Free Saved by Lorhainne Eckhart

emotions before he cleared his throat roughly.
    “So what did the admiral have to say about Abby?” Joe asked.
    This was the part he didn’t want to address, because Joe was like a dog with a bone sometimes and read him very well. So he turned away and jabbed his fingers through his short dark hair. “He said he’d leave when and if she’s moved up to me.”
    “What do you mean if she’s moved?”
    “Abby was quite upset about the guard. You know, she thought she was a prisoner. She misunderstood my intentions.”
    Joe was still watching him, still waiting for Eric to answer him, and Eric knew that hard look from those deep blue eyes. It was one Joe gave Eric when he knew he was blowing him off. Any other time, Joe would keep digging until he answered, but Eric didn’t want to talk to anyone, even Joe, about why he felt the need to keep Abby here for now.
    Instead, he said, “I’m looking for some information—any information—on this Seyed Hossein, the guy who bought Abby, who did this to her.”
    “Turns out there’s not much available,” Joe answered. “Not even a hundred percent sure the guy exists.” He picked up the files, then sat across from Eric. He tossed the file on the desk and added, “You know that the French police report that every year, at least several thousand girls are reported missing from Paris? The police believe these girls are abducted for prostitution in Arab countries. What is really sick is that even Intel has information that there are auctions in Africa where these abducted white women are sold to Arab customers, and blond women like Abby are the most sought after.”
    Eric touched his forehead, trying to still the boiling rage that was ripping through him. He couldn’t stomach what he was picturing, and Abby had lived it.
    “These women disappear, never to be seen again. For what it’s worth, Abby is one of the lucky ones.” Joe held up a manila file folder. “I believe this Hossein is responsible.” He slid the file across the desk to Eric.
    His stomach burned, and the bile threatened to climb up and close his throat. He had to swallow hard a couple times before he could speak. “They can be quite the sick, perverted bastards, can’t they?” He leaned back as the leather hissed, propping his feet up on the desk.
    Joe cleared his throat. “I’m not sure I should mention this, but I overheard some talk on board of how Abby might be some sort of terrorist.”
    Eric slammed his feet on the ground, standing up so fast he sent the chair crashing into the wall. He braced his arms on the desk and leaned down, feeling the predator in him clawing to be set free, and he wondered, by the look on Joe’s face, whether his friend thought he’d tear this ship apart.
    “Whoa, calm down and don’t head out that door to kill anyone just yet. I did put an end to the rumors.”
    “Who started them?”
    Joe gave him a look as if he should know better. “Kind of hard to tell, especially on a ship where the crew live for whatever tale someone can tell. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a little taken with this girl.”
    “Look, I’m concerned about her. I mean, how many of these girls who are taken are ever found?” He shrugged because he felt something for her, but he was sure it was because he had found her. He had saved her. “Joe, I think we should get Intel on to this Seyed Hossein. My gut tells me there is more to this guy and situation than we know about. I mean, why does he have her on a boat in the middle of the night out here, alone?”
    Sitting down, he squeezed the back of his neck. His mind was going faster with ideas and reasons, and he liked none of them. There was a feeling he got whenever something didn’t click, didn’t settle, because he knew there was more, and that was the feeling he had about this elusive Seyed Hossein. He still couldn’t figure out what Abby’s role was to be, because he knew deep in his bones that she hadn’t been along