23. River

23

River

We were standing on the docks when the freight ship, the same one that had left San Diego, finally pulled in. I counted five crates being unloaded. As soon as they touched the ground, we made our move. Two men disembarked, scanning the area like they were waiting for someone.

I didn’t waste time. I walked straight up to them. “Where is she?” I demanded. They played dumb, pretending they had no idea what I was talking about, but I could tell they were lying. I glanced at Cyclone. “Open every crate.”

Gage and I had already disarmed the men, each of us holding one under control. As Cyclone pried open the second freight container, Oliver called out to me. I rushed over—it was empty, but a single house shoe lay in the corner. It was hers. My stomach twisted, and my anger flared. Clenching the shoe in my hand, I delivered a hard punch to the man's gut.

“You’ve got two seconds to tell me where she is!? I yelled in his face. The fool tried to back away, but Gage tightened his grip.

“I don’t know what you're talking about!” the man protested, but I knocked his front teeth out with another punch before he could finish. I turned to Gage. “You and Raven—find the captain before he leaves this dock.”

As I looked back, Cyclone approached. “Found this in his pocket,” he said, holding out his hand. “Had to break his fingers to get it.”

In his palm was Kat’s wedding ring. She hadn’t worn it since we found out her husband died—it had to have been taken from her bedroom. My blood boiled. “Kill him,” I said coldly.

The man started babbling, desperate. “It wasn’t me! Amon threw her overboard. I didn’t want her dead, but our leader…she ordered it. Said the lady was a trap for you.”

Just then, Gage shoved the captain into the freight container. “What’s going on here?” the captain demanded.

“These two kidnapped my wife,” I growled. “They kept her chained in this container since you left San Diego, then threw her into the ocean. How much did they pay you to look the other way?"

The captain shook his head, wide-eyed. “I didn’t know what they were doing. They paid for their passage, and that’s all I knew. But I did notice one of our life rafts went missing.”

I turned to Amon. He was sweating now. “I was supposed to kill her,” he stammered. “But I lowered her down in a raft instead.”

“When did you lower her in the raft?” I demanded.

“Four days ago.”

The captain's face went pale. “Four days ago?” he asked. “She won’t survive out there. A raft that small—she’s as good as dead. The waves would’ve flipped it in no time.”

“Thanks for your help, Captain. The authorities will want to hear your story,” I said. “You’re free to return to your ship.”

As soon as the captain was out of earshot, Cyclone ended the man's life he was holding. I stared at the knife in my hand—Amon’s knife—and without hesitation, I plunged it into him.

“We need to find her. Where could she be?” I demanded, my voice breaking with urgency. “We need a helicopter.”

“I’ve already called for one,” Oliver replied. “It’s coming from the American Embassy. Should be here in an hour. What do we do with these bodies?”

“Lock them in the freight. Let them rot in hell.”

By the time we gathered the captain’s route details, the chopper had arrived, its blades thumping overhead. A line dropped, and one by one, we were pulled up. Once inside, I handed the coordinates to the pilot. He glanced back at me and grinned.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you guys,” he said. “Who’re we picking up?”

I finally recognized him. “Roland—it’s been too long.”

“We’re looking for Katrina McDonald. She was kidnapped and thrown overboard,” I explained. As I spoke, Roland relayed the information to the base. I told him about them kidnapping Kat.

“That woman’s dead.” He muttered grimly. “She was targeted by men who followed her husband. Now their new leader’s taken control.

After a moment, Roland added, We’re still waiting on a response from command. What about the men who threw her overboard?”

“They’re dead,” I replied flatly.

Roland nodded.

“How far can we go before we need to refuel?” I asked .

“We can hit one of the Navy ships en route,” he said.

“It had been eight hours, and we saw no sign of anything. It was dark, and we landed on another ship to refuel and wait for daylight. We all walked to the mess hall to eat, and I realized I hadn’t eaten anything in days.”

When daylight came, I was waiting by the copter. “Did you sleep at all,” Gage asked.

“Yeah, a couple of hours,” I didn’t tell him it was two hours of nightmares about finding Kat dead.