"By interrogate, you mean torture?"
"Yes. If that's what it took to get intel that could save his victims." Cade's eyes stayed glued to Tristan's, and his voice remained steady. No regrets, no shame.
"So you do that a lot, too?"
"Sometimes."
Tristan studied him with a curious, thoughtful expression, and Cade felt relieved that the other man's face did not show revulsion. Most people could not stomach torture. Most people would instantly judge him, regard him with the same disgust as the scum he hunted. But he slept just fine at night knowing others wouldn't suffer because he acted.
"And now you're helping me because I'm caught up in your search for the people involved in this human trafficking ring?"
"Yes. And the fact that you're an innocent, and so is your sister."
If any other reason tried to worm its way into Cade's brain, he would not admit it.
Nope.
Tristan ate a few more bites but didn't say anything else. Cade studied the other man and considered what to do to shake his companion from his gloom, to give him some hope.
"If there's anything on the laptop, Annabeth will find it. She'll get surveillance video of the warehouse, too."
"Okay," Tristan mumbled, his expression impassive.
Cade leaned forward and assured him, "Listen. We will find them. We will find her."
With a scrunched-up face, Tristan bit out, "You really believe that?"
"Yes, I do."
His mouth wobbled, but then Tristan drew his lips into a hard line and threw his napkin on the table. His amber eyes blazed with intensity as he said, "Let's go."
Cade suppressed a smirk. He liked this Tristan much better.
Cade drove to the rendezvous point while Tristan sat silently in the passenger seat, but his melancholy mood didn't fill the car like it had earlier. The sun peeked over the horizon as Cade pulled into a long, tree-lined driveway, and the tires crunched over a gravel road before they reached a clearing. He parked his SUV next to a white sedan, and Annabeth stepped out.
"Wait here," Cade instructed before getting out of the car and grabbing the laptop.
"Annabeth, hey. Here's the laptop and address of the warehouse that this guy's hacker friend traced to Wilson. He said there was no activity like he expected. When he broke in, there was no cargo, but there were signs people were there. It's not far from where one girl disappeared. Maybe it's a temporary storage facility."
Annabeth nodded and traded a black backpack for the laptop. "It's all in there. Cash, laptop, spare burner phone, and the address and code for the safe house."
Annabeth's gaze slid to the SUV as she handed Cade the bag. She squinted a little and said, "I want to meet him."
"What? Why?"
Annabeth didn't answer. She strode to the car, and Cade followed, suddenly nervous though he didn't know why. Tristan rolled down the window and looked at them curiously.
"Hello, I'm Annabeth," she said, holding out her hand.
Cade wondered what Tristan thought about Annabeth's appearance; he knew he had been surprised when he first met her. She stood less than five feet tall. Her natural silver-blonde hair, pale blue eyes and round face contributed to her sweet, harmless appearance. No one would suspect she acted as the resident hacker for a group of vigilante assassins, or that she could do things with a computer that would make criminals cringe, blush or shit their pants.
Cade admired her for that.
"Oh, um, hi. I'm Tristan."
"I'm sorry about your sister. Cade said these bastards may have her. We're going to find them."
"Thanks for helping me," Tristan managed with a tight smile.
