I sat down on the large sofa and waited as Parker joined me. He didn't sit close but instead put one cushion between us. I didn't know what to make of that.
"Tell me how much you want to know?"
Straight to the point. I liked it. Honesty was one of those qualities I preferred in a person.
"What kind of assignment were you sent on in Vegas?"
"My team was sent there to intercept a shipment."
My brows creased. "Drugs?"
Yes, I watched a lot of reality TV. I preferred serial killer documentaries or the LIVE police shows that focused on drug trafficking. It was crazy to think how much money people spent on drugs and how much they lost when they weren't smuggled into the country properly.
"Ah no." Parker cleared his throat. "Women and children."
I reared back like his words were an actual physical slap in the face. "Human trafficking?" I heard about stuff like that. I saw the signs in transportation bathrooms. I wouldn't necessarily say I ignored them, but I never gave them much thought. I would from now on though.
Parker nodded his head. "It's one of the many things my team specializes in."
"Wait." I held up my hands. "So this wasn't just some one-off? This happens more often?" I was going to be sick. Physically ill but I kept it together. I had asked for this. Plus I could imagine those people went through a hell of a lot worse, so the least I could do was suck it up and hear their stories without being a wimp.
"A lot more than people realize. My team thought we made a clean sweep, this time, but we received information that we only saved half of the shipment."
Oh dear God. My hand flew to my mouth. That meant there was more of them out there. "That's why part of your team flew out today?"
"Yes." One word but it held so much power.
I jumped up and started to pace. "Then you should be with them. Why the hell aren't you with them? You need to save those poor women and children."
The thought of what they were going through turned my stomach sour. I didn't need to hear details to know it had to be bad. Just the word trafficked sounded horrible.
Parker stepped in front of me and put his hands on my biceps to stop me. He leaned down until he got my attention. "Because we don't have a solid lead on where they are. Without that, we're floundering. Two men are more than capable of getting the information. Once they have an idea, the rest of us will be on the first flight to them."
"But shouldn't you be there just in case? I can't imagine there will be enough time to fly across the country."
I could tell I wasn't going to like the answer just based on the look in Parker's eyes. "The sad reality is we might never find them. The hope is always there, but it's not that simple. We got lucky with the information we received. The man who gave it tothe DHS had been picked up on a warrant. He used the leverage to get a lighter sentence."
"So ask him again," I screeched. "How can you be so flippant about this?"
Parker sighed, but he didn't let me go. "Believe me, the last thing I am is flippant about any of this. It kills me every time a shipment slips through our fingers. Just knowing what those people go through stabs me in the chest, but if I want to continue to be able to do this job, then I'm forced to harden my heart. My team steps out of line when we feel it's necessary. This is one of those times. The DHS wants us to step down and accept what we did as good enough. We aren't doing that. Sending the guys to Vegas is a violation of our contract, but we're doing it anyway. This way protects us for the time being, but hear me when I say the moment we have confirmation, we're going in."
That made me feel better. I didn't know the first thing about government agencies. I knew what DHS stood for. I watched enough crime shows to have heard it before. I hated thinking that they gave up on people so easily though. Those bastards wouldn't have given up if it were their wives or children, but someone else's and suddenly it was no big deal.
"So you can't question the guy?"
Parker laughed, but it was more of a sad one than if he found something funny. "He's under federal protection. Getting to him would be suicide for our team, and we wouldn't be able to help others in the future. But that doesn't mean we can't question those he runs with. Logan and Oxford are doing that. They won't stop until they get something. In the meantime, the rest of the team is on standby and will leave at a moment's notice. That's something you need to know about my job. There won't always be a warning about when I need to spin up."
I had no idea what spin up meant, but I assumed it meant leaving whatever he was doing. Could I have a life that meant my husband leaving to an undisclosed location at any given time?
"Will I always know where you're going?"
"I will always tell you as much as I can and check in whenever possible. It's not like when I was in the Army, and everything was classified. As civilian contractors, we have a little more leeway. I won't always know when I'll be back, but I will keep you up to date."
I already knew part of that. I had seen it when Rhett was forced to leave Elle. I thought about my best friend. The two of us would be there for one another.
"And you're always helping people?"
Parker smiled. "Always. It's not human trafficking every time since we work with different agencies but every assignment we take is to make for a better future."
