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“You can sit up on the seat,” he told Dev, despising that she’d had to hide at all. As God was his witness, he vowed he would fix this situation so she wouldn’t have to worry for a single day in her future.
As the vehicle rumbled over the graded dirt surface, she righted herself. Tension pulled at her face, her brows drawn together and her lips tight. She jumped as his phone rang through the dash.
“Yeah,” he answered.
“It’s Jax.”
“What’s up, man?”
“I sent the pic from John to my connection in Chicago. I’m expecting him to get back to me pretty quick.”
Hawk prayed Jax’s friend could identify the suit from the diner, so they’d know who they were dealing with.
“Who’s your connection?” Cannon asked. “FBI? Cops there? Are you sure it’s safe?”
Jax was silent for a long moment before he huffed out a single hard laugh. “Yeah… It’s better that you don’t know.”
Hawk didn’t like that Jax’s statement raised more alarms than it answered. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means…I could be killed for telling you. You could be killed for knowing. And then what would be the point of any of this?”
“What the fuck, man?” Hawk exploded. “We’ve got enough trouble.”
“It’s a guy I know from college, okay? A friend. He’s, uh, Russian.”
“Russian? Like Bratva?” Dev gasped.
“Oh, hey, Dev.”
“Jax, tell me? Is he Bratva? Did you bring Russian mafia into this?” she demanded.
“Yeah. He’s Bratva.”
“My stepfather’s…friends…are mafia,” she exclaimed. “Russian mafia.”
“Shit. Well, I’m sure my contact’s family isn’t part of this. They might do a lot of things that fall into gray areas, but human trafficking isn’t one of them. In fact, the government looks the other way more than they probably should because my contact’s family abhors the flesh trade. They take down traffickers whenever they can. By whatever means they need to. In ways the government can’t.” He paused. “Allegedly, of course.”
If possible, Hawk’s tension snapped tighter. Dev was in peril from human traffickers, and now, the Russian mafia—possibly more than one faction of it—were involved? Blood pounded in his temples, and his chest tightened. He forced himself to loosen his fingers on the steering wheel as they started to ache from how tight he gripped the leather.
“Keep us updated,” he rasped.
“Will do. I promise my contact’s a good guy.”
“Uh-huh,” Cannon dead-panned. “He’s Bratva. Pretty sure, by definition, that means he’s not a good guy.”
Jax returned a short laugh. “Okay, fair, but if he can identify this person who showed up in town, he’s gonna be all in on this situation. Honestly, I know it’s worrying you, Dev, but this asshole showing up in Daly might be the most progress we’ve been able to make toward getting you safe. If he’s identified, then so are the people who sent him. That’s a giant step.”
“Better to know the enemy…” she muttered, clearly unsure she agreed.
Hawk knew the last years had been tough for her. For a long time, she’d had nowhere to turn. Most people said ‘go to the cops’ or go to the feds, but Dev didn’t have enough proof for the authorities to do anything. And that was if the officer she spoke with wasn’t in with the mob. Any wrong step could have brought her stepfather or his associates right to her door. From what she told him and Cannon, her stepfather wanted her because of the money she’d make him.
Just thinking about it raised Hawk’s blood pressure. As tense as he was, he needed to calm down or he’d end up in the ER in Gillette. And what good would he be to his woman if he was stuck in a hospital bed an hour away from Daly?
“Keep us updated,” he growled.
“Will do. I’ll call as soon as I hear from him. You guys should stick around your place with Dev today. Ram and I, along with the other hands, can handle everything at the ranch this afternoon. We’d rather you stay there.”
He didn’t have to say “and keep Dev safe.” The unspoken words still reverberated through the connection.
