Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries, #5)(19)

“Do they have any leads on who might be involved? When is the next raid planned?” Everly asked.

“Unfortunately, as you know, sex trafficking isn’t just a one-man or woman job. There are layers upon layers of players, making it almost impossible to find the head of the snake. They’ve been able to rescue some women and make some busts on brothels that were forcing women and girls to work without consent, but finding the person or persons behind the operation can take years.”

Everly’s shoulders slumped. “God. I can’t even imagine what those poor girls and women go through.”

“I know.” Ball wasn’t sure what else he could say. Everly knew as well as he did that the chances of finding Elise got slimmer and slimmer with every hour that passed. If she’d been conned by someone in the human trafficking world, she could be in the back of a semi or in the bowels of a ship, leaving the United States right now. Because they were so close to Mexico, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that she was already long gone across the border.

Just then, Everly inhaled sharply—and took off running.

Ball immediately gave chase, concerned because he had no idea what she was running toward or away from. She didn’t go far, though, stopping about twenty yards from where she’d started.

She stood on the edge of the sidewalk, staring into the grass alongside the road.

Lying in the tall grass and trash was a small black purse.

Thankfully, Everly hadn’t touched it . . . although of course she wouldn’t. She was a police officer. She understood the importance of evidence and how crucial it was not to contaminate it.

“Elise’s?” Ball asked.

Everly nodded. She kneeled down to get a better look, even as Ball pulled out his phone to take a picture.

“The strap’s broken,” Everly said.

“There could’ve been a struggle,” Ball guessed.

Everly nodded and stood up. She turned in a complete circle, trying to get the lay of the land.

Across the street from where they stood was a gas station. They weren’t in the best area of town, but it wasn’t the worst either. Ball knew there was a chance there might be cameras at the gas station. And if there were, they might’ve caught a glimpse of what had happened. If Elise had been grabbed and put into a car, maybe the vehicle would be on film.

There weren’t any stoplights around, so unfortunately there weren’t any traffic cameras Meat could get footage from, but if they knew what kind of car they were looking for, he could absolutely work with the FBI and see if they could track it from the nearest traffic camera to the next.

“Come on,” Ball said. “Let’s go talk to the employees at the gas station. See if they saw anything suspicious in the last week. We can check for cameras too.”

Everly nodded, then hesitated. “Her purse . . .”

“We’ll call the cops after we check in with the store. Her purse has been here since she went missing. I think it’ll be okay for another fifteen minutes or so. We’ll be right across the street. If we see anyone over here, one of us can run back, okay?”

She nodded. “You’re right. Okay.”

It was easy to see that Everly was shaken by the discovery, but it was also the first really big clue they’d had. They hurriedly crossed the street and headed toward the convenience store.

“Do you want to look around or talk to the cashier?” Ball asked, doing his best to work with her and not order her around.

She looked up at him, one brow arched.

He shrugged. “I’m trying.”

She obviously knew what he meant, because she simply said, “I’ll talk to the cashier. If it’s a female, she might be less intimidated talking to another woman. And if it’s a guy, I might be able to flirt information out of him.”

“Flirt information out of him?” Ball asked. “Is that a thing?”

“I know I’m not exactly model material, but I’ve done my share of flirting to get information, and I’m not ashamed of it either.”

“I definitely wasn’t questioning your looks,” Ball told her honestly. “You’re beautiful. I was just questioning the phrase.”

She looked startled, as if she wasn’t used to getting compliments. It was a shame, really, because the longer he was around Everly, the more attracted he became. She turned heads wherever they went, and Ball had definitely noticed.

“Whatever. Come on, let’s get this done so we can call the cops and have them pick up the purse and look inside to see if there are any other clues.” With that, she turned her back on him and opened the door to the convenience store.

Ball watched through the glass as her gait changed from the no-nonsense “cop walk” to a more seductive swagger. Her hips were lush, and the way the jeans hugged her ass should be illegal.

Shaking his head and smiling to himself, Ball turned to have a look around the outside of the building—and ran right into someone standing way too close to him.

The man immediately kneed him in the groin, and Ball folded in half, excruciating pain pulsing through his body.

Taking advantage of his momentary incapacitation, the man grabbed an arm and forced him around to the side of the building.

Ball struggled to get his wits about him. The asshole who’d kneed him pushed hard, and Ball fell to his knees in the gravel parking area. He was immediately on his feet again, but not before two other men grabbed him by the arms and held him between them.