kill the beast, but he wanted to stall them.

“Listen, lady, she isn’t standing on her own. She’ll die on the way over. We need healthy women, not used-up bitches. Toss her in the ocean. I’m out of here.”

“No!”

The shriek was loud and echoed around them. Zip needed to be closer to Talia to get her free. They had moved as close as they could without exposing themselves. It was time to act and get Talia free from her sister.

Zip was about to move when the guy from the boat spun and punched Talia’s sister in the face, dropping her to her knees. The move shocked him, but he couldn’t stand idle. He had to save Talia.