Kayla glanced around the cabin of the houseboat, desperate to find a clue—anything—that would tell them her father had been here. But instead there was nothing. And nowhere left to search.
“Levi...where is my father? He should be here. The bells in the video, the rental agreement you found—everything pointed to him being here.”
She turned around and caught Levi’s gaze, trying to ignore the turmoil raging inside her. She’d been so convinced they would find her father and this nightmare would be over.
But it wasn’t.
She started opening up the drawers of a wooden desk that sat against the wall while avoiding his mesmerizing blue eyes staring back at her. Their unexpected kiss on the tram had thrown her, leaving her feeling off balance on a day that already had her reeling. She was going to have to sort out whatever was happening between her and Levi later. For now, they needed to find her father.
“There has to be something here,” she said. “Some kind of clue telling us what they’ve done with him.”
“Kayla, we need to get out of here. If Nicu followed us—”
“Wait a minute...” Kayla pulled a large zippered pouch out of the back of one of the drawers. “These are passports.”
“Passports?” he asked.
A sick realization washed through her as she started spreading them out across the table one by one. Each passport represented a girl who’d had her entire life ripped away.
“Nigerian. Romanian. Slovakian. Ukrainian. When they bring the girls into the country, they take their passports and any legal identification away.”
“Why?”
“So they have nowhere to go. They’re told they’re now in the country illegally, and if they’re caught, the authorities will send them to prison.”
“But that’s not true.”
“No, but most have come from countries where things like that do happen. Corrupt officials make you have to guess at who’s the good guy. Which to them isn’t a chance worth taking.”
Kayla flipped open one passport that belonged to a young girl from Slovakia. According to her date of birth, she was sixteen years old. She looked barely thirteen. “So they have no one to trust and are forced to do as they’re told. They’re usually told they need to work in order to pay back the price of the plane ticket and any other expenses.”
“Which could take years, I’m assuming.”
“Exactly.”
Levi walked over to where she stood. “But I’m still trying figure out why they don’t just run away. Maybe not to the police, but to someone else, even a client, for that matter. Surely someone would try to help them.”
“You didn’t see see Mercy’s tattoo. The one reminding her of who she belongs to. These girls are completely controlled by fear. Even those who end up coming to us are terrified. Most came to support their family. They think they’re coming to wait tables or work in a hotel. Some are sold and even resold, told they have to work to pay off the debt. Their phones are monitored and they have no internet access. If they protest, they are beaten or told their families back home will be killed.”
A car backfired, and Kayla jumped.
“We need to go,” Levi said, glancing toward the window. “If Nicu realizes we might have come here, he won’t be far behind.”
If he didn’t already know where they were, Kayla thought. Somehow he always managed to find them. But not this time. She crawled back through the window behind Levi, then hurried off the boat and onto the street that ran along the canal, hoping no one had seen them.
“So where do we go now?” she asked, hurrying to keep up with his long stride.
“Somewhere where we can regroup and figure out what we’re missing. We’ve narrowed it down to this area of the city. We have the passports now, which are proof of what he’s doing. We’ve just got to narrow it down further. Another piece of property. Another address in the files. I had to have missed something in there.”
“There’s a café not far from here that should give us some privacy.”
And that would also have enough people coming through to make her feel safer. They also still had the file she’d brought with her on Mercy, as well as the files they’d grabbed at the house where Nicu had held them. Maybe if they went over them again, they’d find something.
The bells of Westerkerk began their prelude in the background as they headed up the canal. She glanced at her watch. It was almost four o’clock, and they still had no idea where her father was. No idea what their next move should be.
God’s pretty good at using ordinary—and even sometimes inadequate—people.
Levi’s words replayed through her mind. It was what she wanted. To fight for what was right. For justice and truth. And she’d been willing to risk everything to save the girls they worked with.
But I don’t know how to fight this anymore, God. I don’t even know if it’s possible to end this.
They started across one of the hundreds of bridges in the city as the bells continued to chime. The famous Amsterdam church with its striking blue crown on top of the steeple loomed ahead of them. Rembrandt had been buried as a poor man on the church grounds in the 1600s, and years later a memorial statue of Anne Frank had been added.
“Anne Frank, whose family was hidden from Nazi persecution during World War II, could hear the chimes from the attics where they hid,” she said, filling the silence that had settled between them. “The tower clock was one of the few things she could see from the attic.”
Corrie ten Boom. Anne Frank. Mercy. They’d all been affected by man’s hatred and greed. Stolen lives. Shattered pieces that were sometimes impossible to put back together.
The church bells started chiming the hour. One. Two. Three. Four.
Four chimes.
Four o’clock.
Kayla paused. They had missed something.
“Levi...we need to recheck the video of my father.” She turned to him in the middle of the bridge, shivering at the chill rising off the water as she tried to put together the pieces.
“Why?”
The bells stopped ringing.
“My father was taken sometime between one and three yesterday afternoon. I know that because I spoke with him just after lunch, and he was fine. When I got home, he was gone.”
