Page 6 of Storm and Tempest

“When?” Jax said.

“Three weeks ago.”

“You said it was a prearranged purchase.” He didn’t believe Kenna had gotten herself involved in sex trafficking—if that’s what this was. “Who bought her?”

“A client he has who remains anonymous. Anytime they have a specific product, he makes a call and someone comes to collect.”

Jax’s stomach flipped over. “I want a full report on my desk by morning. And a plan to find out who these people are, buying certain girls.”

It definitely sounded like somethingDominatuswould do.

The guy to his left said, “Boss?—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Jax snapped.

Herron lifted her chin. “We know that. Believe me weallknow what you don’t want to hear. But we still have to say it.”

The other agent said, “Seems personal to you.”

“Tell me you’d do anything different than what I’m doing if you were in the same situation.” Jax glanced between them, daring either one to say it. “I’ve got it handled.”

“No one expects you to be fine,” Herron said, her tone softened. “No one expects you to have things tight twenty-four seven until she’s found. But if she’s part of?—”

“She isn’t part of it. Kenna had to have been under duress when she came here.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I want to see security footage.”

“I asked about that. Their system has been broken for a few weeks.” Herron hesitated. “He said when she came here, she wasn’t scared, or nervous. She didn’t say anything that wasn’t part of the transaction. He remembers because he offered to buy her a drink and she told him where he could shove that idea.”

Jax frowned. That wasn’t something Kenna would ever have said. If she was a captive, she’d have surely tried to get a message out somehow.

“I know that look, and I’m sorry,” Herron said. “Sometimes we learn things about people we love and they’re hard to hear. We think we know the ones closest to us, but we don’t always seethe truth, even if it’s in front of us. We want to trust the person, and it’s hard to find out they aren’t who we thought they were.”

Jax shook his head. “That’s not what’s happening here.”

He’d have to get into conversations about genetic experiments and secret organizations impregnating women in order to explain why he didn’t believe that Kenna had gone to work for their enemy. That would only lead the people he worked with to thinking things were far worse than they’d feared—that he’d completely lost his grip on reality.

He added, “Report what you have, and let me figure out what it means.”

She started to question him, but he didn’t call her on it. He just walked away down the hall. Past the group of girls—women and teens—now being assessed by medics. Past the suspects being loaded into vans to be taken into custody and booked. Back across the street to his car.

He stopped at his door, braced his palms on the roof, and tucked his chin. Then took a few deep breaths. Pretending no one could see him, and that he had himself under control.

“Looking for someone to punch?”

The low voice had a slight Hispanic lilt to it, but not much. He only recognized it because he knew the man approaching to his left. On his offside, so that Jax would have to fully turn around to face the man, and he’d need more time to get the right aim if he had to draw his weapon.

In the meantime, Ramon would have already stabbed him in the back.

“If I was going to punch anyone”—Jax turned—“it would be you. After all, you’re the reason she’s gone.”

“And if I have information?” Ramon asked. The guy didn’t even have the decency to look guilty. The day Kenna had been taken by men working for their enemy, Ramon had been stun gunned and left behind. He hadn’t done anything to stop it.

“Is the intel you have that Kenna is trafficking young women forDominatus?”

Ramon flinched. “What? No. Who said that? It’s dumb.”

Jax didn’t want to like the guy. He wanted to hate him, blame him, and never see him again. If it wasn’t for Maizie and the high regard she had for this man, Jax would have told Ramon to get lost weeks ago. “Then what is it? I need to get back to the office.”

Ramon headed for the passenger side. “Team meeting.”