Wanting (15 page)

It was over.

Chapter 33

*****

Sebastian pulled the kid up
after she stopped struggling and wrapped her in the blanket Carrie
had ready. Even in the dim streetlights, he had no difficulty
seeing that it was the girl they sought.

“
Ashleigh, we’re not going
to hurt you. We just need to talk.” He kept his tone light and
soothing, knowing the girl wanted nothing more than to run from
them.

“
He means it. We’re not
going to make you go anywhere you don’t want to go. If you let us
help you.” Carrie had her arms around Ashleigh, keeping the girl
under control and giving comfort.

“
Don’t tell my mom,
please!”

Sebastian said nothing as
they led the girl around the alley and to the front of the
building. Paige and the counselor met them at the door. Calista had
a resolved expression on her face. “No questioning here. My kids
aren’t to see or hear others being interrogated. Not
here.”

Sebastian started to
protest but at the accepting expressions on Carrie and Paige’s
faces, he stopped. They knew this place and knew what was needed
for the future of the shelter. He couldn’t jeopardize it; not
knowing why Paige and Carrie were involved with the shelter. For
any reason. He wouldn’t do that to them. “Paige, get the car.
Carrie and I will wait here.” He tossed the keys to Paige, who
nabbed them out of the air and took off toward the parking garage
two blocks away.

He turned back to Ashleigh,
undecided what to do with her. Carrie was stroking the ragged
spikes that remained of Ashleigh’s once long blonde hair. The child
was crying softly, begging them not to take her home. Just what had
happened in Sherry’s house to make this little girl so
terrified?

He stepped in front of
Ashleigh and put his hands on her shoulders. Sebastian leaned down.
“Ashleigh, look at me. Do you know who I am?”

“
Y-y-yes. My mom’s friend
Bastian.”

“
That’s right. I’m your
mom’s friend. And yours. She asked me to find you and keep you
safe. Because she loves you.” Sebastian nodded to Carrie as she
brushed a hand down Ashleigh’s back. They both recognized the
truth—Ashleigh felt defeated and hopeless. She’d given
up.

But why? What had happened
to the girl to make her feel that way? Carrie continued to
half-rock the teenager until Paige pulled Sebastian’s Bureau-issue
SUV to a stop in front of them.

Ashleigh didn’t fight them
when they helped her into the backseat, but she wouldn’t let go of
Carrie. He waited until Carrie was in the back beside Ashleigh and
closed the door. He thanked the shelter attendant and climbed into
the passenger seat.

“
Where to, boss?” Paige
asked.

“
We aren’t taking her home.
Not yet. Not until we get some answers. Head to the
Bureau.”

“
Right away,
boss.”

Sebastian kept his body
turned toward the back of the vehicle. Carrie had her arms around
the girl, even though the middle seatbelt was fastened around
Ashleigh. She whispered soothing sounds to the little girl, and
Sebastian studied the way she interacted with Ashleigh. She was
open and warm and comforting, not the least bit reserved. Because
the girl was a runaway? Because Carrie identified with
her?

The contrast of how she was
with the girl compared to how she acted toward the people they
worked with intrigued him. Everything about her intrigued
him.

“
Sebastian, she’s cold,
and wet from the rain.” Carrie’s voice was soft, but he had no
difficulty hearing her words. “And frightened.”

“
Don’t call the cops,
please…”

“
Ashleigh, you are not in
trouble,” Sebastian said, keeping his tone firm, but reassuring.
“We’re just going to my office where we can talk. Figure out a way
for you to get back with your mom. Or your dad. Whatever you
want.”

“
I can’t go home.” Ashleigh
shook her head and pulled the blanket tighter around her
shoulders.

“
We’ll talk about that, I
promise.” And they would. Because there was no belligerence in the
girl’s tone, only sadness. She wanted to go home, but honestly felt
like she couldn’t. Why?

Because of a fight with her
mother? Problems at school? Something else? Sebastian wasn’t
stopping until he knew what had caused her to run in the first
place. And he wasn’t stopping until the girl was safe, with people
who loved her and could help her. Period.

Chapter 34

*****

Ashleigh knew it was over.
They were going to give her back to her mom and he would be there.
He’d kill her, just like he’d told her he would. She’d tried
telling him that what she saw didn’t matter, that she wouldn’t tell
anyone, anyway. But he hadn’t cared.

She could still feel the
pressure of his fingers as his nails dug into her arms. Could feel
the heat of his breath as he growled in her face. As he’d demanded
to know what she’d heard, what she’d seen.

He hadn’t believed her when
she’d lied and told him she’d seen nothing. He’d dragged her into
the basement and shoved her face into the block wall. Told her that
if she told anyone what he’d been doing, he’d kill her and hide her
body where no one would ever find it.

She believed him,
too.

He’d watched every move
she’d made for two weeks. Then he’d grabbed her one night when her
mom was working. She’d known what he was going to do, and she’d
fought as hard as she could.

She’d gotten lucky when
she’d hit him in his penis with her knee. She’d grabbed the bag
she’d had packed to spend the night with her best friend, and ran
out the door. She didn’t know what he’d told her mom. What her mom
believed.

She couldn’t go home. He
would kill her. But how was she supposed to make these people
understand without telling them what had happened?

Ashleigh didn’t
know.

Chapter 35

*****

They took Ashleigh into a
conference room fifty feet from Sebastian’s office and the bullpen
shared by the three teams of the CCU. Carrie got a can of soda and
a bag of potato chips out of the break room. Even if Ashleigh had
eaten at the shelter, food would offer some comfort. When you’d
been on the streets for any length of time, food became an
extremely desirable commodity.

Carrie would never forget
the feeling of true hunger. The pain and fear from knowing you just
might starve to death before your next birthday. Hopefully this
little girl hadn’t been out there long enough to learn that
feeling.