“Okay.”
“The chimes play a short tune every fifteen minutes, twenty-four hours a day,” she continued. “On the hour, there’s more of a preamble like we just heard that’s followed by chimes that ring equal to whatever hour it is.”
“How many chimes were on that video?” he asked.
She pulled out her phone and replayed the video, this time counting the chimes. “Seven chimes. And yet when we received the video, it wasn’t that late yet.”
“This video was doctored.” Levi took a step back from her. “They added the chimes to the soundtrack before sending it.”
“But why?” she asked. “Why go to all of that trouble?”
“The only thing that makes sense is to try to throw us off in case we tried to narrow it down to this area—or if we went to the authorities.”
“Which is exactly what happened. Nicu wanted us to assume your father was somewhere here. That’s why he wasn’t on the boat. He was probably never on the boat.”
Levi pushed Play again. Kayla looked away from the screen. Watching her father stare into the camera and plead made her sick to her stomach.
“Did you catch something else?” she asked.
“Maybe.” He played it again. “Listen to the background noise.”
She watched once more.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
A heavy weight pressed against her chest. How had they missed the discrepancies in the video? Their failing to figure this out could cost her father his life.
“There are multiple dogs barking in the background.”
“And they sound like the German shepherds we ran into.”
“My father has to be there. At the house. But we never found signs of anyone else there.”
“We could have missed something. An attic or basement, maybe a storage building on the property,” he said. “Nicu followed us into town, but now that he’s lost us, I’m going to guess that he’s going to go back to the house and cut his losses.”
“He knows that we’ll come back and probably bring the authorities with us.”
“Exactly. We didn’t have time to search the entire property, which means if there are girls there, he’s going to need to clear out any evidence.”
“And my father? What about him? If Nicu cuts his losses...”
She couldn’t finish her sentence. She could still hear the desperation in her father’s voice on the video and see the fear in his eyes. They had to find him.
“We can’t do this on our own anymore.” Levi caught her gaze. “Nicu’s not playing by his own rules, and plus, I think we’ve finally got enough evidence of what he’s doing to bring in the authorities.”
She nodded, knowing he was right this time. Because not only was Nicu playing for keeps, he was willing to take down anyone who got in his way.
“You need to call your contact with the police department,” Levi said, squeezing her fingers.
She pulled out her phone and quickly searched for his number in her contacts. “There was a law put into place a couple of years ago. If the inhabitants of a house are suspected of having illegal immigrants on their property, the police have the right to search without a warrant.”
Her contact, Commissioner Bram Peeters, answered on the fourth ring.
“Commissioner Peeters? This is Kayla Brooks from International Freedom Operation.”
“Kayla. It’s good to hear from you.” There was a slight pause on the line. “Is everything all right?”
“No, actually. I need your help regarding the kidnapping of an American citizen as well as a possible location being used by a group of human traffickers currently working here in Amsterdam.”
“Who’s been kidnapped?” he asked.
“My father.” Kayla swallowed the lump in her throat, then proceeded to answer his string of questions, including the location of the estate.
“We can meet the authorities there,” she said to Levi as she hung up the phone, weighing their options. “We could try to flag down a taxi, but Evi’s not far from here, and she has a car we could borrow. I’d like to avoid getting any more civilians involved.”
“Sounds like the best option we have.”
She quickly dialed Evi’s number, then waited for her to pick up. “If you’re up to driving, I can navigate.”
* * *
Levi felt the tension gripping his neck and shoulders as he sped down the long stretch of road in Evi’s car toward the house where they’d been held hostage less than twelve hours ago. While he had no regrets getting the police involved at this point, the entire situation still left Levi with an uneasy feeling. Once again they had nothing concrete to assure them that Nicu had taken Max to the house. And even if he was there, they had no idea what they’d done to him, or even if he was still alive.
But while Levi’s gut told him that they were on the right track, he hadn’t missed the desperation in Kayla’s eyes. She’d already lost both her sister and her mom. To lose her father this way would be devastating. All he could do now was pray they got to the house in time to find her father and have Nicu and his brother arrested. Then all of this would finally be over.
“We should be there in another couple minutes,” she said, glancing at the GPS on her phone. “The driveway’s just up the road.”
He reached out and squeezed her hand, knowing how anxious she was. Her father’s life was at stake here, and every second they didn’t find him meant another second for Nicu to do the unthinkable.
A black sedan passed them, speeding in the opposite direction. Levi glanced in the rearview mirror.
It was Nicu.
“Hold on,” Levi said. “That’s them.”
Levi pressed on the brakes, then quickly did a U-turn.
“Call Peeters and tell him we found Nicu and his brother,” he said as they followed the sedan. “Tell them where we are and to get here as soon as possible.”
“And if we catch up with them,” she asked, turing on her phone. “What’s your plan then?”
“I’m still working on that.”
