Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
I watch her walk past the windows that overlook the sidewalk after she gets outside, head down and arms wrapped around her middle.
“She might tell Patrick about our conversation,” Tucker mumbles, watching her get into her car. The two of us slide out of the booth, and I leave some cash on the table.
“Maybe, but I doubt it,” I say after we step outside. “I think it’s starting to sink in that he never planned on leaving his wife. And now she’s pregnant with his kid and is going to have no choice but to tell her friends and family. Unless she never tells them who the father is, which might also happen.” We stop at the door to my SUV. “Do you want to call Axel and fill him in, or do you want me to?”
“I’ll call him after I get in touch with Sally. I want more of an idea of what exactly is happening before I bring the information we got this morning to him. If the calls are being rerouted to the officers who hang around Stedman, Axel might be able to offer one of them immunity if they agree to come forward with what they know and testify.”
“The girl Tiffany spoke to.”
“I don’t like making assumptions, but I wouldn’t be shocked to find out this whole thing leads back to some kind of trafficking.” His jaw clenches.
“That’s my thought exactly, which is making me wonder if we should ask Clay to dig into things.”
For years, Clay worked at tracking down those involved in trafficking and did everything in his power to shut them down. When he met and fell in love with Willow, he turned his focus to helping those who were getting out of that lifestyle, a lifestyle that killed our foster sister after she was adopted.
While she was living with the family, she started talking to someone online, and they convinced her to run away from home. Years later, when we were able to track her down, it was too late. She died of an overdose in a Vegas hotel room, where she’d been flown out to party with some wealthy men for the weekend.
What happened to her led all of us to choose careers that could help women in her situation and hopefully prevent that from happening to someone else. Only, where Tucker and I joined the FBI and Dayton went into law, Clay’s jobs were never what any of us would consider legal.
That said, even our boss, Axel, has used Clay when he’s needed information no one else could get—at least not without breaking some rules.
“He’ll do it as long as nothing touches Willow.”
“I’ll call him on my way to meet Martinez.” I take my keys out of my pocket.
“All right.” He slaps my back. “I’ll fill you in on what Sally says after I track her down.”
“Sounds good.” I open my door and take out my cell. When I get behind the wheel, I dial Clay’s number before I back out of my parking space, then spend my drive downtown filling him in on the situation.
He agrees to see what he can find before we hang up. If anyone will be able to find us the information we need, it will be him. Better yet, he won’t leave a trace, so Stedman will never have a clue we’re looking into things.
CHAPTER 30
emma
While flipping over the meat I have frying for the chicken parmesan I decided to make for dinner, I listen to Winter read, then spell each of the words that will be on her spelling test this week out loud. Normally, she would be finished with her homework by now, but she got a late start this evening.
After I got here and Karen left, Miranda came over, and the two of us took the kids upstairs so they could play. And with Willow home, the three of us got to talking, and I totally lost track of time. Then again, I had a lot to fill them in on. Or at least I had a lot to fill Willow in on, since I talked to Miranda at work and told her all about the panic attack I had last night. Then about Miles asking me to hold out on signing a lease this morning. Neither Miranda nor Willow were shocked to hear he was already bringing up us living together. The only thing they did find surprising was that he didn’t tell me I should just move in now.
“I’ll get it,” I tell Winter when there’s a knock at the door, but before I can even set down the tongs in my hand, the door opens, and Dayton walks in. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Miles’s brother who lives in Colorado, and I had no idea he was planning on visiting.