Page 48 of The Missing Couple

When the pair made the turn that would take them in the opposite direction, then kept driving until they were outside Guntersville City limits, she glanced at Billie. “They could be driving to the Getaway.”

“The Rogerses’ place?” he asked.

“That would be my guess, but they could be going somewhere else. I can’t be sure.”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Ten minutes later the truck turned into the drive to the Lost in the Woods Getaway. Billie drove past the driveway and found another spot to park where they could watch the comings and goings from that destination.

“Are there any buildings or cabins farther back that are not part of the Rogerses’ property? Maybe another road on the back side of these woods?”

“I’ve never really done any exploring on that property, but I know there’s a road back there. It runs parallel with the back side of the Rogerses’ property.”

“We’ll wait and see what our guys in the truck do. See if Kerrick makes an appearance and then we’ll check out that road.”

If Kerrick was somehow involved in all this, was he just the guy who picked out targets? Did he actually get his hands dirty by taking victims? Charly was pretty sure it hadn’t been him driving that SUV in the video from the night Briana and Martin disappeared. Maybe he was the babysitter? The guy who watched over the ones taken until they were moved to the next step? Was that even a thing?

If it was, then it was possible Kerrick had some place where he kept his victims until they were moved on or picked up. She’d watched a couple of movies about human trafficking that were based on true stories. She was well aware that no community was exempt from such terrible things. But it just didn’t seem possible that someone she had known her entire life would be that sort of monster.

But all those people who did such bad things had families. Mothers. Father. Siblings…friends.

She was being naive. Mostly because she didn’t want to believe a guy not much older than her, who had grown up here, would do such a horrible thing.

Money.

It was all about money just like the drug business. Her father had warned her and Jen that as long as there was a demand for bad things, there would always be bad people doing those bad things.

Money was a powerful motivator.

Running an operation like hers and the one the Rogers family operated was not for the faint of heart. There were lean years. In the beginning there were a lot of expenses that were no longer an issue. But upkeep sometimes made a year barely profitable. Alex had said if they survived the first three years they would be okay, and if they survived five years they were good to go, barring any unforeseen catastrophes.

Like having not one but two guests go missing.

Charly exiled the thought. She glanced at the man sitting patiently behind the steering wheel. She would gladly watch her business decline if it meant he found his sister and her new husband. Their lives were far more important than any other aspect of all this.

The prospect of the two becoming just another statistic was too painful to consider. She could only imagine how Billie and the families felt.

She studied his profile and decided to try to lighten the moment. “You know you do look a little like him—Mick Jagger, I mean—back in his younger days when he was actually kind of hot.”

Billie shifted his attention to her. “I know we are not having this conversation.”

She laughed. “I’ll bet you got that all the time in high school.”

A grin hitched up one side of his mouth. “From time to time.”

Charly relaxed in her seat. “Tell me about Briana.” She knew a little about the younger woman but not so much that was deep or personal.

“She was the biggest pain in the butt when she was a kid.” He laughed. “She was always after me to help her to do this or include her on that. Especially when I had friends over.”

He fell silent for a moment.

“But I love her. Loved her then. Love her now. She was one of the best parts of growing up. An amazing sister.” He looked at Charly. “I was always her hero. At least until she grew up and turned into this superwoman who believes she can do anything without the help of her big brother. She’s one of the strongest women I know.”

“She won’t make this easy for them.” Charly wouldn’t, either, and sometimes that sort of strength could be an issue with surviving.

“She will not,” he agreed. “She’s smart, too. I wouldn’t put it past her to find a way to escape.” He tapped his temple. “She has this way of dissecting an issue and finding a way to fix it or go around it. She will give them hell.”

“What about Martin?”