Sins (Vance Davis Dossier #2) (7 page)

“Hey, Jeff. I have a couple of things I need you to look up for me,” Vance said.

“Hello to you, too. I’m fine. How are you?”

“You’re such a girl.”

“Whatever, Batman,” Jeff countered.

“Don’t call me Batman.” Vance had no idea how he’d been straddled with the nickname, but he hated it. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“Only because I’m the better person. Whatchya got for me?”

“First, I need to track down info on a couple of kids. The oldest is Valentine Finegan, she’s about 15. I pulled her out of a trafficking situation yesterday.”

“She okay?”

“Yeah. Surprisingly so,” Vance answered. “I placed her with Jessie for the time being.”

“How did you extract her?”

“Bought her for the night and ran.”

“Her pimp won’t be happy about that,” Jeff commented.

“Yeah, I’m going to pay the piper now. That’s the second thing—but we’re not through with the first. Valentine has siblings; I promised to track them down. Said I’d just check on them but wouldn’t make contact.”

“Got it. What are their names?”

Vance let off the accelerator a bit and set the cruise control as he answered. There was no sense getting a speeding ticket at this point in the night. “Lily, Jasper, and Charlotte—goes by Charlie. Mom’s Adelaide. The only other thing I know about them is they’re probably somewhere in Oklahoma.”

“I’ll see what I can turn up. Is that it on the first thing?”

“Yeah, so the guy I bought Valentine from answers to another guy that goes by the name Little Z. Turns out he already took out Beastly Modeling by killing its proprietor before we could link it to him.”

“Small world.”

“Very. So, please tell me you have some sort of file on this Little Z character. I haven’t slept in two days and I’ve spent the better part of this one in my truck. I just want to throw his ass in jail so I can go home and get some sleep.”

“You sound tired, my friend,” Jeff observed softly.

“I am, thus the desire for sleep.”

Jeff chuckled, letting Vance’s bad mood roll off him. “No, I mean, you sound like you’re running out of steam. Maybe it’s time for you to pass the baton to someone else, to learn to help in different ways.”

“I don’t know if I know how to stop,” Vance admitted. “There’s always another girl, and she deserves my help as much as the last one.”

“Just something to think about, man.” Jeff let it go at that. “So, Little Z. Let’s see what we know about him…Um, wow. I think you’ve stumbled into something bigger than you realized with this one. He’s part of a web that runs girls out of Oklahoma City. They use the trucking corridors to spread them cross-country. We got a tip from the Truckers Against Trafficking hotline that has us looking into a truck stop in OK City that might double as a meat market.”

“Valentine came from Oklahoma. I wonder if she was part of that ring,” Vance mused. “And why is it always something bigger? Why can I never just put one in jail and be done?”

“The nature of the beast,” Jeff answered the second question before addressing the first. “If she could tell you anything about it, it would be helpful.”

“I’ll call Jessie next. See if Valentine said anything. Maybe she can give me enough to know what I’m looking for with Little Z. Either way, I’ll see what information I can get out of him. I’m putting a tracker in my shoe. If it goes too close to the river, maybe send in some help.”

“Remember, if you kill him, we can’t use him to build a case against the next link in the chain.”

“Given my plan, I’m more worried about him killing me.” Vance hung up the phone before Jeff could talk him out of anything.

EVERY PART OF VANCE HURT.
He was on his knees, his hands bound behind his back. It would have been infinitely more enjoyable to be the one doing the beating, but he’d come to learn that being on the receiving end was far more effective at loosening lips. So when he’d stumbled into the little diner on 7th and let it “slip” that he’d left Valentine for dead, he’d swiftly found himself right where he wanted to be—carried off by Little Z’s goons to mete out the kind of justice he’d have delivered once upon a time.

When their point had been made, they loaded Vance into a van and drove him to a spot along the river—not unlike his favorite dumping ground in the day—and rolled him out of the van before roaring off. Through swollen eyelids, he could make out the moonlight on the muddy shore. They’d left him in a remote enough spot that if Jeff wasn’t making good on his promise to track Vance, the information he’d gleaned would be worthless.

Some part of Vance wanted to drift into the oblivion that was beckoning, that piece of him that was tired of fighting. He’d done his part. He’d done all he could to atone for his sins, and it was never enough. He was tired of trying.

