Defending Bridget - P.J. Fiala Page 0,52

Indiana. They haven’t identified the third man yet. Both Victor and Fedir work for the mastermind of the operation, Mikheil Ustymovych.”

Lincoln spoke next, "Do we know how big this selling operation is here in the US? And, do we know why they're targeting friends of our wives?"

"No, not yet." Gaige looked around the room. "Guesses?"

Wyatt sat forward, his jaw tight. "I have a theory if we can put the two together. John Caulfield was doing the same thing, kidnapping women and selling them. We thought when he was killed that operation was over. What if we were wrong?"

Axel said, "What if Caulfield was kidnapping for Ustymovych? We stopped that operation. It would make sense they would be pissed at us."

Ford leaned forward and put his arms on the table. "The only way they'd know about us is if Caulfield told them where we were when he was stalking us. Yvette had information from him that he knew was damming, we thought it was his own skin he was worried about. Maybe we stopped digging too soon. If we can find what Caulfield was really worried about Yvette having knowledge of, we just may find the links to Ustymovych."

Axel sat back in his chair contemplating all of this information. "The man we got when we found Caulfield may be able to give us some information. Is he still in prison?"

His wheels were turning. His heart raced; excitement coursed through him as he contemplated the hunt. This was the part of the job that excited him the most. Pulling the information together and coming up with the plan.

Bridget turned to look at him, her face had confusion written all over it and he felt bad. She'd been sitting here listening but not able to understand all of it. "I'll fill you in when we're finished here. You can help me piece some things together."

She nodded but said nothing.

Gaige rounded out the discussion. "Okay, everyone at your computers. Let's pull up the records in our files that we have on Caulfield. Comb through those records and look for any mention of buyers, targets, locations, maps, contacts, anything that we can trace back to any one person or organization. I'll contact the police and see what happened to the man captured at the house where Sophie, Dani and Yvette were taken."

The men all moved to disburse, then Gaige stopped them. "One more thing. Tomorrow morning Falcon Montgomery, Ford's son, is coming in for an interview. He's interested in joining us as a team member. We're seeing the change ahead for additional support with Jax and Dodge on baby duty and Sophie and partly me as well. We could use the extra set of hands. And, while we're talking about that. Once Wyatt and Yvette's house next door is completed, I'm shifting some of the scheduling responsibilities to Wyatt. He’ll also be backup on covering missions when I’m not available. Any questions?"

Most of them shook their heads, others just got up and moved to a workstation. Lincoln punched Wyatt in the shoulder and nodded.

Axel turned to Bridget, "Let's go upstairs and I'll fill you in on things that transpired. Then we can discuss any ideas you have and if you want to help, we can get you set up to assist us comb through the files for contacts or leads."

"We can stay down here and work if you like." She smiled, maybe a little too broadly and he got the feeling she was enjoying the rush he'd just gotten in gathering intel and the hunt.

"I'd like to see Aidyn, so he knows we didn't take off."

The look she just gave him. The softness in her face, the serene loving feeling he was staring at just now. Wow. He had to hold on to his heart and quick.

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She'd only been around this group for a day or so but from what she'd seen, they worked well together. Gaige seemed easy to work with and for and the rest of the team seemed strong, capable and smart. They were going to find these jerks. No doubt about it.

She walked with Axel to the elevator and he swiped his key card to open the doors. They stepped in and he pushed "2" to take them up to the sleeping quarters.

Axel looked down at her, after all he was quite a bit taller than she was, so he was usually looking down at her. She enjoyed looking up at him though.

"I'm sorry, Bridget. So much of your life is