Chapter 26
LILY
Wes’s email was waiting for me when I got home. I’ve read it over and over, trying to read between the lines, to squeeze out any last bit of information possible.
Sitting on my crappy living room couch, I open my laptop and read it one more time.
FROM: Uncle James | SUBJECT: Here you go
Patrick James Kelly. Age 44. Former Army logistics coordinator—Fort Lewis. Honorable discharge. Clean record until fifteen years ago, when he went dark. No employment history, no tax filings, no digital footprint.
Suspected logistics lead for Turner's network. Handles movement coordination, supply chains, personnel transfers.
Connected to at least four documented trafficking operations in the Pacific Northwest.
No direct violence on record, but presence correlates with increased victim mortality.
So Patrick Kelly coordinates logistics for Turner's operation. He moves people. He moves bodies. He's been doing it likely for fifteen years.
I read the last line again. Increased victim mortality.
My hands are steady as I close the laptop. If that’s true, and Patrick Kelly is here, what’s to stop him from grabbing another innocent girl?
Me—that’s who’s going to stop him.
Steady as I go to my bedroom, I go to my closet. I pull on black fleece-lined leggings, a dark waterproof jacket, a black cap, and boots with the reinforced soles. One knife goes into my boot. The second knife goes into my jacket pocket.
I have a gun too. When I told Wes I needed to do something to help take down this trafficking ring, he got me one and made sure I got some basic training.
But tonight I’m just going out to take a look around.
I’m not delusional enough to think that I can just waltz in there and destroy the bad guys.
I’m determined, but I’m not a one-man army.
I need to have a solid plan in place to successfully take them out.
I catch my reflection in the mirror—eyes cold, jaw set, every muscle coiled.
I’m ready to go.