SEAL’s Desire by Elle James Read Free Book Online

breaking past the wall of guilt she’d erected around herself. When they resolved their current situation, he’d take time to scale that wall or knock it down. “Go on.”
    “Kelli is a damned good navy officer, but she can also be too trusting.” Mitchell paced the length of the room and back. “When she didn’t show up for duty, her commanding officer called me as her emergency contact. She doesn’t have any family. I’ve been to her apartment, questioned her neighbors and more or less canvassed the area before Brendan was even assigned the case.”
    “What did you learn?”
    “The last person to see her was the woman who lived in the apartment beneath hers. She saw Kelli leave to go jogging Saturday evening before sunset. She said that was Kelli’s usual routine. She’d jog before sunset and return right before dark. Only this time, she didn’t return.”
    “Anything else?”
    “I used my credentials to review some surveillance camera footage on prospective jogging routes leaving from her apartment. I found her jogging by a convenience store and that was about it.”
    “Again, why Hatch?”
    She glanced away and hesitated. “It’s not scientific, and hardly logical, but it’s a gut feeling.”
    “That’s not much to go on.”
    “Before I left my office at NCIS, I’d run a scan on him through the DMV and got an address. I staked out his home and followed him to the Naughty Ladies Lounge.” She shoved a hand through her hair. “I learned from neighboring business owners that he owned the club, and they weren’t too happy about him as a neighbor. Apparently, he has quite the reputation for strong-arming people to do what he wants.”
    Remy’s fists clenched. “Nice company you’re keeping.”
    “I didn’t want to start asking questions in the club and hit a stone wall, if his people were instructed to keep quiet about his affairs. I knew the only way I could get close enough to learn anything was to work for him. I auditioned yesterday. Tonight was my first night dancing at the club.”
    Remy nodded at her clothes and hair. “Thus the disguise.”
    “I couldn’t afford to be sloppy. Whoever is involved in the human trafficking chooses women who don’t have family close by, or who won’t be missed for a couple days. Most of the missing women were blond. I told him I was new to the area. When he asked about family, I said I didn’t have anyone holding me down or judging me.”
    “What have you learned from the inside?”
    “Not much.” She waved her hand in the air. “They’re all a bit close-mouthed with me being the new girl. There are a couple who look like they’ll share if I don’t seem like a threat. Hopefully, our …performance tonight…” her cheeks flushed a bright pink, “will lend credibility to my cover.”
    “How did you know they’d use surveillance equipment? Which, by the way, they did have listening devices and night vision goggles.”
    “You saw?” Her eyes widened and she moved closer. “They followed you, didn’t they?”
    He nodded. “And they stopped me to ask questions about you.”
    “Oh my god, Remy.” She touched his cheek. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
    He cupped her hand over his cheek. “No, they didn’t hurt me. But they tried to scare me.”
    Mitchell snorted. “You? I can’t imagine.”
    “You’ve seen Hatch’s bouncers. They outweigh me by at least fifty pounds each.”
    She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and worried it before saying, “Yeah, but they’re dumber than a bag of rocks.”
    Remy smiled. “Yeah. I let them think they had me, and played the surprised customer. By the way, you owe me a hundred dollars.” Eyebrow crooked, he held out his hand.
    “I’ll pay you back. For now, I need it in case Hatch demands a percentage.”
    “So, is he your pimp?”
    “I’m not sure what he is. All I know is that he’s bad. If he has Kelli locked up somewhere, she’s in a bad place. The sooner we find her, the