AllFreeNovel
Share Us
RIDGE
Iwould be the first to admit I was way out of my element once we arrived at the docks in Yavaros. If I had been here before, I didn’t recognize it now. It was nothing like the small port I’d expected it to be.
There were rows and rows of warehouses, shipping containers stacked twenty deep, and ships lined up for what looked like miles, waiting to be loaded before setting off to places around the world.
That Tryst could’ve assured Seraphina Varilla would not be leaving the port city by land, air, or sea seemed impossible to me, given the sheer amount of opportunities he would have to do so—particularly by sea. Judging by the look on Press’ face, he agreed.
“Are you certain this is where we’re intended to meet?” he asked his brother when we arrived at the specified location after the sun had set.
Beau looked at something on his phone, then around where we stood between two rows of the stacked containers. “Yes, this is where Ares said to wait.”
“Ares?” I asked.
“Son of Zeus and Hera. God of war. The more violent aspects of it anyway,” Press responded.
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the lesson in Greek mythology, Master Barrett. Who is this guy connected to?”
“K19, but their Shadow Ops team,” Beau responded.
When we were at Seahorse, Tryst had mentioned calling in support from K19 Security Solutions. The private security and intelligence firm was founded by Kade Butler, oldest son of Laird and Sorcha, whose vineyard estate and winery were on the other side of Los Caballeros from ours. Kade, who had served in the military special forces, followed by a stint with the CIA, was Alex Avila’s husband’s older brother.
The Central Coast wine region’s community was small and tight-knit—which proved to be both good and bad.
A man who I immediately knew was Ares came around the corner. He might as well have been the model the Marvel character of the same name was fashioned after. Which was the reason I’d recognized the name and knew he was an Olympian God—not that I’d admit it to Press.
I was a big guy, but Ares was taller and had more muscle mass.
“You must be Ridge,” he said.
“I am,” I responded, trying not to cringe when he shook my hand.
“This is Press and Beau Barrett.”
While the former shook Ares’ hand, Beau waved from more than an arm’s distance away.
“Your job tonight is to stay out of the way and as invisible as possible until we need you,” Ares said, looking at each one of us and handing us a comms device.
We had been briefed before arriving that our purpose for being at the shipyard tonight was twofold. One, to identify Luisa Reeve if the Shadow Ops team found where human trafficking victims were being held. Two, to help transport the victims to a place where they could receive necessary medical care as well as to begin the reunification process.
Tryst had stayed behind in order to line up the medical personnel, who would remain on standby. He’d also asked the people who worked for him on the ranch to be on standby as well for any help that might be needed.
“How many men do you have going in?” I asked.
“Six, and from what we can tell, there may be as many as thirteen people being held in that container over there.” He pointed three stacks down and one row over. “As far as what we’re up against, based on thermal imaging, there’s a total of sixteen inside. We believe the other two people who appear to be moving about are with Varilla.”
“Are you sure it’s him?”
“Since it’s on the word of two different informants, we’re as certain as we can be. Can you positively ID him?”
I shook my head. “I’ve seen one photo, and it wasn’t a close-up shot.”
Ares looked at Press and Beau, who also shook their heads.
“Fortunately, we had more than that to go on.”
“There’s someone at Alamos who could,” I muttered.
Ares nodded. “We’ll keep that in mind if necessary. Our intention is to keep the three assailants alive enough for questioning.”
