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RYAN STRODE INTO THE bullpen on base, adrenaline pumping through him. He wanted to shout out to the world that Sarah and he were engaged. But although he was thrilled that she’d agreed to be his wife, he wanted to tell Patrick first when they were alone. Although Sarah’s brother was his subordinate, he respected the man. No sense in shocking the hell out of him by announcing it to the entire team.
And this sure as hell wasn’t the right time anyway.
The team had landed moments ago, and rather than heading home to their women and children, he’d dragged them into the bullpen for a briefing.
Ryan logged in and pulled up the latest SITREP on his laptop, frowning. “God damn it,” he muttered to himself as he scanned over the information.
The men on his team had just returned from Mexico City, where they’d tracked down a missing American teenager. She’d been kidnapped from a nightclub in Miami and then sold to the highest bidder. If her father hadn’t had connections to the Secretary of Defense, there was no way in hell a SEAL team would’ve gotten involved. She probably would’ve disappeared right off the map, with the Mexican government unwilling or unable to do anything to find her.
They still hadn’t found the second missing woman who’d been with her, and his blood boiled with the knowledge that she was still out there somewhere.
His gaze slid over the latest update.
Two prisoners escaped from a Mexico City jail and probably had inside help. Officials were likely bribed by the sex-trafficking ring to look the other way. They’ve been on the run for twelve hours. In addition, a possible location has been determined for the second missing American.
Ryan quickly read over the rest of the report as the men filed into the room and grabbed chairs, looked slightly exhausted but clearly happy to be home.
Debriefings were par for the course after a mission, but he’d planned to bring the team in tomorrow until he’d gotten the most recent update.
“Sir,” Patrick “Ice” Foster said with a nod as he grabbed a seat by the front of the room. He scrubbed a hand over the scruff on his jaw, looking alert despite the fact they’d just returned from an op.
Ryan remembered those days well, when adrenaline would pump through him before and after a mission. It would take a few days of downtime to get back in his regular routine.
Time that his men hadn’t even had yet.
Ryan nodded at Patrick, watching the other men sit down. Evan “Flip” Jenkins looked wiped out, and Ryan knew he was a first-time parent and had a baby at home with Alison. He probably wasn’t getting much sleep on a regular basis anyway.
Hell, half of the team had kids now. They were all in relationships and had families and loved ones.
Which meant they all had to be careful given the latest update.
“Good morning, gentleman. Congratulations on another successful operation,” Ryan said after the men had all been seated. “The victim was reunited with her family in Miami earlier this morning. Job well done.”
Patrick nodded. “She was in bad shape when we found her, sir. She’s been through quite an ordeal,” he ground out, clenching his fists.
Ryan nodded, knowing the gravity of the situation. The teenager would need a lot of time and therapy now that she’d been rescued to move past the events of the last few weeks. She’d likely been repeatedly raped while in captivity, and although she’d been sold to one man, there was no telling whether or not her kidnappers had attacked her as well.
His blood boiled at the thought of harm coming to such an innocent young woman.
And to know another teenager was still out there? That hundreds of women and children went missing each year? It was a hell of a mission for his men to get involved with, and the only thing he regretted was that they couldn’t do more.
“I know you just got back and are eager to get home to your families, but I just received word this morning that two prisoners you rounded up during the operation escaped from the jail in Mexico City,” he said.
“Shit,” Christopher “Blade” Walters, the computer expert on their team, muttered. “What kind of lax security do they have down there?”
There were other low murmurs as the men processed this information.
Ryan nodded. “It’s believed that officials at the jail were bribed to look the other way and let the men escape—they were two of the ringleaders and likely could pay a hefty sum for their freedom. But that’s not what’s most concerning.”
Patrick raised his eyebrows, and Ryan continued. “It’s possible one of the Mexican military members assisting in the operation gave them your names.”
“Our real names?” Brent “Cobra” Rollins asked, his dark eyes flashing. “Fuck, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“It’s not like we were under cover or something,” Christopher said. “Sure, they don’t blast our names and faces on the evening news, but our allies have seen us. They know our names, faces, everything.”
