Chapter 23

Six hours later, Khai was worried about Grace. She'd been much quieter than her usual self ever since Chekov had been arrested.

Diane had met them all at Jagger's house, where everyone had spent hours going over everything. Grace nodded when she needed to respond in the affirmative, but mostly, she sat and rubbed her arms as if she was cold.

Khai stood behind her and held her shoulders, trying to give her all the support he could while they were still in this crowded room.

"I just heard from the informant," Jagger announced.

"What did he share?" Diane asked.

"I was just letting him know we picked the guy up. I wish I could communicate with him using more than short answers. It's so frustrating. Unfortunately, it would seem he's working with a needle in a haystack. Two more women are out there, purchased by two more men." Jagger ran a hand down his face. His frustration was palpable and getting to him.

Khai understood. They all wanted to save the other two women. He prayed Chekov ended up nailed to the wall and put away for life.

"Bad news," Diane announced. "Not surprising, though."

"Let me guess," Damon interjected. "Chekov has no idea who he bought Grace from."

Diane sighed. "Right."

"One of these days…" Jagger muttered.

"Did you give your informant the name of the man who posed as a cop to kidnap me? Is he looking into a possible connection there?" Grace asked.

"I did. He is. The name the guy used was fake, though, naturally. All of his details were based on falsified documents."

Khai gave Grace's shoulders a squeeze as she tensed. It was frustrating.

"The good news," Jagger continued, "is that Chekov will most likely be held without bond, especially since he showed up with a firearm and shot at FBI agents."

"I guess that's better than nothing," Grace murmured.

"Also, Boyd has a few agents going door to door at the apartment building where you were abducted to see if anyone recognizes the sketches we have for Daffodil. It's a long shot, and I'm not sure how it would even help except to know that she was also abducted by the same man posing as a cop two months after you."

"Are you planning to leave tonight?" Kally asked.

Khai nodded. "Yes. I haven't been to my place in over a month. I'd like to sleep in my own bed tonight. Now that Chekov is in custody, the threat to Grace is severely diminished."

What Khai really wanted was to have Grace in his own home, in his bed, a place where they could wander around naked into the kitchen if they wanted, and she wouldn't have to keep her sexy noises to a minimum.

Damon nodded. "I can understand that, and we all agree. We're careful, always. The seller is still out there, but as we've discussed, we don't consider the seller a threat. He might not even know four women have been rescued. And why would he care? He got his money. It's not his problem if the men who bought his slaves couldn't manage to hold on to them."

Jagger nodded in agreement. "Do you have a home alarm?"

"Yes."

"Good. Keep your eyes open. And know that you're welcome to come over anytime you want, whether it's to give the women a chance to be together, join us for a meal, or help out with the investigation."

Khai chuckled. "You're not getting rid of us. We'll be here tomorrow morning to resume helping. Until that asshole is caught, this will be my top priority."

Everyone smiled, looking relieved and pleased.

"We should go," Khai announced.

Grace rose to her feet to hug all the women while Khai shook their hands. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears as she joined Khai.

He smiled at her. "We're only going a few miles away and only for the night. We'll be back here tomorrow, love."

She shrugged. "I know. It's just…change. More change."

Hopefully, this would be the last huge change for Grace for a while.