Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Oh boy.
“Do you wanna say why?” I asked.
“Because I got mad at them and took off. It was stupid. And he lied to me. And it was…it was just so, so stupid.”
Oh, this sweet girl.
“What’s your name?”
“Madison,” she whispered.
The tears hit my eyes. “Heya, Madison.”
The tears hit hers before she tossed the pillow aside and threw herself in my arms.
I held her, stroked her hair, and cried with her this time.
Maybe she’d used up most of hers, but she stopped before I did, so I forced myself to do the same.
I held her close even as I reached for the Kleenex. We both mopped up and then I settled us against the headboard, holding her to my side, keeping the tissues at hand.
And I asked, “You wanna tell me?”
She rested her head against my shoulder, and it was the most precious weight I’d ever born.
And then she said, “Yeah.”
I closed my eyes in relief.
And Madison told me.
Big Petey
Hugger was prowling the area between the living room and kitchen like a caged animal.
Detective Rayne Scott was sitting on the edge of the seat of one of Diana’s armchairs, elbows to his knees, evidence bag with Babić’s phone in it dangling from his fingers. His attention alternated between Hugger and the wall beyond, which was where Diana and Suzette were.
Big Petey had never thought much about cops until Tack brought a few into the Chaos inner circle. Not the brotherhood, but they were as close as that could get without a patch.
Normally, if cops stayed out of his way, he stayed out of theirs.
But he respected Mitch and Brock unreservedly.
He recognized Rayne Scott was of the Mitch Lawson/Brock Lucas bent. And not simply because the sumabitch was tall, dark and a damn fine-lookin’ man.
He was no nonsense. Alert. Attentive. Concerned about the state of play in Suzette’s room. And being there on a Sunday morning, obviously dedicated to the job.
Hugger stopped moving abruptly and stared down the hall. So Pete got to his feet, noticing not for the first time the dry heat of Phoenix was good for his old joints. Denver was arid too, but the cold could creep in. His body felt a full five years younger down there in the desert.
Diana showed from the mouth of the hall and went right to Hugger.
And Pete went still when Hug claimed Diana immediately by wrapping a hand around the side of her neck and dipping down to get nose to nose with her.
“You,” he grunted.
She understood that word and whispered, “I’m okay.”
Scott got close, so Pete did too.
Hug got out of her face and she looked to Scott.
“Her name is Madison O’Keefe. She says she’s nineteen years old. She’s from Lubbock, Texas. She was in school to do manis and pedis. She’d met a guy online her parents had a bad feeling about. Turns out they were right. They argued about him more than once, but the last one was really bad. She packed a bag and went to him. He took off with her, and when she expressed concern about where they were going, which was crossing over the state line to New Mexico, things went downhill.”
“Damn it,” Scott muttered. “She didn’t mention any of this when we interviewed her at the hospital.”
Pete watched as Hugger slid his hand down her back until his arm was wrapped around her waist. He then fit her right to his side, and by damn, she looked purpose-built to be right there.
This move could have knocked Pete over with a feather.
Until yesterday, Pete didn’t know if he’d seen Hugger touch another human being, outside horsing around with the kids. When he was with Rider, Cutter, Nash, Playboy, Wren, Princess, Travis, Clementine, Wyatt, Raven…any of them, he was a different man.
With them, he was the man he was with Diana.
He was a man who had a life that he thought was worth living.
“He essentially sold her to Babić’s boys,” Diana continued, yanking Pete right out of his thoughts. “And one of the reasons she knew who Babić was is because the men who bought her said, ‘Hands off. Babić always gets first crack.’”
Pete ground his teeth, he heard Hugger growl, and he saw Scott’s eyes turn to slits.
“She struggled to get away at one point, and they laughed at her,” Diana kept at it. “Told her half the police were on Mr. Babić’s payroll, so if she went to them, they’d bring her right back.”
“I’m hopin’ that was bullshit to make her think she’s fucked no matter what,” Pete remarked to Scott.
“It’s bullshit,” Scott gritted.
Pete studied him carefully, and damn, he hoped the man spoke truth.
“That’s what I told her,” Diana said. “I think I got her ready to open up to you more. But she’s had enough for today.” She looked up to Hugger. “I’m going to call off work tomorrow. Give her a break for the rest of today, then I hope maybe I can talk her into going in to do a formal interview that’s a lot more thorough.”