Page 51

Squat eyed the phone, unhappy to see his uncle’s name pop up on the display. The last thing he needed was some guilt piled on. He had to answer. Otherwise, he would hear about it for a long time from his parents.

“Hello, Uncle Bill.”

“Christopher, it’s good to hear your voice.”

He couldn’t lie. It wasn’t good to hear from Bill. The man had terrorized him when he’d been younger. Shortness had no place in his family, and Bill had made sure to let Christopher know he also had no place.

“What do you need?”

Bill was silent for a moment but didn’t hang up. “You always were a little shit. Should have pushed you in that well when you were younger.”

Squat abandoned all pretenses. “What do you want, Bill?”

“Danny, your cousin, was at a party last week. Said he saw your ex, Asher, that little cu?—”

“Don’t finish that thought. What was Asher up to? ”

Bill let go of a huff. “The bitch was causing problems, so a couple of guys gave it right back. I don’t care for you. I think you’re a piece of shit. Still don’t know why the Navy hasn’t sent you packing. But I don’t think it’s right for women to end up in a situation like Asher is in now.”

“What situation is that?”

“Danny said they put her in the back of their car. Said they were going to sell her on a market they know about.”

Anger filled Squat. He knew the markets existed because they’d shut down some. But hearing Asher was being sold didn’t tell him much. He was across the country and had no way of checking out what Bill was saying. He guessed he should be happy that Bill had called, but he knew from experience Bill only contacted him if he wanted something.

“What do you want for this information?”

Bill gasped. “Is that any way to treat me? You are a little shit. I care about people. I’m not calling for anything. But if you want the place where they are taking her, you should send me a thousand dollars.”

Squat threw up his hands. He knew that’s what this was about. Who knew if Asher had even been taken. It had been years since he’d even heard from her. They’d been hot and heavy before he joined up. They would have gotten married, but she didn’t want to be tied down. He hadn’t blamed her, and they parted as friends. Hearing that she was being sold in a human trafficking market pissed him off. But Bill asking for money pissed him off just as much. He thought about hanging up, but he couldn’t leave Asher swinging in the wind if he had a chance to save her.

Squat sat at his computer and sent a message to Thario, asking if he could open a messenger call with him so he could listen to the phone call with his uncle .

“You still there?” Bill asked.

“Yeah,” Thario responded, and Squat put his uncle on speakerphone after answering the messenger call from Thario. “Where is she?”

“That’s not how this works. I need that money.”

“I can’t trust you, Uncle Bill. I need to know where Asher is before I send you a thousand dollars. If the information you give me is good, I’ll get you the money.”

Again, Bill gasped like he wasn’t the one who lied all the time. “How dare you question my integrity.”

Squat was surprised Bill even knew the word integrity. “You’ve burned me before. I need information.”

“Fine. I’ll send you an email with everything I know. Get me my money, or you’ll regret it.”

“Sure, Bill.”

Squat saw the email pop up and ended the call with his uncle. “I hung up on him. Thario, what can you come up with?”

“Um, just a…” The sound of keys clicking on the other end of the line was a small relief to Squat. Thario was a master at the computer. “I see that an Asher Haller was reported missing a few days ago.”

“That’s her.”

“I’ll look for a trafficking market and see what I can come up with.”

“I’m forwarding you the email from my uncle. Want me to come over?”

“Sure. Let yourself in.”

“Got it. And Thario, thank you.”

“Anytime, Squat. I live for things like this.”

Squat ended the call. He hated using Thario. The guy was amazing, but he also was just a guy who had been through a lot. He needed to spend more time with Thario other than just when they had emergencies .

Squat grabbed his phone and wallet before shoving his feet into his shoes. He hated that he doubted what Bill had said, but he hated the idea of Asher being traded in the sex market. She wouldn’t last long, and that wasn’t the kind of death he wanted for her.

Read Protection for Asher next