The torture went on for what must have seemed like an eternity for the girl. When Rory grew bored, he finished her off with a knife. Her blood spilled onto a plastic drop cloth that had been placed in anticipation of this moment. I won’t even describe how Rory pleasured himself afterward.
These videos were trophies for Rory. A way for him to relive the experience over and over again.
The files had names and dates. I didn’t want to watch anymore, but one name jumped out at me—Kendall. The date was recent.
I took a deep breath, steeled my resolve, and double-clicked the file. I didn’t need to watch the whole thing. I knew how this, and all the others, ended.
After a few frames, it became clear this was the missing escort.
A mix of rage and sadness filled me, and my jaw clenched tight. I glared at Silas. “You saw this footage. You knew what happened to these girls, and you were just going to sell it back to Rory so he could keep doing it?”
Silas got smart. “I didn’t know what was on that drive. I just knew Rory was going to pay me a metric shit ton of money. Life changing,fuck youmoney.”
“How’d that work out for you?”
It would be hard to prove what Silas did or didn’t know about the contents of the drive. We had bigger fish to fry anyway.
The distant sound of rotor blades thumped the night sky. Soon, Tango One circled overhead, spotlighting the boat.
After a recon pass, the pilot angled around by the foredeck. With the tuna tower and antennas aft, there was barely enough room for the Bell 427 to hover over the long foredeck without clipping the rotors.
The ocean was relatively calm, but not flat. It took skill and precision to attempt something like this. The rotor wash frothed the surface of the water as the helicopter hovered just above the bow rails. An EMT dropped down on a cable hoist amid the mists of saltwater. He detached and hurried down the side deck and entered the salon.
His wide eyes took in the carnage.
I pointed to Jack.
He hustled to him, set his kit down, and began triage.
Paige cleaned up after the EMT took over.
“Contact Rory. Tell him you have the drive and are willing to deal. Tell him you want proof of life.”
Frazzled, she nodded and said, “Do you think Tonya’s still alive?”
49
Once Jack was stabilized, we helped him to the foredeck and loaded him into a basket. He was hoisted up, and the EMT was next in line.
By that time, the sheriff had arrived with several patrol boats.
I hustled to the stern to greet him as the chopper angled away. The rotor blades thumped, disappearing into the night.
The sheriff boarded the boat with several other deputies, the medical examiner, and the forensic team. I caught him up to speed.
“Where is the son of a bitch responsible?”
“I’ve got my people working on that,” I said. “Can’t be far. They probably launched the assault team from a yacht or fishing boat.”
With a little digging, Isabella came through again. The Echelon was a 142-foot superyacht registered to Rory’s corporation. I had no doubt that’s where we’d find the scumbag.
Isabella searched for the superyacht’s AIS, but it was off the grid.
With the Coast Guard searching for the vessel, I had no doubt it wouldn't take long to find him.
Paige hadn't heard back from Rory yet, and the silence was excruciating. Though I don't think he would have given up his only piece of leverage. There was a good chance that Tonya was still alive, despite what the squad leader had said.
Rory’s minions had no doubt told him about the fiasco aboard Silas's boat. But they were probably unaware that we were law enforcement. There was a possibility that Rory didn't know the Coast Guard was after him.