“What’s your concern?” Patrick asked, meeting Ryan’s gaze. “That they’ll come after us? Little Creek is pretty goddamn far from Mexico City. We already killed a huge portion of their operation there. It’s most likely they’ll just start over and not worry about our sorry asses. Especially if they can pay off the Mexican government and police to simply look the other way.”
“It is,” Ryan agreed, “but as you said, you ruined their operation. This was a multi-million-dollar business for them. They had people feeding them women from several parts of the U.S. It wasn’t just some local, low-level deal. If they wanted to track you down, they already have men in the States who could do it.”
“You think they were given our names with the purpose of hunting us down?” Evan asked doubtfully. “Because we go after the bad guys all the time—we’re in and we’re out, and they sure as hell don’t come looking for us.”
“They don’t usually know our names,” Patrick interrupted.
“Affirmative. And it’s not you that I’m concerned for,” Ryan said in a clipped tone.
Brent crossed his arms, his gaze flickering around the room. “It’s a sex-trafficking ring. You think they’ll come after our women.”
There were mumblings amongst the men as Ryan nodded. “Their entire business is women. They have your names—your real names. It’s not that hard to find out where military bases in the U.S. are and to start looking for you. If they wanted revenge, they’ve got it.”
“And what happened to the jackass military guy who tipped them off as to who we are?” Matthew “Gator” Murphy drawled, looking irritated.
“Nothing,” Mike “Patch” Hunter said. “That’s the whole damn problem. The system is corrupt.”
Ryan nodded. “There’s too many dirty players down there. I wanted to debrief on the op today and to share information on the other missing woman. But first, tell me what you know about the men who escaped—what you learned when infiltrating their territory. These guys have contacts down in Miami. They could send someone up this way if they wanted. It’s not a guarantee that something will happen, but I am going to insist that everyone be extra careful.”
“There are much easier targets than coming after us or our women,” Mike said.
“There are, but we need to consider the possibility,” Ryan said. “We’re well-trained, but you need to warn your families to be on alert until this blows over. The likelihood is they’ll forget and move on, as Ice already said. They’ll start up another damn sex-trafficking ring that the U.S. will have to bust. But they have your names—if they wanted to, they could track you down.”
“The world would be a better place without these sickos in it,” Brent spat out.
Ryan grunted in affirmation, knowing Brent had dealt with violence toward women in his own life. His sister had been murdered by a jilted ex-boyfriend years ago, and his girlfriend Ella had been kidnapped by her sleazy boss’s contacts. Brent had rushed down to Florida to save her.
“The Delta team is back from their op,” Ryan said. “I’ll notify them to be vigilant around base as well. Let’s be blunt here—it’s concerning that a dirty military member shared your names. We’re not sure how high up this goes.”
“Motherfuckers,” Mike muttered. “We should’ve just taken them out instead of bringing them in for questioning.”
“No,” Patrick interrupted, shaking his head as his steel blue eyes flashed with anger. “If other women were helped because we kept them alive and questioned them, then it was worth it.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said. “I know you’ve been up for hours and are ready to get home. Let’s go over any new information you can tell me about the men who’ve escaped and get you on your way. I’ll keep you apprised of the situation on the other missing woman. It’s possible you or the Delta team will be sent in to retrieve her since she’s an American citizen and we’re already involved. In the meantime, let’s wrap this up and get you home to your families.”
“I’m game for that,” Patrick said with a wry smile.
Ryan smirked. Patrick and Rebecca were newlyweds themselves. And if there was one thing he knew about his men, it was how protective they were of their women. No doubt they were all eager to get back to their families.
Sarah was at work for the day, but he couldn’t wait to see her tonight. They hadn’t had nearly enough time together this morning before he’d rushed back to base, and he wanted to spend the entire night celebrating their engagement.
The sooner they wrapped up the sticky mess from this last op, ensuring their families were safe and rescuing the second woman, the better off everyone would be.
