“Oh,” he said, softly. “That’s. Good.” He ducked his head back over his plate, cheeks tinging pink.
She’d embarrassed him, and that was adorable. But things felt too heavy, too fast.
She picked her fork back up and said, “So what was the emergency earlier?”
He nodded, swallowed, and looked up with obvious relief at the change of subject. Then his brow furrowed. He twirled pasta onto his fork. “Another girl went missing. The first girl’s best friend.”
“Shit,” she said, with feeling.
He nodded. “This one we got on traffic cam: some guy went into the shop where she worked, said something to make her come outside with him, and then he wrestled her into a van and took off with her.”
Her bite of food fell like lead into her stomach. “Right in broad daylight?”
“Yeah. In the middle of downtown.”
“Jesus. And nobody saw anything? Nobody called the police?”
“The shop owner gave us a good description of the guy, and we chased a few more leads today, but so far, we don’t have enough to pin down a suspect.”
“Did the friend know too much? Why her? Why – why any of it? Is this a serial killer?” The idea sent a hard shudder through her, one that Carter noticed.
He laid a hand on the table between them, not close enough to touch her – he would have had to lean forward for that – but it was obviously meant as a gesture of reassurance. He tilted his head, and she had the sense he chose his words carefully – trying to be honest without frightening her, she thought. “Eden – that’s Fox’s old lady – says this is looking like what happened in Texas a few months ago. She thinks the girls aren’t being killed – that they’re being trafficked.”
“Jesus,” she said again, and this time her pulse wasn’t leaping because of his cute face. “But why would – hold on. Why would Knoxville high school girls get snatched?”
He shrugged. “Why not? They’re just looking for pretty girls they can get lots of money for. And, if this is the same guy who was doing it in Texas, then he’s got a mad hard-on for the Dogs for some reason.”
“Oh. Well. That’s comforting.”
He winced. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to scare you.”
“No, it’s – it’s good to know. That there’s human traffickers in Knoxville, shit.” She shook her head, and attempted a smile. “Thankfully, I’m not a hot, young high school student.”
Carter didn’t look amused.
“Not exactly the target demographic,” she tried again.
But his frown only deepened. “I want you to be careful,” he said. “Keep a lookout for anything weird. Don’t go anywhere with anyone you don’t know.”
“I won’t. I’m always careful.”
But he didn’t seem to hear her, gaze going distant and glassy as he stared at her. He leaned back, braced his hands on the edge of the table. “Shit. Shit, shit,shit…”
“Carter…”
“No, it’s – Candy’s wife, Michelle. She and Axelle. They got snatched in Amarillo. The guy – his name is Luis – had them chained up and shit.” His face had paled, and his next breath shivered. “They managed to get loose, and then Candy and the guys found them. Luis got away. The girls were safe, but – what if they hadn’t been? What if Luis had moved them out of town? Trucked them off somewhere? He won’t make the same mistake again. But there’s no reason hewouldn’ttry to hurt another old lady.”
Leah took another long sip of wine – what the hell, she drained the glass, and got up to get more. She brought the bottle back to the table with her, and found Carter with his forehead in one hand, staring unseeing at his plate.
She refilled her glass and said, “So, this is fun.”
“I’m sorry.” He wiped his hand down his face and sat up. Shook his head, blinked his vision clear. “It just hit me: I’ve been thinking about all the girls that could be in danger, but the women attached to the club are in danger, too. I…” His gaze landed on her face, and he trailed off. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, and her stomach tightened unpleasantly. “We haven’t. If you don’t want–”
“Carter.” She aimed the neck of the bottle at him, and he fell silent. “Ava’s my best friend. I’m at her or Maggie’s all the time. I’m already attached to the club.”
Sadness deepened the sun lines around his eyes and mouth. “Yeah,” he said, softly. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Or…”
There were worse things than being hurt, she knew, and he didn’t say. Silence fell heavily between them.
