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“Of course.”
“Have you contacted Seraphina?”
“Not yet. I’d rather do it in person and after I have something more definitive to tell her.” It was also going on three in the morning. “What about Tryst?”
“If you’re asking if he’s told her anything, the answer is he has not. He’s waiting for word from you on whether you want him to,” said Press.
“I do not.”
“I’ll pass that on. By the way, was that your brother I saw going into the triage center?”
“It was. Evidently, Tryst arranged for someone from K19 to transport him here.”
“Listen, Ridge, why don’t you return to Alamos? It may be hours, or longer, before Ares is able to get anything out of Varilla.”
Given we’d driven down in two separate SUVs, there was no reason I couldn’t leave on my own. Alamos was close enough for me to return, in the event I was needed. “Roger that.”
By the time I arrived at Tryst’s ranch, it would be closer to five, and I’d go straight to Sera’s casita and give her an update—such as it was.
The drive was almostas arduous as the long walk into the shipping container when I was faced with the possibility the woman Varilla had killed was Seraphina’s sister. While the news I had to tell her wasn’t as heartbreaking, that we hadn’t found Luisa was.
I’d hoped against hope I’d receive word from Press, saying Ares had managed to get Varilla to give up Luisa’s whereabouts before I reached Tryst’s ranch, but the call hadn’t come.
The only thing Press did report was he was able to learn from the port’s cargo operations that the specific container we’d been in was scheduled to be loaded on a ship the following day, heading to the Yangshan Port in Shanghai, China. It was the world’s biggest and busiest container port.
I was stunned to see Sera sitting in a chair on the porch when I drove up. She was covered with a blanket.
I parked, got out, and walked over to her. “Hey,” I said when she opened her eyes and looked up at me.
She sat up straighter. “Hey.”
“Did you sleep out here?”
“I guess I did.”
I reached under her, gathered her in my arms, and carried her inside. She rested her head against me. Rather than setting her on her feet, I brought her into the bedroom with the open door and gently set her body on the mattress. When I sat beside her, she snuggled against me. We sat in silence, holding each other, both innately knowing what we needed now more than anything was comfort. Eventually, she looked up at me.
“We didn’t find Luisa.”
Sera put her head down and tightened her arm around my midsection.
“We did find Varilla, along with people being held in a shipping container bound for China.”
“You found Varilla?”
“According to the man interrogating him, he wants to make a deal in exchange for revealing Luisa’s whereabouts. Ares, the guy questioning Varilla, believes she’s alive.”
“What does Varilla want?”
“To be let go.”
Sera shook her head.
“While that won’t be happening, I’m sure they’ll meet somewhere between Varilla’s freedom and death.”
“What about the other victims?”
“They’re being given medical attention at the same time the team is arranging reunification with their families.” I left out the part about the one who was deceased, along with the deaths of Varilla’s accomplices.
