“I’m so sorry,” said Kennedy.
“I was fifteen. Fifteen when I met my husband. I was naïve and craving someone that would love me unconditionally. He was so convincing. Every time he beat me, he made me believe it was for my own good, or worse, that it was my fault. If I only could do better it wouldn’t happen again. I just wanted to please him.
“When he died, I thought I’d be free. I thought I’d be too old for anyone. I was wrong. A woman alone is not allowed at the compound, even if that means you are one of several wives. My new husband, all he wanted was someone to torture.”
“Well, it ends here,” said Gator. “No one will torture you again. Never. But Esther, we desperately need your help here. This young woman is probably being beaten and tortured as we speak. We have to find her.”
“He won’t torture her while they’re not married. He will hit her. He might beat her. But what he’s really looking for is someone who will be compliant. If she shows even the smallest sign of giving in, he’ll know that he has her.”
“Do you know where he lives?” asked Ham. “We believe it’s in the area of Port Sulphur, Louisiana.”
“No,” she said shaking her head. “Only the men know the addresses of those out in the world searching.”
“Those? There are more?” asked Rush.
“At least seven.”
“Shit,” muttered Ethan.
“I-I was begging my husband to let me leave to find Tyler. I knew he was teaching in New Orleans because I overheard the men talking about it. He told them there were women everywhere that might be persuaded.”
“If those men come here, we’ll have a problem,” said Ham. He turned to look down at Esther again, her eyes heavy with exhaustion and pain. “Esther, just a little longer. Can you give me any idea of where he might be? Anything at all would be helpful.”
“Fire, brimstone, hell,” she murmured, her eyes closing.
“Fire, brimstone, and hell?” repeated Gator.
They all looked at one another, then back at Esther who was out from the pain meds again. Kennedy adjusted her IV, then shooed the men out of the room.
“Let her rest,” she said walking away. “And if you’re asking, she might have been trying to tell you he’s in Port Sulphur. Your information was right.”
“AJ? Hiro? Tanner? Did you get that? Search Port Sulphur area more completely,” said Ham running toward the back exit, the others thundering behind him.
Kennedy, Jane, and the other staff followed them down the hall, shaking their heads.
“Damn they’re loud.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
With the focus now around Port Sulphur, it was a matter of getting the drones, and Alvin, into areas that were shrouded in trees and swamp. If the drones didn’t send anything within a few hours, they would go in by boat and search every house they could find.
“I wish we had a tighter radius,” whispered AJ.
“Hawk,” said Tanner turning to them.
“He’s out on something for the senior team,” said Hiro.
“No, not that Hawk. Not Hawk and Eagle, Hawk. Bird flying Hawk.”
“Shit!”
They made the call to Hawk, hoping he could use his skills to fly closer to the suspected area. Not only did he agree, but he asked if he could shit on the professor’s head if he saw him.
“You can claw his eyes out if you ask me,” said Tanner.
“Good,” he smirked. “Let me find a willing bird.”
Scanning the trees and surrounding area, Hawk finally caught sight of a beautiful red-tailed hawk and sent his request to join the bird in flight. It was a simple courtesy. Technically the bird couldn’t refuse, but Hawk always believed if he were going to invade the animals body, he should at least get their permission.
