Chapter 7
Sharp helped Thario inside, then left it up to Danika to get him settled.
He would check on Thario later. Frog was on his way there with Asher and Squat.
The dog was doing great, according to the veterinarian.
He'd been drugged and would probably not feel one hundred percent until morning, but he wouldn't suffer any lasting effects.
He met Apple and Griz in the kitchen to talk about the attack on Thario. The other men had gone home, but would be checking back in later. They would find a way to take this guy down and make him pay for the pain he’d caused.
Griz took a sip of coffee, then set the mug on the table, his lips thinned like he was thinking hard. "We need to figure out where this guy lives."
“The only problem with that is our go-to guy has a concussion and the doctors don’t want him staring at a computer,” Sharp said.
“Do we even have computers that can do the kind of searches Thario was doing?” Apple asked.
"Danika has helped him before. Also, Asher spent a long time helping him. I think Danika's computer is set up with the correct browser, but I don't have the network connection to hide my IP address."
“We can purchase a VPN,” Thario said as he stepped into the den with Danika following.
Danika shrugged. “He refused to rest.”
“You just can’t stare at the computer for hours. You’ll have to let us be your eyes,” Sharp said.
Thario rolled his eyes and took a seat in the recliner that was close to the entrance of the kitchen. The floor plan of his house was open, so he could see Thario and Danika in the den, and also Griz and Apple.
The tension in the room seemed to thicken. Maybe it was because they all knew Thario was capable, but once again, he was out of commission right when they needed his expertise.
Danika sighed and sat forward. "Listen, I know it sucks, Thario, but we need you well. You might be able to spend an hour, maybe two, staring at the computer screen, but it could make it so that you can't go near a computer for a few days."
“Yeah, man, just let us do this lifting,” Apple said. “We have to find this guy. That’s the only way we’re going to keep you and Frog safe.”
Just then, they heard a car out front. Apple grabbed Thario's hand and helped him up. He was good, just a little unstable because of the knock to the head. Sharp appreciated Apple helping their buddy without making a big deal.
The front door opened, and Frog looked like he was going to explode with happiness. He knew Asher and Squat, but he loved Thario.
Apple helped Thario down so he could sit on the floor and hug Frog. Sharp would be lying to say his eyes didn’t burn with tears. Seeing the pair reunite warmed his heart.
After Frog calmed down a little, they all headed back into the den.
Frog sat with his head on Thario's knee, and Thario stroked Frog's head and neck, always keeping one hand on the dog.
Being drugged had to be disorienting to the dog.
As a human, the few times he'd gone under for surgeries had sucked.
He hated coming out from under knockout drugs.
“The guy who did this, what’s his name?” Squat asked.
“Brent.”
“What about last name?”
“Not sure. He gave me one name, but I don’t trust what he told me. I should have looked into him more, but the information I had seemed good.”
“Are you sure his first name is Brent?” Apple asked.
Thario shrugged. "Good question. He answered to that name quickly the few times we met face to face before."
“So you’ve met him before?”
“Yeah. First was at a conference I spoke at. Then we met up at a coffee shop in town. Everything seemed above board. I met him at the coffee shop after we spent years working on the same projects to bring children home who’d been abducted. I really thought I could trust him.”
“So he wasn’t acting weird?” Asher asked.
Thario shook his head. “No. It seemed all good. I don’t know what happened. Every time I met with him, he fooled me, and there wasn’t anything in the emails or texts.”
Danika tapped her lips with one finger. “So he knew where you lived.”
Thario nodded. “I didn’t tell him. I guess he figured it out. Maybe he followed me home from the coffee shop. But I’m careful. I don’t have any answers, and I know I should. I should have known better.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Amelia said. She’d been relatively quiet so far, but now she moved so Thario could see her.
“Really. You don’t know what he did. He could have attached something to your vehicle, or maybe he just followed you.
There are so many ways for someone who is evil to screw you up.
And we know this guy is evil and determined.
I know you’re careful, but even being careful doesn’t mean people won’t be more calculating than you are discreet. ”
Sharp nodded, and so did a few of the other guys. He felt bad about how much they'd left Thario on his own to do things. It wasn't good for Thario to take on so much without them stepping up to lend a hand.
Sharp moved to sit closer to Thario. “We should have been helping you more.”
Thario shook his head. “Dude, you’re all still active.”
“I’m not,” Griz said.
“Yeah, but you were,” Thario said.
Griz shrugged. “Times are changing. I’m not sure you should be doing this stuff alone. People are meaner. They would just as soon smile at you as shank you in the side.”
Thario frowned. “I don’t think it’s that bad.”
Danika snorted. “You say that after you were almost killed by someone who was supposed to be helping save people.”
“Brent must be doing this savior thing for another reason. You know, like a double agent.” Griz’s observation hung over the group, silencing them.
If the guy was some sort of double crosser, working to stop trafficking so he could traffic women and children without being caught, that would be devastating.
Asher sat forward. “Do you all think he was working with groups to dismantle trafficking so he could actually figure out a way to do it without being caught?”
Thario shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, if you really wanted to traffic humans, what better way than to learn how people take them down so you don't end up getting caught?"
“Damn, that’s awful,” Sharp said.
Griz drew in a deep breath. “I think that means you have to change your base of operations.”
Thario nodded. “Yeah. I can’t rebuild on that lot.”
Sharp’s phone rang, and he glanced down, seeing that the call was coming from the police department. “The police are calling.”
Thario’s lips thinned. This was something he would have to deal with, but Sharp understood his hesitation to speak with the police.
Thario worked with the authorities to bring down traffickers, but sometimes the things they did were outside the law.
If the cops got pissed at Thario, he could end up in trouble.