Lucy had always been strong-willed; it was what attracted him to her in the first place, and it became her undoing.
He had gotten a call back in Moonstone, that she was in the gang's possession and he needed to pay for her release; he had sent off the men afterward.
Jael knew that they had called the first person in her contacts, but he didn't even mind paying triple.
He had paid immediately he got the call and as soon as he got back to Haines, he set out to find her.
It really shouldn't have come as a surprise that he couldn't reach the gang members after paying them, even miscreants knew not to fall for such a basic scam.
He spent the rest of the night searching and by mid-morning, he stumbled on their base.
It had almost been ironic that it would be the same unique memory from his childhood, but...
He had been too late.