Her Fierce SEAL: Midnight Delta Book 6 (5 page)

“I’m sorry, you’re right.  I get this way sometimes.  Can we keep walking?  My grandfather and Sergei play chess in the park and have lunch.  Dasha watches.  It’s a neutral setting, and I think it would be a good place for me to introduce you.”  Damn, she should have explained it sooner.

He nodded.  “That makes sense.”

“I think you’re just the thing she needs.  She has totally shut down.  Having someone like you meet with her, could be just what the doctor ordered.  She needs a hero.”

She saw his expression shut down.

“Did I say something wrong,” she asked as she gently clasped his wrist.

“Huh?”

“I got the feeling I upset you with what I said.”

“You’re imagining things.  Do you have any advice on how I should approach her?”  Angie hesitated.  Something had bothered him.  It couldn’t have been that Dasha needed him, it was the reason he was here, so it had to be the hero comment.  But why would that bother him?

“Angie,” he prompted.

“Right now she’s barely talking.  The last two times she’s seen me, she hasn’t even asked about her baby.  I think she’s given up hope.”

“I’m surprised she’s at the park,” Finn said.

“Sergei forces the issue.  He’s a good uncle.”

“He’s the only family she has, right?” Finn asked. 

“Yes.”  Angie sighed.  Another pedestrian walked by them.  Angie spotted a bench near the park entrance.  “Let’s sit there and figure out our game plan before we see them.”

“Is Sergei going to be okay with me showing up?” Finn asked as he put his hand on her back and led her to the bench.  Angie noted how he brushed off the seat for her.  It was a little thing, but it warmed her.

“Sergei is going to be fine with anything that helps his grand-niece get her baby back.  I can tell he’s feeling helpless.”

“Do you know why she ran away?  People were trying to help her find her baby.  Not only her but the other four mothers.  She knew this.  Why would she leave New York and not tell anyone where she was going?  It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Finn said.

“I don’t know.  I’m not sure Sergei even knows.”  Angie sighed.

“Okay.”  Finn’s blue eyes stared intently at her.  “Can you tell me how she and her uncle ended up here in Austin?”

“Sergei and my grandfather have known each other since they served together in Vietnam.  They took a bus out here.  They’ve been staying at Pops’ ranch.  Sergei promised Dasha that Pops would be able to help find her daughter, and that’s when I was brought in.” 

Angie remembered meeting the distraught teenager who was by turns shy and frantic.  If it weren’t for Sergei as a stabilizing influence, Angie was sure the poor girl would have flown apart. 

Her fist clenched as she remembered when she had first been introduced to Dasha.  “Finn, she still hasn’t recovered from giving birth.  When I met her, she wasn’t eating properly, and she wasn’t getting the sleep she should.”

Finn picked up her fist and gently pried it open.  “You did something about that, didn’t you?”

“I told her if she didn’t take care of herself, she would end up going to the hospital.  She didn’t seem to care until her uncle said the government could find her that way.  Then she went into a full-blown panic attack.  He was relentless.  But in the end, she agreed to start taking care of herself.  That was when I realized she was afraid of the government finding her.”

“What did you do?”

“I contacted a friend of mine to dig up everything he could find out about the operation to rescue Dasha.  I figured anything I found out about the human trafficking ring or baby selling would help me assist her.”

They sat there in silence watching the people walk by.  “I still have trouble wrapping my head around all of this ugliness happening.  I’ve read about it in the newspapers and watched documentaries, but to meet with a girl who’s gone through it?  It just blows me away.”

Finn squeezed her hand in comfort.  Angie looked down to where their hands were linked. 

“Logically, I know that anybody who went to all the time and expense to buy a baby would have to be treating it well.  It’s the only thing about this that gives me comfort.  I’ve actually cried about it.”  She pulled her hand away when she realized what she had admitted.

“Angie, there’s no shame in that.”

“Yes there is, I should be stronger,” she said brusquely.  She stood up.  “Come on, let’s go.”

“Hold up.”  He reached for her hand and tugged her back down.

“What?” she demanded.

“Why do you think it’s shameful you cried about Dasha’s baby?”

“Because you just push past it, and get the job done.”  She gave him a hard stare and dared him to disagree.

