He pushed his bowl away. He’d rather have his mouth on her than a spoon. Then his search from the hacked traffic cams dinged, and he found pictures of Richie that he quickly printed out. Good. The gang member wasn’t alone.
“I don’t understand what we’re doing,” Noni said softly.
Denver searched for the right words. “Why would a known gang member, one who has been convicted twice for drug-related offenses, want a baby?” The complete profile on Richie Romano had been easy to compile. The man was hooked on meth and liked robbing people. The psychological profile by the prison shrink said Richie was a narcissist and probably a sadist. The bad kind.
Noni finished her Cheerios. “Talia is his kid.”
Denver’s heart warmed. How naive she still was. He had to explain things to her better. “That doesn’t matter to a lot of folks, sweetheart. He doesn’t want to take care of a baby. He has no family, no mama who might want to raise the girl. So why take her and run?”
Noni’s eyes widened. “I don’t know.”
Denver pointed to the third monitor. “I’m on a site called Cashmere Street, and it’s a place where everything can be bartered for.”
Noni squinted at the relatively quiet screen. “Like eBay?”
He grimaced. “Yeah, if eBay was on the dark web and you could buy drugs, illegal porn, and hit men there.”
She coughed and leaned away from the screen. “I’ve heard about the dark web on television, but I’ve never understood what it is.”
“It’s part of the web you can’t reach from the surface. No search engine or spider can get to it.” Denver pointed to the numbers at the top of the screen. “To get there, you use specific software that anonymizes your network. And you spend special coins—virtual coins—to buy what you want.”
She paled and frowned as the truth obviously hit her. Hard. “You think Richie wants to sell the baby.”
Denver kept a close eye on her. He had to tell her the truth, but maybe he could soften it somehow. “I spent half the night tracking his specific gang and what they do. They’re actually pretty sophisticated, using the dark web to transport and distribute drugs as well as illicit porn. I haven’t found a track to the baby angle.”
Noni shook her head. “You’re telling me there’s a gang in Greenville that does this?”
“No. The gang pipeline, this one, goes from Alaska down the coast to Mexico and back up. Greenville is probably a gang hold. I think you were directed there for the hit.” The woman was too pale. He had to get some protein in her so she could keep her strength. “We need to go to the store.”
Noni held her stomach as if trying to keep from puking. “Who would want to buy a baby on the dark web? Who could even find the dark web?”
“It’s not that tough to find.” Denver hoped to leave the other question alone.
She lifted her eyes, those dark pools full of fear. “Who’d buy a baby?”
“Hopefully some desperate couple who wants a baby,” he said evenly. It could happen.
She looked down, her body tensing. “There are a lot of bad people out there who want kids for bad things, Denver.”
There wasn’t anything to say to that. It sucked, and it was true. “We’ll find Talia, Noni.” He was a hunter, and he found the lost. He could save that baby for her. “Trust me.”
She lifted her head again, and tears glimmered in her eyes. “Richie’s a bad guy. What if he gets tired of a crying baby?”
Denver reached over his shoulder and grabbed a couple of photos off the printer. “First, if he’s trying to sell the baby, then he’ll keep her in good shape. Second, he’s not traveling alone.” He had to fight to keep his voice calm and express confidence to her. This was a bad fucking situation, and he wasn’t sure how to protect her.
She took the photos of Richie driving a battered truck with a young blonde next to him. Denver had hacked into the surveillance cameras of a gas station to get them. The woman was probably eighteen or nineteen. “He has a friend,” Noni murmured.
“Yep.” Denver did a quick search for the woman using facial recognition that he shouldn’t be able to access. Leaning over, he studied a mug shot and then scrolled down. “Her name is Hailey Smithers, she’s twenty, and she was convicted of hooking and possession a year ago. Pled no contest and was given probation.” He pointed to the bottom of the screen. “Has been running with the Kingdom Boys since she was fifteen, and I have no doubt she’s along to help take care of the baby.”
“The fact that a drug-snorting hooker is helping care for Talia doesn’t ease my mind.” Noni looked away from the picture. “Any news on the three guys you shot last night at the motel?”
“They’re all recuperating at the local hospital. When the police searched them, they were in possession of illegal firearms and crystal meth. They’re known to deal drugs, so it wasn’t a huge surprise.” Denver forced a smile for her. There had to be a way to shield her from what he was about to do to one of them. As soon as he got her settled in the house for the day. “Sometimes things work out just fine.”
Noni breathed out, her gaze direct. “All right. I need to see your contract before we go any further. What kind of a deposit does your company take?”
He went still. Fire unbanked in his gut at the offense. “You’re fuckin’ with me, right?”
She blinked. “What does that mean? I assume it’s a retainer plus expenses and fees.”
