“All right.” She understood the shift in his tone; the wordshuman traffickingsaid it all. But why was he telling her about it? Would it take him out of the country again? Put him in harm’s way, where Jace Burns seemed destined to dwell?
“The site is run by a powerful trafficking ring. They spotlight low-list celebrities they believe are attainable, and…” He stopped there, his lips turning into a hard line. After an absent-looking nod, Jace fixed his gaze on her. “And sell them to the highest bidder. Usually someone who runs a camp outside of the country.”
Amy’s hand shot to her mouth, covering the gasp that came at his words. “Like, kidnapping?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
She’d read articles about recently freed victims of sex slavery. “Do you mean…”
“Yes. Women from right here in the United States.”
“Wow.” Amy took a moment to let that sink in.
“We’re kind of new in this particular pursuit, but we plan to take these guys down before they can build the sort of empire they’re hoping for. Already we have a significant trail on the two women who went missing first. And with a recent sting operation, we saved a third woman in danger and exposed a significant portion of that ring.”
“That’s good,” she breathed, nodding as she realized what he was telling her. He might be back on American soil, but that didn’t mean he was out of harm’s way. He was still putting his life on the line. “Thank heavens there are people like you, Jace.” It sounded hollow and she knew it, but Amy meant what she said. “If you’re worried about me supporting you in that… it would never be an issue. I support your cause. So I’d support you, too.”
Jace held her gaze, tipping his head to one side before slowly, almost indecipherably shaking his head.
Perhaps that wasn’t what he was going for. Had she been too assumptive? Heck, they’d only been on one official date and already she was swearing her loyalty? A flash of embarrassed heat poured into her face.
“There’s more,” he whispered. “I mean, I thank you for that. But there’s a reason I contacted you when I did.” He pulled away from the back of the chair and leaned his elbows onto the table, sliding his glass toward the center. Amy focused in on the fading water ring as he spoke up once more.
“There aretworeasons, I should say. One, because I’m interested in you. I have been since high school. And even while I was away, after things between Mindy and I ended, I thought about you.”
She gulped, swimming in the sweetness of that admission. So much that she could barely consider what he might add to it. Still, an odd thundering picked up in her chest, which meant the lightning was about to strike. She lifted her eyes from the table to Jace.
“The second reason,” he said, voice low as he held her gaze, “is that your name came up on that site.”