“I’ve cried,” he said softly.

“About this?  I bet you haven’t.”  His face flushed.  “See, I knew it.”

“No, not about this, but other missions.  Other victims,” his voice was a whisper.  “It’s okay to need a shoulder to cry on.”

Was he for real?  “We need to go talk to Dasha.”  This time, he didn’t stop her when she got up from the bench.

They made it to the part of the park where the picnic tables were.  Off in one corner, the two senior citizens were playing chess.  Dammit, Dasha was just staring into space. 

“Angela!” her grandfather called out.  She gave him a wave.  He and Sergei gave Finn the once over, but Dasha barely even took note of the stranger in her midst.

“This is Finn Crandall.  He was one of the SEALs who helped rescue Dasha.  He wants to help find her baby.”  Dasha’s head jerked up.

“Government?” Dasha said the word like it was a curse. 

“I’m here to help,” Finn said solemnly. 

“Angie, you made a promise.”  Dasha gave her an accusing stare.  Angie took heart, it was the most emotion she had seen from the girl in the last week.

“He is a good man,” Angie promised and hoped she was telling the truth.

“Uncle,” she called out.  “We leave.”

Sergei looked down at the chess board, ignoring his niece.

“Uncle,” Dasha said plaintively.

He still did not look up.  The girl sat back down and looked at Angie.  “How he help?”

“He has records about where the babies went,” Angie began.  Dasha stood up so fast, she got tangled up between the bench and the table.  Finn was around to their side of the table in a heartbeat and helped the girl to stand outside the fixed bench of the picnic table.

“You know where my baby?” Dasha demanded, clutching his arm?  “Where my girl?  Tell me now!”

Finn looked helplessly at Angie.

Fuck!

“Dasha, that’s not what I meant.  He has
some
information, more than I had.  He doesn’t know where the babies are.”

“Tell me where my Yulia,” she said.  It was the first time Angie had heard her call her daughter by a name.  Dasha was clawing at Finn’s chest.  “Tell me!” she yelled.

Fuck!  She’d screwed up.

Angie watched as Finn blanched.  They were in the middle of August in Texas, and she saw the man shiver.  His lips moved, but Angie couldn’t hear what he was saying, and apparently neither could Dasha. 

“What?  What say you?” the girl demanded.

“I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.”  He muttered over and over again, as he trembled.  It was a litany that made no sense, and it finally got through to the angry young girl.  She backed up and looked at him.

“What wrong?”

“I’m sorry.”  Over and over again, he couldn’t seem to stop saying the words.  Dasha turned to Angie, all anger had fled, and she looked like what she was, a frightened young girl who was out of her element.

“Help him, Angie.”

“Finn?”  She moved forward and rested her hand on his chest, in the exact spot where Dasha had been clawing at his shirt.  She could feel his heart beating like a freight train. 

“Finn?”  His eyes finally focused on her.  He gripped her hand tightly in both of his. 

“Angie?” 

“I’m here, Finn.”

His breath sawed in and out.  “Well okay then.”  She rested her other hand on his shoulder and felt him begin to relax.

They stood like that for a long moment, and then he stepped back, and she was staring into blue eyes that looked like they had seen the depths of hell.  He let out a long breath.

“Thank you.”  He glanced over her shoulder at Dasha and winced.  “I see I’m making great first impressions.”

“You didn’t pull a gun on her, so you’re doing fine,” she whispered so only he could hear.

“Well, there is that,” he admitted.

Angie turned in his arms so that they could be facing Dasha together.  “Honey, can you come here and let us explain what Finn can do to help you?” 

The girl tentatively came to stand in front of them.

“Dasha, you reminded me of some of the girls I helped rescue in Canada.  Seeing you so scared and angry brought back bad memories for me.  I’m sorry I lost control.”

Angie watched as Dasha worked to comprehend what Finn was saying.  “You are like men who help rescue me.  Many feelings when they save baby.  They try to be strong, but they feel way deeply when holding baby they save.”

“Huh?  Finn, what is she talking about?”  Angie twisted to look up at him.