Somewhere in his mind’s eye, he could see Jessie walking towards him just as she’d done years ago. He imagined her leaning down, a kind smile reassuring him it would be okay, encouraging him to get up out of the mud and the muck. It was the memory of her that spurred him to shake off the siren song of sleep, to dig deep within himself to find the will to struggle to his feet.

When he’d won the battle to be upright, Vance allowed himself a moment to catch his breath and orient himself before stumbling back to the pavement. It was a lonely road this time of night. He wasn’t sure how long he tripped along the blacktop before a car came his way. Any hope he had that they were there to save him was dashed when they honked and threw a beer can at him on their way by.

Eventually, he managed to make it back to civilization, though he applied the term loosely. It was a terrible neighborhood. He didn’t care, though. He sat at an abandoned bus stop, resting his head against the graffitied shelter. Even his ghost-Jessie couldn’t coax him to go further. He wondered what would be so terribly wrong with allowing himself to drift into another world. Maybe Harmony would be there, waiting for him.

“Vance?” A familiar voice broke through the haze; a face peered closely at him.

Vance groaned and tried to crack open one eye.

“What the hell happened to you? You look terrible.”

“Working,” Vance croaked, finally recognizing Otis.

“You have a terrible job.”

Vance began a chuckle but ended with a wince.

“Come on.” Otis began to lift Vance to his feet. “Let’s get you back to my place.”

Vance shook his head, sandbagging Otis. “No. Can’t go to your place.”

“It’s humble, but it’s better than here.” Otis misunderstood.

“I have a tracker in my shoe,” Vance explained.

“We could leave your shoe.”

“I like my shoe. I’ll be fine.” Vance batted away the help.

Otis stood back and regarded him a moment before giving in and sitting down next to Vance. “I’m not leaving you alone like this.”

“Help is coming.”

“How do you know?”

Vance didn’t, not really. “Because Jeff won’t let me down.”

“Who’s Jeff?” Otis asked.

“A fed I work with. He knew where I was going tonight. He’ll send help.”

“He knew you were going to end up like this?”

“Not so much, no.”

It was silent a moment before Otis tried again. “And you’re sure you won’t let me take you someplace safe?”

“What are you doing out here so late?” Vance answered with a question of his own.

“Trying to round Emmett up. Susie was worried when he didn’t show up at the camp tonight.”

“He’s in with a bad crowd, isn’t he?”

Otis merely scratched his chin and nodded.

“He’s not going to let me help him, is he?” Vance knew the answer before he posed the question.

“Nah. Susie might have, but she won’t leave Emmett, and he’ll never leave these streets.”

Vance sighed heavily, allowing his eyes to sink closed again. The blackness tugged him closer. “I’m so tired of fighting a losing battle.”

“No one asked you to win the war all by yourself, son.” Otis reached out and patted Vance’s knee. “You rest now if you need to. I’ll keep watch ‘til that help of yours arrives.”

***

Vance could feel the light before he saw it. It seemed so harsh, breaking through his cracked eyelids. He squeezed his eyes tighter shut. He knew, before he even registered what the voices around him were saying, that he was in a hospital yet again. He was getting really sick of hospitals.

“Where’s Otis?” he whispered.

“What’s that, Mr. Davis?” A nurse leaned closer to him.

“The homeless man who helped me. Where is he?”

“I don’t know, sir. You were brought in by ambulance. They received a 9-1-1 call directing them to your location. There was nobody with you when they arrived.”

Vance struggled to sit up, determined to find Otis.

“Lie still, Mr. Davis. I’ll see if I can find your friend.”

“Thanks,” Vance sighed, settling back before realization struck him and he tried to sit up again. “My watch. Where’s my watch?”

“You’re still wearing your watch,” she told him.

“Okay. Good. Don’t let them take my watch.”

“I promise. I’ll keep your watch safe.” Her voice was lyrical, soothing.

With that, he let the darkness stake its claim once more.

***

There were two full seconds of peace before reality settled in and Vance remembered he was in the hospital and that every single part of him hurt. He licked his lips, wishing for a drink of water.

“Hey, look who returned to the land of the living.” It was Jeff’s voice that greeted him, surprising Vance.

“Are you lost?” Vance’s voice cracked. He really needed that drink.

