The next morning, Hannah and I went down to breakfast to find Marcus and Ed having a discussion over coffee at the breakfast nook table.

"Mind if we join you?" I asked them.

"We could actually use your help," Marcus said. Intrigued, I sat down next to Marcus while Hannah requested breakfast from one of the kitchen staff and sat down across from me with a mug of coffee. "Naturally, there’s no information on Jared Fitzgerald available in our system. No phone number or local address for over a year."

"Did you try calling his old number or visiting an old address?" Hannah asked Marcus and Ed.

"Phone number was disconnected," Ed told us. "We had a couple of officers go undercover to his last known addresses, but one place was empty and the other place was being rented by a family who claims to know nothing about Fitzgerald."

"Could the empty place be used as some sort of holding area?" I asked them. "Or a safe spot for quick meetings?"

"We’re going to keep an eye on the place to see if there’s any activity," Marcus said, "but guys like Fitzgerald, in a trade like human trafficking, tend to be very careful and selective about locations they use for living or otherwise." I thought about what Marcus said as Hannah and I received our spinach and egg-white omelets.

"Since you don’t have much information on Fitzgerald right now, how can we help?" I asked Marcus and Ed.

"We’ve looked briefly over a map of the city," Ed told us as we ate our omelets, "but we don’t know much about the city since we’ve never lived here. We’re interested in old or unused buildings, side-streets, questionable sections of town, things like that."

I nodded as I understood what they were asking. "We can point out some places on a map and go for a ride," I suggested to everyone.

"Where are we going?" Kristin asked as she entered the kitchen.

"You’re not going anywhere, Kristin," Marcus told her. "You’re just fine right here."

Kristin rolled her eyes before landing her attention on Hannah. "Is it just me, Hannah, or do the girls not get invited to do anything?" Kristin asked her.

"They’re going on a trip around the city," Hannah told Kristin as Marcus and Ed groaned. "They want to find possible hiding places for The Auction House owner, Fitzgerald."

Kristin sat beside Hannah with a coffee. "I can tell you what I remember about the place where they kept us," Kristin offered. "But, you have to take me along for the ride."

"Of course, there are stipulations," Ed said, disgruntled. "We know you want to help, but there are limitations, Kristin."

"Do you really want to bring on a headache this early in the morning?" Marcus asked her.

"I don’t see the issue," I said to Marcus and Ed who stared at me. "Kristin knows something and I think she deserves the chance to help. She put herself in danger to try and help on her own."

"Thank you, Roman," Kristin said, smiling triumphantly at Marcus and Ed. They exchanged a glance before turning back to our group.

"Tell us what you know," Marcus said to Kristin, "and you can ride with us, but no funny business."

"Funny business?" Kristin asked Marcus with a raised eyebrow.

"No jumping out of the car when we stop at red lights, no wild gestures out the window, and no running off if we do decide to make a stop at a location," Marcus told her.

Kristin looked taken aback. "You think I would do those things?" Kristin asked them.

"Yes," Ed said.

"In a heartbeat," Marcus told her.

Kristin turned to me and Hannah. "Do you two think I’d do those things?"

I held my hands up in surrender. "I don’t know you well enough to answer that," I told Kristin while Hannah smiled behind her coffee cup.

"Morning," Lori said in a sleepy voice as she entered the kitchen. Hannah, Kristin, and I turned to greet Lori who looked like she had just rolled out of bed, but when Lori saw Marcus at the table her demeanor changed. Lori ran her fingers through her hair, looking more alert before she took a cup of coffee. "Did I miss the meeting memo?" Lori asked us.

"You did, sleepyhead," Hannah told her as Lori made her way to the table, taking a seat beside me which also happened to be closest to Marcus.

"Are you guys doing another raid?" Lori asked Marcus and Ed.

"Hopefully soon," Marcus said to Lori. Their gazes met and even I could see that they were interested in each other. "We’re trying to find the boss of The Auction House."

"They’re taking us on a tour of the city," Kristin said to Lori with a smile.

"’Us’ is a strong word," Ed said to Kristin, looking at her with an unimpressed side-eye.

"We all get to help?" Lori asked, her gaze on Marcus. The frustration evident on Marcus and Ed’s faces made me and Hannah chuckle.

"I do have an SUV that can accommodate all of us," I told the agents.

"Sidebar," Marcus said to Ed. They got up together and left the kitchen. Hannah, Kristin, and I shared a look before we all laughed.

"What’s so funny?" Lori asked us, confused.

"They’re having trouble accepting the idea that we can all help them on the tour of the city," Hannah said to Lori.

"Since Kristin has firsthand knowledge of where the holding area may be located, and you, Hannah, and I have lived in this city for years, we can all help Marcus and Ed figure out what buildings The Auction House may be using."

Lori nodded before sipping her coffee. "I’m in," Lori said.

"That’s the joke," Kristin told Lori with a smile. "They don’t want any of us to be in, except for maybe Roman. Apparently, us girls can’t be helpful."

"It’s not like that," I said to Kristin. "We can all provide valuable input."

"They don’t see it that way," Kristin said to me. "I can guarantee that because they’re men."

"If it were up to me, Kristin," I added, "I would value your help despite the fact that you’re a woman." Hannah placed a hand on my arm.

"You have to see this from Kristin’s point of view," Hannah said to me. "She’s been mistreated by men who have done nothing but take advantage of her." I searched Hannah’s gaze and realized that she was right. All Marcus and Ed wanted to do was their job and none of us were legally licensed or qualified to help them do that. We could volunteer information, but that was about all that they wanted from us. They kept Kristin at arm’s length, which was reasonable because she had been a victim and so had Hannah. Lori needed protection from her father and possibly from her brothers so that she wouldn’t become a victim.

"You’re right," I said to Hannah and Kristin. "We just want to protect all of you."

"But you’re smothering us," Kristin said. "We’re stronger and more useful than you think." Marcus and Ed walked into the kitchen as I thought about Kristin’s words. She certainly had a strong belief and willpower. Marcus and Ed took their seats again.

"You have a deal," Marcus said to us. "Once we gather a bit of information from all of you, we’ll go for a ride.

"Opportunity accepted," Kristin said, and Lori lifted her hand toward Kristin for a high five to which Kristin complied. They reached across the table and high-fived one another. I couldn’t help but notice Marcus’s interested glance at Lori as she leaned forward to reach Kristin across the table. He quickly moved his gaze away from Lori when she returned to her seat beside him.

"I’ll grab my laptop and pull up a map," I said, kissing Hannah’s cheek before I left the table. Marcus and Ed had their laptops in the bags beside them on the kitchen floor. They were beginning to set up as I left the kitchen. Thoughts of various locations around town came to mind as I hurried upstairs to grab my laptop from the bedroom. I rejoined the group in the kitchen. Lori was leaning over Marcus’s shoulder to view his laptop screen while Kristin was standing beside Ed to view his laptop screen. I took my seat next to Hannah and she leaned close to me while I signed in and pulled up a map of the city online.

"You said it was a group of buildings?" Ed asked Kristin. "Not a warehouse?"

"Definitely a group of buildings from what I could tell in the dark," Kristin said to Ed. "They took me down to the basement once we were inside. "There was no sign that I could see outside, but it was really dark. I think I only saw one or two streetlights nearby." Hannah and I pointed out a few places in town and I created a document to list possible addresses that we could think of. Marcus, Ed, and I shared emails so that we could collaborate on information and create a route for our tour of the city. The excitement was palpable as we all chattered and focused on the task at hand.