“Darius and Mason delivered a baby. On the island where the girls were being held captive, there were two people in charge who were basically monsters.  They were doing a C-Section without anesthesia and were planning on letting the mother die.  They only cared about the baby.  The baby was in distress, and Mason and Dare saved both mother and child.  They then rescued Dasha and the other girls from their locked cabins.  Mase and Dare were pretty emotional.”

“You have strong emotions,” Dasha noted.

“Maybe I do.  But I want to talk about how I can help you.”

“You like other men.”  Dasha was determined to say her piece.

“Yes, they are my teammates.”

“You good men?” Dasha asked.

“I try to be,” Finn replied.  Dasha gave Angie a questioning look.

“Yes, he is a good man,” Angie reassured Dasha, as she elbowed Finn in the stomach.

“How you help?”

“Can we sit down?”  Angie peeked around Finn and saw her grandfather and Sergei pretending to play chess.  It was obvious they were closely monitoring the conversation.

“Yes,” Dasha agreed.  She sat back down.  Angie sat next to her, and Finn circled the picnic table to sit across from the two of them. 

“Dasha, do you remember Rylie and Lydia?  They were the women who helped to find your uncle.” 

She nodded and smiled broadly.  “Da!  I mean yes.  They are with your friends?”

“Yes.  My team.  They discovered records that told us how much money was paid for each child.”

“Bastards,” Pops muttered.  Angie looked at her grandfather who had given up all pretense of playing chess.  They moved closer to her and Finn.

“What else do you know?” Sergei asked.

“Not much.  We know what city each couple flew in from.  According to the records, each was listed as a couple.”

“Hot damn!” her grandfather cried.

“Unfortunately, it hasn’t been as easy as you might think.  There were sixteen births in all.  Based on DNA testing, we were able to reunite eleven of the girls with their babies, but now we are left with the five most elusive couples.”

“What do you mean?” her grandfather demanded.  “You said you knew which city they flew in from.  Figure it out from the airline records of who flew in solo, and then flew back with a baby.  Dammit man, how hard can that be?”

“Easy Pops,” Angie soothed her grandfather.  “I’m sure that’s what they did on the first eleven.  There must be some issues with these last five, or they would have already done that.”

“They probably took alternate forms of transportation back.  Cars, or ferries to the US.  Or just stayed in Canada until things died down.”

“But you know what city they came from,” Sergei protested.

“That could have been a red herring,” Angie said.  Everybody fell silent, knowing it was the truth.

“Okay, you help.  How soon you find Yulia?  Angie tell me they will be good to her.  But I love her more.  She needs me.” Angie gave the young girl a hug.  Dasha was stiff in her arms, and she knew why.  She was close to falling apart and didn’t want risk breaking down.

“I need your help,” Finn said to the girl.

“How?”

“I need you to tell me everything that happened when they took your baby.”

“How that help?”

“Any little thing you might remember could be important.  When did you have your baby?  How long before you were rescued?”

Angie watched as Dasha considered Finn’s question.  A tear ran down her cheek.  “Eighty-two days ago they take my Yulia.  She was so good and quiet in my arms.  I held her all night.  I was so tired, but I no sleep because they will take her from me when I shut my eyes.”  Two more tears dripped down Dasha’s face.  “Yulia is good baby.  She not cry once.  She smile and look at me with her green eyes.  She know and love her mama.”  Dasha started to say something in Ukrainian.

Sergei translated.

“A woman came into her room in the cabin and took Yulia.  Dasha wanted to fight, but she knew her daughter would end up being hurt, and she was too weak from giving birth.”

Sergei said something to Dasha, who shook her head and she started crying violently.  He sat down beside her.  They talked over one another in their native language.  It was clear Dasha felt guilty, and Sergei told her that she didn’t have a choice.  But then Sergei got enraged and turned to all of them.

“The woman who took my grand-niece, that bitch, she told Dasha her daughter would be going to a grand house with servants.  She said she would be better off than if she stayed with some no-name whore.”

Before Angie could speak, Finn stepped in.

“Dasha, your child couldn’t ask for a better mother than you.  Until she is back with you, Yulia will never get more love than she did those first few hours in your arms.  She knew you, and she felt your goodness and love.  We will find her and put her back in your care.  You have my promise.”

Angie looked at this big man who projected such strength of will and hoped for both his and Dasha’s sake he would be able to deliver on that promise.