“Yeah, I don’t usually stop in the flyover states,” Jeff admitted. “Although your nurse is cute. I might have been missing something.”

“All the girls in DC have your number, don’t they? You’re just looking for new hunting grounds.” Vance shifted positions to see if there was a drink on his table.

“You know I’m not like that anymore.” Jeff must have surmised what Vance was looking for because he materialized at his bedside with a cup of ice chips. “They said you should try ice before drinking. Want some?”

“If you’re so reformed, how did you notice my nurse was cute?”

“I’m reformed, not dead. Now do you want this or do you want to keep harassing me?” Jeff held out a spoonful of ice, which Vance gratefully accepted. He closed his eyes, relishing the melting liquid on his tongue. The instant he swallowed, the dryness was back and he wanted more. It took three more spoonsful for the humor of the situation to hit him.

He cracked a small grin. “I can’t say I ever pictured you spoon feeding me ice chips, Jeff.”

“I can’t say I ever pictured you letting me.”

“Maybe it’s the kinder, gentler me,” Vance suggested.

“Did you meet a woman?” Jeff leaned his forearms on the bed railing and regarded Vance.

“Not like you think. No, maybe I’m just getting old.”

“You’re 29.”

Vance rubbed his neck with his free arm. “I feel older.”

“Maybe it’s because you keep getting the crap kicked out of you.”

“Job hazard.”

Jeff chuckled. “We’re coworkers, and I’ve yet to be beaten so badly I needed to go to the hospital. What is this, your second or third time?”

Vance wasn’t sure he wanted to answer that. “Must be my winning personality.”

“Or your death wish.”

“It’s not a death wish,” Vance answered before thinking. When the truth began to settle over him, he wasn’t so sure he liked it.

“Listen, Vance. I have something I’ve got to tell you. Are you ready for it? I mean, I was going to wait until you were better, but…”

“What?” Vance cut him off, suddenly very afraid of what Jeff would say. Had somebody found Valentine? Was she okay? Was Jessie okay?”

“It’s Valentine…” Jeff began, pausing as if unsure how to continue.

Vance felt like somebody was slamming a fist into his chest all over again. “What happened?”

“No, no, she’s okay,” Jeff rushed to explain. “It’s just that I dug up who she is, like you asked me to. Vance, she’s your sister. Your half-sister, anyway. Her, her sisters, her brother—they’re your half siblings.”

Vance blinked, slowly, painfully, trying to process what Jeff had told him. “My dad got out of prison?”

“For a little while.” Jeff’s chin dipped in a half-nod. “He’s back in now, for life this time. Adelaide, Valentine’s mom, she was raising the kids in a tiny trailer in a park near Tulsa. Nobody’s seen or heard from her in a while, though. The neighbors finally complained because the dog was barking so much. Child services took the kids two days ago. They’d been living there alone since Valentine was taken.”

Vance was sure he had to be watching somebody else’s life. Or maybe Jeff had just gotten it wrong. There was some crazy typo somewhere. Vance Davis didn’t have a family; he was alone. That’s the way it had always been. Sometimes he’d find himself on the outer edges of an adopted family of sorts, but always on the fringes, and it was never really his. Like a gust of wind crashing over him in a storm, he knew what he had to do.

“I want them.” His quiet words sounded like they came from someone else.

“Excuse me?” Jeff leaned closer, certain he’d heard incorrectly.

“I want them. What do I have to do to take them in?”

“Vance, you’re the closest thing this world has to a real superhero. Hell, that’s why Jessie started calling you Batman behind your back…”

“Jessie started that?” Vance scowled.

“But Vance, I don’t think a court will give you those kids right now.”

“I’m their family. You just said so.”

“Family who keeps ending up in the hospital because you’ve been beat to a pulp. Family with a slew of traffickers after you. Family with no roots, no ties to anything or anywhere. Where will you raise them, Vance?
How
will you raise them?”

“You and I both know what happens to kids in the system, Jeff. I won’t let that be their fate.”

Jeff leaned back, quietly regarding the stubborn set to Vance’s jaw. Time suspended, hanging on the silence between them. At long last, Jeff sighed heavily, his face relenting. “All right. I’ll help you. I don’t know how you’re going to pull it off, but I’ll help you.”