Ashleigh devoured the chips
and soda, just like Carrie suspected she would, while they waited
for Sebastian to join them. He’d stepped into his office to call
the girl’s parents. They hadn’t mentioned that to Ashleigh yet.
“There’s more where that came from. You don’t have to
rush.”

“
Thank you.”

Carrie sat down across from
the girl. She waited until Ashleigh’s eyes met hers. “I know what
it’s like out there.”

Ashleigh looked away,
pulling the blanket around herself even tighter. “I don’t know what
you mean.”

“
Yes, you do. I ran away
when I was fifteen. I lived on the streets of more than eighteen
cities along the Mississippi River. The day after I turned eighteen
I got my GED and enrolled in a university with a dorm room just so
I would have a roof over my head.”

“
Why?”

“
Why did you?”

Ashleigh looked back down
at the table. “I can’t tell.”

“
Yes, you can. We’re here
to help you.”

“
I can’t.”

“
If you can’t, then you
need to decide what has to happen next,” Sebastian said from just
inside the conference room door. How long had he been there? Carrie
studied the way his rain dampened clothes fit him, how the water
and the struggle with Ashleigh had disheveled his black hair. He
looked wild, untamed. More like Linux or another cat than the
professional federal agent she knew him to be. “Where do you want
to go, Ashleigh? You can’t stay on the streets; it’s not safe.
You’ve been lucky so far.”

“
I…I…I don’t
know.”

“
Maybe if you told us…”
Carrie let her voice trail off. Ashleigh wasn’t going to tell them
anytime soon. Why? Why had she said can’t instead of won’t? “Maybe
we can help. We are federal agents; we are trained to help people.
We are the good guys, you know?”

“
There are no good
guys.”

“
What makes you say that?”
Sebastian asked, pulling out a chair and straddling it. “We are
here to help. That’s why we were looking for you. Because we wanted
to help your mom. And you. But we can’t help you unless you give us
the information we need.”

“
Ashleigh, we need to know
why you ran away. If you tell us, we’ll help you. But only if you
tell us the truth.” Carrie drummed along the edge of the table.
Sebastian covered her fingers with his, his hand warm and strong
around hers. Carrie let him touch her, her concern more on the
little girl than on the touch of his skin against hers. “And you
need to tell us quick, before your mother or father get here.
Legally, they can take you home, unless we find cause that there is
abuse or danger in their presence.”

“
No!” Ashleigh started
rocking back in forth, in a pattern all too familiar to Carrie. How
many times had she tried to comfort herself in just that way
because there was no one else to offer the basics of
support?

Too many to
count.

Carrie dislodged
Sebastian’s warm hand and covered Ashleigh’s with hers. The girl’s
skin was still so cold. “Ashleigh, we’re here to help. But you need
to let us.”

Chapter 36

*****

She couldn’t go home. She
couldn’t. If she even thought about it, he would kill her. Or his
friends would. But how was she supposed to believe that these
people were trying to help? They didn’t know her. Not really. She
only vaguely remembered the man from the few times he’d been to her
house to see her mom. What would make him even care?

“
Why should I believe you?”
She couldn’t go to her dad’s, either. What if he hurt her dad
because of her? She couldn’t…

“
Because that’s our job.
That’s who we are. And because I helped build the Bright Star Haven
shelter and another. You’re not the first runaway I’ve helped. And
you won’t be the last,’’ the redheaded woman said.

Ashleigh wanted to believe
her; she sounded so sincere. But what if she was lying? Everybody
lied. Her mom had. Her dad had. She’d lied a thousand times since
leaving home. Why shouldn’t these people?

“
I don’t…”

“
Go on,” Bastian
said.

“
I don’t know what to
do.”

“
First…” The woman let go
of Ashleigh’s hand and leaned forward. “You tell us one thing. Do
you want to go home with your mom?”

The thought had Ashleigh’s
chest tightening to the point where she couldn’t breathe.
“No!”

“
Your dad?”

The band around her chest
loosened slightly. Wouldn’t that be great? To go home with her dad
and not have to worry about him again? “I guess.”

“
Ok. Your mom has custody,
so we have to take that into account. You’re going to have to tell
us something. Something we can use to help you,” the man said. “But
Ashleigh, you do not have to go home with either of them. But this
hinges on you being honest and upfront with Carrie—Agent Sparks—and
me. We’ll make you a deal—you tell us the truth, we’ll do the same
with you. Do you understand?”

What choice did she have?
If she kept it a secret, they’d send her home. He would kill her,
for sure. And maybe her mom, too. But how did she tell them?
“I…don’t know how…”

The man leaned closer.
“Would it be easier if I wasn’t in here? If another woman was
here?”

He had nice eyes. A funny
shade of green that reminded her of the grass just outside her
bedroom window. Was that why her mom liked him so much? He was very
hot, for an older guy. “I guess.”

He stood. “Ok. It’ll take a
minute. Carrie—you’ll stay with her? I’ll send someone else
in.”

“
Paige. Send
Paige.”

“
I’ll see if she’s still
around. Ashleigh, I’ll get you another soda if you need
it.”

Her stomach hurt too badly
to even think about drinking anything else. What if telling them
was wrong? What if he still hurt her? He was a cop, too. What if
these people were his friends and they hurt her? What if they hurt
her mom or dad?

Ashleigh didn’t have a clue
what to do. She wiped tears away with a corner of the blanket. The
man left and the door closed behind him.

Ashleigh looked at the
woman in front of her. She wasn’t very old and was very pretty. Her
hair was wavy and red. She didn’t look like an FBI agent or a cop.
She looked kind of cool. Her eyes were just as nice as Bastian’s.
The lady at the shelter had seemed to know her really well. “You
helped build the shelter?”