Page 54 of Night Hawk
“Reed was in white-collar crimes when I met him,” Sierra said. “I need to get him to switch back.” Sierra laughed.
Clay looked over the seat. “You do, and he’ll see how many hours you work.”
“Oh, right. Don’t want that.” She shifted to look at Toni. “The job must wreak havoc with your social life.”
“What social life?” Toni laughed, but she had to force it. “It’s not like I have any plans to get involved with a guy in the near future, so I really don’t mind.”
“And the emotional toll?” Kelsey asked.
Yeah, that.“Some days are hard. Really hard. But when you put one of the perpetrators away and rescue people in difficult situations, it’s all worth it.”
“Is human trafficking really that prevalent in the United States?” Kelsey asked.
Toni gave a sad nod. “More than two hundred thousand children are bought and sold online in a year in our country alone.”
“Wow, how sad.” Kelsey frowned.
“ICE arrests nearly a thousand people a year involved in trafficking humans for sex,” Clay added.
Kelsey shuddered. “I had no idea.”
Toni had to work hard not to shudder with her. Working these investigations brought all kinds of emotional struggles to the people dedicated to end human trafficking. They even had to go through an annual psych evaluation to keep working in the area.
“Well, I say God bless you for doing the job,” Kelsey said emphatically. “Some days I think my job is hard, but I could never find people in conditions you must see them in. Especially kids.”
Toni could only imagine the things Kelsey must’ve been called in to do, and Toni could never be a forensic anthropologist. Proved people gravitated to the careers that best suited them in law enforcement.
Kelsey rested her hands on her pregnant belly. “I wish Devon worked a less demanding job. DEA agents face some pretty ruthless people.”
Sierra shook her head. “After seeing what my mom went through with dad, I swore I would never marry someone in law enforcement, and here I am married to an FBI agent.”
Toni leaned forward. “My mom had the same struggle. I wonder how she would’ve coped if she’d lived to see me become an agent too.”
“I don’t think I could handle a child being in law enforcement or the military.” Kelsey cupped her hands protectively on her stomach. “This little girl will grow up to be a princess and that’s all.” She chuckled softly and looked at Sierra. “And your mom had all five boys in law enforcement at one time. She’s a saint for sure.”
Sierra nodded. “She struggled with it but never once tried to talk them out of it.”
They all fell silent for the rest of the drive, and Toni assumed they were thinking about the cost of their jobs, not just to the law enforcement officer but their families. It was a heavy price, one Toni was willing to pay.
Drake turned into Fritz Rader’s driveway so they could drop Kelsey off, and the tires crunched over rough gravel. Toni reached for her door handle.
Clay looked over the seat at her. “Do you mind staying here? I’ll get Kelsey started, and Drake will stay with her for protection.”
“No problem,” she said, as she wanted to review her granduncle’s arrest file obtained by Blake that morning.
As the others got out, she opened the folder, hoping to see that her granduncle hadn’t actually victimized a defenseless young girl.
Clay finished clearing the rental house and exited the building into a sharp wind. The place sat at the edge of the rustic beach, a large sand dune and tall swaying grasses hiding the property from nearby houses. Must be how Jason got away with johns coming and going at all hours of the day.
Clay nodded at Erik, who’d been standing watch with Pong while Clay cleared the house. They’d left Drake with Kelsey, and Aiden and Blake had gone to visit Trent, but Brendan was high up on a dune on overwatch. If anyone so much as approached the property, Brendan would report it on their comms unit.
Clay opened Toni’s door. “Place is clear. Straight inside and stay there, okay?”
He expected Toni to argue, but she nodded.
“Can you please stay in the garage until I can shoot the interior wide shots?” Sierra asked as she opened her door. “Then you can go in, and Erik and Pong can search the place.”
“Sure.” Toni marched into the garage. She’d been far too compliant this morning. He liked her easy agreement, and yet, he hated it because he knew she was being so agreeable because she was still reeling from yesterday’s news.