Because all he did know was if they lost them now, they could not only lose evidence of what Nicu was involved in, but there was a good chance that Kayla’s father was in the back of the car. Which meant the only real option was to stop them now.
Levi sped up to the sedan on the narrow road, thankful there was no other traffic or bikes on the stretch of road at the moment.
“The authorities must have just missed them. The commissioner’s on his way from the house right now,” she said, hanging up the call. “But he told me he doesn’t want us to get involved.”
“That’s funny.” Levi frowned. “I’m pretty sure we already are involved.”
Instead, the question should be how to stop the other vehicle without anyone—especially any passengers in the car—getting hurt. There was only one viable solution he knew of.
“Hang on, Kayla,” he said, accelerating until he was alongside Nicu’s vehicle. Gripping the steering wheel, he steered the front bumper of their car into the other vehicle, right behind the back tire. If the procedure worked, the move would send the car into a spin, which in turn should cause the engine to stall. A second later, Nicu’s car lost traction and began skidding down the road, while Levi worked to stay clear of the vehicle. The other vehicle spun as predicted, then stalled out on the side of the road. Levi pulled to a stop in front of the sedan, blocking the road.
“You okay?” Levi turned to Kayla as he yanked off his seat belt and unlocked his door.
“I think so.” Kayla pressed her hand against her chest. “Guess you learned more than just picking locks in the army.”
“Yes, but two wrecked cars in one day would have my instructor’s head spinning,” he said, jumping out of the car. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”
“Levi—”
But he was already headed toward the other vehicle. The dust had yet to settle as he ran to the driver’s side, where he was counting on Nicu to be disoriented from the maneuver. And while his plan was risky, he was out of options.
The driver’s door opened as Nicu attempted to get out, but Levi quickly slammed it shut, managing to knock Nicu’s gun out of his hand at the same time. The weapon skidded across the pavement. Levi quickly took a step back and grabbed the weapon.
“Get out, Nicu,” he said, pulling open the driver’s door. But this time he was armed.
He glanced into the car, still unable to see clearly into the back seat, but the passenger seat was empty.
“Where’s your brother?” Levi asked.
“I don’t know.” Nicu touched his forehead and groaned.
“Get away from the car,” someone shouted from behind him. “Both of you.”
Levi turned around. Nicu’s brother. Andrei held Kayla in front of him with his gun pressed to her temple, blocking any possible shot.
“I’m sorry, Levi,” she said. “He grabbed me out of the car.”
He frowned, but there was no time to spend regretting the fact that he’d missed this scenario.
“What are you doing, Andrei?” Nicu asked.
“Putting an end to all of this. You just couldn’t leave things alone and walk away, could you, big brother?”
“What are you talking about? We’re in this together. We’ve always been in this together.”
“No...this is your mess, and I’m not going to let you take me down. Not this time.”
“Andrei—”
“Enough! Get out of the car.”
Sirens blared in the distance.
“Let her go,” Levi said. “You’re only going to make things worse for yourself.”
“Like things could actually get any worse?” Andrei said. “Because here’s what’s going to happen. She’s going with me. I’m going to get back into the car and no one is going to follow me, including you, Nicu. You’re so obsessed with finding that girl that you don’t know what you’re doing anymore.”
“You know I have to find her.”
“You’re a fool, Nicu. Mercy’s gone. It’s over. But I’m not going to throw my life away because of you.”
“It’s not over. She’ll come back to me.”
Levi took a step forward and aimed the confiscated gun at Andrei. “Put your gun down. It’s over.”
He wasn’t going to lose Kayla again no matter what it took this time. Because he knew if she ended up getting into the car with Andrei, the odds were he’d never see her alive again.
Levi glanced to his right, where two police vehicles had just stopped.
“I want both of you to put your weapons down now,” one of the officers shouted, pulling out his own gun.
Levi glanced at Kayla, then slowly set his weapon on the ground.
The cop turned to Andrei. “And you...step away from her now.”
Andrei hesitated, then dropped his gun onto the ground beside him before holding his hands up. The commissioner signaled to his officers to handcuff the men.
“Commissioner,” Kayla said, stepping forward, “this is Levi Cummings, former US Army counterintelligence.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking Levi’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you as well, sir.”
“That was quite a stunt you just pulled now, but it worked, even though I think I remember saying don’t get involved.”
“They would have gotten away, sir.”
“Which is why we owe you a bit of gratitude. Turns out we have a thick file on Nicu and Andrei Dragan.” He turned back to Kayla. “Are you okay?”
“I am now. He would have killed me if I’d left with him,” she said. “But we need to check the back of the car, sir. We believe he might have some of the girls with him, or even my father.”
One of the officers moved to search the car. “You’re right. There are two girls here.”
Kayla hurried over to them, pulled off her coat and wrapped it around one of the girls. “Je nu veilig bent. You’re safe now.”
She signaled for one of the officers to find a blanket for the other girl. “What about the trunk? We have to find my father.”
“I just looked. I’m sorry, ma’am, but there’s no one else in the car.”