Free Beneath the Surface by Melynda Price Page B

group within the organization that’s using them as a front for human trafficking. A lot of what I learned was circumstantial and I knew I needed proof before coming forward with a story that was so damaging. So I waited. Night after night, I waited and watched until I finally found the proof I needed. I witnessed some of the men with the CGRN military team selling these girls to another group of men.”
    Her voice broke, vacancy filling her eyes. She was looking at him, but it wasn’t Asher she was seeing anymore. A knot fisted in his gut at hearing her story, at seeing the agony she struggled with. He had to fight against the impulse to go to her, to take her in his arms and tell her it was all going to be okay. But he didn’t, because it wasn’t. It wasn’t going to be okay for those girls and it sure as hell wasn’t all right for her roommate. And if he fucked this up, it wouldn’t be all right for Quinn.
    “I had nothing but my camera. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop them from taking those girls. Standing right there, they stripped them naked and treated them like cattle—grabbing at their breasts and inspecting their teeth . . . It was so horrible. The girls were crying, begging the men to let them go. They clung to each other as they were loaded into a canvas-covered truck. And I just let it happen . . .” Tears filled her eyes, and when one spilled down her cheek, she angrily swiped it away.
    “You said it yourself, Quinn, there was nothing you could do to stop it. If you would have tried, you would have gotten yourself killed—or worse.” Because, yeah, there were some things a lot worse than death.
    The thought of how close Quinn could have come to disappearing rocked him harder than it should have. He didn’t care about this woman, he reminded himself. And he was a fucking liar too. Quinn had sunk her quills into him four months ago and it appeared those barbs were still imbedded pretty deep.
    “They raped one of them—right there in the dirt, each of them taking their turn with the girl. It was all I could do not to throw up. Every time the bile would surge up my throat, I’d swallow it back down and keep taking pictures.”
    Fuck . .  . “You were lucky they didn’t catch you.”
    She nodded. “I left the next day, claimed I had a family emergency I needed to return home for. I transferred all my notes and interviews onto the SD card from my camera and gave it to Aileen’s father. He mailed it to Violet for me. I’m hoping it will be here by the end of the week. Instead of going home, I flew into DC, and like I told you last night, I went straight to the attorney general’s office and reported what I’d seen, what was happening over there.”
    “Who did you speak with?”
    “The attorney general, Mark Madison.”
    “And what did he tell you?”
    “He asked for my proof, which I don’t have right now. I checked my bag before boarding the plane and never saw it again. He said he would look into my report and wanted me to contact him when I had my evidence. Then he thanked me for coming in. I went home from there, back to New York, but my flight was delayed because of bad weather. I arrived to find my roommate dead and—” Her voice broke and she buried her face in her hands.
    “Shit . . .” He came around the table and pulled Quinn into his arms. He was filthy and probably smelled like a sweaty horse, but she didn’t seem to care. She felt so small, caged against him. So fragile . . . Her shoulders shook with grief and he held her tighter. He rested his chin on the top of her head and tried not to let his mind wander down the tragic road this could have taken. He knew how easily she could have been killed—had been on too many missions fucked up by one mistake or another not to know how this could have played out.
    Inhaling a deep breath, he drew her scent into his lungs and closed his eyes. She was here now—safe. He just needed to keep her that