Page 77 of John’s Yearning

“What’ll happen to the girls?”

“We’ll make sure they’re healthy, feed them, clothe them. But we can’t turn them over to their parents until we know where the head of the operation is holed up.”

“Why not?”

“Because if he finds out we rescued the girls, he might go underground forever, and then we lose our chance of finding Buffy.”

“Oh, God.”

“It won’t come to that. We’ll keep the girls comfortable until then.”

Fear nearly choked her. “But what if he already knows that you rescued the girls?”

“He doesn’t. The guys in Russia had no chance of contacting anybody before they died. From what we could piece together so far, there was a truck waiting for them, and the three men who transported the girls by ship were supposed to drive them cross-country. The trip would take several days. Nobody will realize for a few days that the girls aren’t on their way to their destination. Only then will whoever ordered them contact the kingpin and complain. We have time until then.”

“I hope you’re right.”

John pointed to a door. “They’re in there. Are you sure you want to be present? It might get bloody.”

Savannah tipped her chin up. “You can’t stop me.”

“I guess I already knew that.”

Using his keycard, John opened the door and marched inside ahead of her. She followed. The room was as large as her own bedroom, but it was sparsely furnished. In fact, there was no real furniture. The two cots in the room were built in, and the small table was affixed to the wall, the two chairs mere stools fastened to the concrete floor. A metal toilet without toilet seat and a tiny sink were located in one corner. The walls were bare. Neon lights on the ceiling illuminated the room.

The two men in the cell shot up on their cots. They looked worn out, their gazes guarded as they looked at John. Then they fell onto her, and both guys jolted. They recognized her, though she didn’t recognize them. After all, they’d worn masks.

“Stand up!” John demanded in an icy voice.

Both men immediately stood up.

“You withheld information from me!” John thundered. “And you know what happens to people who keep things from me? They get hurt.” He swiped his hand across the chest of one of the men, slicing his shirt to shreds.

The man yelled out in pain. “No! No! Stop!”

Savannah noticed the blood that now drenched the shredded shirt. John had used his claws on the man. And though it should frighten her to see the man she’d made love to use violence without flinching, she remained calm and without fear. He was doing this for her, for Buffy.

Shoving the hurt man back onto his cot with his hands pressed to his bleeding wounds, John directed his gaze to the second criminal. “Unless you want me to do the same or worse to you, you’d better talk.” John flashed his fangs at the man.

“Oh God! No! What are you?” He stumbled backwards, hitting the back of his knees on the edge of the cot.

But John didn’t let him fall. He snatched him by his shirt and pulled him closer. “Do we understand each other?”

Shaking, the man nodded. “Anything you want. Please, don’t hurt me.”

Savannah recognized his voice now. He’d been the driver the night they’d tried to kidnap her.

“There was a thirteenth girl.” He motioned to Savannah. “My friend’s daughter. She wasn’t on the ship. According to the girls we rescued, she was never on the ship. Who was the man who picked her up?”

“I don’t know.”

John dug his claws into the man’s shoulder, making him cry out in pain.

“I really don’t know,” he said quickly. “The boss sent him. He sent us a text message. Said not to put the girl on the ship; that a client, the man who’d ordered her, would come pick her up in person. We were to hand her over without questions. That’s what we did.” He looked to his associate for confirmation.

The injured man nodded. “It’s true. That man picked her up.”

“Did he have a name?”