Page 36 of Pucking Snowed In with the Enemy

“You’re right.” I sucked in a deep breath as Nathan led me back to the table, and I stared at all the young faces smiling up at me. How many times had I seen sex trafficking images just like these? I picked up a few of the pictures and read the information scribbled on the back. Each one had a name, age, the handle used to trap them, and a summary of the occurrence.

“There are more, but these are the ones that are still alive. Some took their own lives, and others had been murdered.”

I swallowed to push down the bile that started to rise. “I don’t understand. Your family doesn’t strike me as the vigilante type. How did you get involved in all of this?”

Nathan’s face darkened, his eyes turned hard, and I could see death and destruction in them. If he wanted to, he would find a way to tear the world apart. That look sent dread streaking down my spine.

He once more went to the file and pulled out a photo of a beautiful girl who looked to be around thirteen. She had vivid blue eyes and blonde wavy hair down to her shoulders, but the face…I looked up at Nathan and then down at the photo.

“This is my sister Kaylani. She was in one of the chatrooms with him and sent him photos.”

“Oh my god, Nathan.” I picked up the photo, my hand shaking. This had to be true. There was no way he’d put all of this together just to throw me off his trail as Alex’s murderer. At this point, I was sure he would’ve just said yes. “Is she…is she….”

“No, she’s not dead. She is a senior at an academy where they keep a very close eye on her now. She came to me crying, saying she felt stupid. I didn’t tell my father until I figured out who he was. I planned to kill him, but my father wanted to profit off of the blackmail and has been twisting the knife into your stepfather ever since.”

This was insane. I spread out all the photos, and Nathan handed over the rest of the reports from the girls after they were interviewed. Some had been charged for creating and distributing underage images. I shook my head, that was fucking horrible. Wasn’t it bad enough that they were manipulated? But to then be charged for it was disgusting. I sat down in Nathan’s vacated chair as my stomach churned.

“So, you went to Canada and took him? What happened?”

“Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways. In the last year of high school I met a guy who played hockey with me, and we became tight. By some weird coincidence, he grew up in the same neighborhood as Alex and went to the same school.”

My brow furrowed. “Who?”

“Callum Reeves.”

“I know him. He was like the local celebrity when I was growing up. Isn’t he in the NHL now for the Vancouver Grizzlies?”

“He is. He didn’t know about Alex, I didn’t then either. I didn’t find out till last year, but I remembered the picture that sat on his desk with Callum and his buds from back home. Alex was in that photo.

I didn’t tell Callum, but as it turned out, I didn’t need to. He said he wanted to do a cottage weekend one day, and I pushed for him to do it over Christmas. I figured I could take Alex either on his way home or shortly after. It gave me a reason to be in Canada and in that area.”

“Smart.”

“Thank you. Anyway, Alex was obsessed with Callum’s ex at the time, Skye.”

“I knew her. We hung out a little, and she’s super sweet.” I held my breath as Nathan pulled more photos from the file and handed them over.

“This was a secret room he’d built inside the house.” I stared at the walls filled with images of Skye. She was eating at a restaurant or walking down the hall at school. There were pictures of her sleeping in bed and others of her getting changed.

“Oh my god, that is Skye’s little sister.” I flipped them over and closed my eyes. I wanted to be sick.

“I hate to say this, but this is not even the worst of what Alex has done.”

I shook my head as guilt sat in my stomach like rocks. I hunted predators like this, and all this time, two were right under my nose, and I didn’t see them. This was taking hiding in plain sight to a whole other level. How many girls could I have helped if I had spent more time with him and my stepfather after leaving with my mother? I would have noticed a flag. Right?

Nathan held up bottles of tequila and vodka, and I pointed to the vodka. Continuing to read was pure torture, but I forced myself to do it. A headache was forming, and I rubbed my temples and sighed as Nathan massaged my shoulders and neck.

“I should have him arrested and thrown in jail for life,” I said, and Nathan’s hands stilled.

“I can’t let you do that.”

Turning in my seat, I looked up at Nathan, who was as imposing as the storm and wilderness outside.

“What are you going to do with him?”

He lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “He’ll die at some point, but I don’t know when.”

“Nathan, I’m a federal agent, and no matter what he has done, he’s still my brother. I can’t just let you murder him any more than you would let me do that to a member of your family.”