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“You didn't have to get me.”
“I was afraid if I didn’t, you wouldn’t show up.”
Today we were celebrating. After five long years of hunting, we’d finally dismantled Pierce’s sex-trafficking ring.
“Why wouldn’t I show up?”
“There are at least a dozen women down in the village ready to propose,cariño.”
“Can I tell them I don’t swing that way?”
“Sorry, buddy, but that’s my line.”
“I can’t believe you’re leaving,” I said.
I was ready for a vacation, and Rachel was moving on to another project.
“And I can’t believe you’re staying.”
“Unlike you, I have nothing to return to.” I hopped on my motorbike and turned on the ignition.
“You won’t know unless you try.”
“I tried for years and failed.”
“So what? You’re gonna stay here for the rest of your life cooped up in your tree house—”
“Eco-house.”
“Whatever. You’re cooped up in yourtree houselike a castaway while a gorgeous and talented woman is waiting for you back home.”
“She’s not waiting for me. She hates me. Trust me, I know.”
I took the lead through the overgrown path to where she had parked her scooter beside mine. I had reached out to Grace several times, but she never returned my calls. She’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me, and I had to accept it. Besides, I could never give Grace what she wanted the most; not anymore. She was better without me.
Rachel gripped my arm and turned me to face her. Her throat lurched with a hard swallow.
“I’ll miss you, Hunter. You’re an excellent partner, and work won’t be the same without you.”
I took her into my arms. “I know I haven’t said it, but thank you for saving my life.”
“That was a good call, four years ago, Hunter. If it weren’t for you, those girls would have never seen their families again.”
“Yeah, it was.” The choice might have cost me a future with Grace, but it had been the right one. “I’ll miss you, but no goodbyes yet. Like you said, today we’re celebrating.”
She wiped off the tears I pretended not to see flowing down her cheeks. We rode for fifteen minutes down the mountain into the village on the jungle’s edge. Flowers littered the road to the communal building, and cheer and singing filled the soul. Kids waved from the roadside. An elderly woman sat in a chair by the bakery, clapping.
Officially, this was the fourth village we’d liberated from human trafficking. Women now slept safely at night, without fear they’d be stolen from their beds. After we rescued the first group of girls, Pierce’s kidnapping efforts doubled, and our efforts to nail him quadrupled. But with the villagers’ help, we’d finally lured the bastard into a trap he couldn’t escape.
“Hunter, this is beautiful. Look at what they’ve done. And it’s all for you.”
Lanterns lit the building’s perimeter. A crowd gathered near the entrance, waving us in.
“It’s not just for me—because I didn’t save these girls alone. If it weren’t for you, we all would have burned in that building. Now, let’s go inside and party.”
I joined Rachel for the first round of drinks but stuck to water with a lime wedge for the rest of the evening, ensuring my friend, who was getting married in three weeks, was safe. We danced and laughed, played games with the locals, and I was pretty sure I received three proposals.
“Cariño,” the women called after me. “Cásate conmigo.”
