“Looking for my girl. She got lost in the desert.”
My brows knit up in confusion. “No one lost here. Do you got a number or something? If someone shows up, we could give you a call?” I stick out my hand, waiting for him to hand it over, knowing damn well he’s not stupid enough to do it.
“It’s okay.”
“If she’s lost then I don’t think it’s okay. It can get cold at night around here. Then again, I don’t know how she could have gotten over here in the first place. Paxton from the Southwest is the nearest town and on the completely opposite side Steeleville. Where were you coming from that she got lost?”
“Fuck off and mind your business old man,” he snarls. I shrug and let him storm out of the door.
I’m on my phone a second later, taking in my camera’s surveillance and watching while sending out a text to Boomer and the guys around to be on the lookout. This is going to be a long fucking day.
My phone buzzes, and it’s Esperanza. Fuck. I haven’t returned her call. “Hey, beautiful. How are you?”
“I’m good. Am I bothering you?” Shit. Does my voice give my stress away?
“No. Just a little busy at the moment. Can I call you back in a bit?”
“Sure.”
“I miss you.” Fuck. She hung up the phone already. I’m screwing up this relationship without even trying, which is something I don’t want to do. I’m going to call her tonight and fix it, but first I need to get this guy out of my town. If he’s the guy who strung Harley up, he’s a dead man.
My phone rings, and it’s Cyber. “That tag belongs to Boxer Malone. He’s hired muscle for a trafficker.”
I’ve never heard the name before, but he’s said all I needed to know. The bastard is a piece of scum who has a death wish and a hatred for women. “So he’s not concerned about her well-being.”
“Not likely.”
“Let’s find him.” I want to end this fucker before he can cause more harm.
“He’s already driven out of town.” Damn it. We’re already stretched thin in town lately.
“Well, if he returns, we’ll make sure he never makes it back out again. We don’t have time to hunt him down.”
“We sure as hell don’t at the moment, especially with all the shit with the cartels, but I’ll be keeping an eye out. His vehicle has been added to the list of cars to be monitored. Although, if he hasn’t found her here, he might not bother to come back.”
Cyber has been keeping track of all the comings and goings of strangers to the area just in case with his surveillance systems, but it’s a full-time operation and trouble is always knocking on our door, quite literally.
“Let’s hope he shows up at just the right time. I want his head just above the sand.” There’s no way I’m going to let this go, but I can’t handle it at the moment. We’ll have to track him down soon. It won’t be difficult, but the risks are high at the moment.
“Sounds good to me.”
Chapter Six
Esperanza
“What’s wrong, Mom?” Roxie asks, walking into the kitchen of my home, visiting me.
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying. I haven’t known you long, but you have that same look your son does when something’s bothering him. I’ll tell him if you don’t tell me.”
“You know Liam well, right?”
“Yes. Are you guys having problems? Do you miss him?”
“Do you think he’d stop wanting me? I mean, damn it—I sound so pathetic. It’s just, well, he didn’t call me back last night like he promised, and he sounded so not interested in talking to me yesterday.”
“That’s not like him at all. Look, I know he’s crazy about you. That’s without a doubt. Give me a second.” She pulls out her cellphone and I panic.
“God. Please don’t call him,” I screech, reaching my arms out to stop her.
She smiles, trying not to laugh and nudges my hands away with a promise. “I’m not.”
“Hey, bro. Quick question. Is there something going down there? I don’t need details, but did more shit pop off? Yeah? Just call it a guess. Okay. Stay safe. Oh, okay. I’m just checking. Okay.”
She ends the call. “So he said not to say anything, but a bit of the same shit as usual. A bit of human trafficking stumbled into their path again.”
“Human trafficking?”
“Yeah. The cartels from the border send them through, steal women from around the country. It’s pretty fucked up. The guys do what they can and I’m guessing something happened, but everyone is safe. If things ran late and he still had to close up the bar, then he didn’t want to wake you.”
“Oh.”
“Look, I get it. Trust me. I understand more than anyone, but I’ve known Liam for years and you don’t have anything to worry about. The man wants to marry you, and I’m sure he would if he could.”