Wanting (19 page)

He hadn’t been able to put
his finger on why that was so important to him, but he knew it was.
She was just that important.

He fought the urge to touch
her as they grabbed their breakfast. They weren’t the only PAVAD
agents in the coffee shop two blocks from the main building. Half
of Sebastian’s team was grabbing muffins and lattes, as was most of
McLaughlin’s team. Only Al and Paige were missing from his team,
and he knew why. They were guarding Ashleigh.

Sebastian knew he and
Carrie had drawn eyebrows when they’d entered. Fin—the friend
responsible for Sebastian’s getting into PAVAD in the first
place—was the only one to approach them. “Hey, Sparks. Lorcan.
Heard you’ve had an exciting few days.”

“
Something like that.”
Sebastian handed the woman behind the counter enough cash to cover
his and Carrie’s purchases. He wasn’t blind to Fin’s knowing look,
either. “We’re on our way in now to take over the questioning for
Hellbrook.”

“
Good luck with that. Seems
the girl’s mother went a bit ape-shit when Hellbrook pulled
Courtney in for questioning.” Fin’s voice lowered when Carrie
stepped toward a small table near the other teams. Sebastian
doubted Carrie heard Fin’s words. “And you should know. It’s all
over the division that she has been with you for three days. Lots
of speculation, if you get my drift. I figure you can weather any
storms, but I don’t want her blindsided.”

Sebastian figured as much.
People loved nothing more than to gossip, even federal agents.
“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll keep her close to me or have
Hellbrook do it. They won’t dare say anything to one of
us.”

“
They will say something to
her eventually. We both know it.”

“
Yes. But I’m beginning to
see that Carrie can handle herself just fine.”

Fin’s brows rose and he
smiled. “So she can handle you, then? It leans that
way?”

“
Neither confirming nor
denying, Fin. What’s between us is going to be entirely her
call.”

Chapter 45

*****

Dan pulled his vehicle to a
stop just outside the coffee shop a few blocks from the PAVAD
building. He slipped from the driver’s seat, just as a familiar
redhead stepped out the door. Carrie wasn’t alone. Sebastian Lorcan
stayed close at her side.

Dan didn’t understand it,
and he didn’t like it. Lorcan was one of those agents he couldn’t
figure out. He was slick, too slick for a naïve girl like Carrie.
Lorcan had seen a lot, it was in the man’s eyes. And he had that
dangerous air about him.

He did respect the way the
man had taken charge of his team and whipped it into shape quickly.
Lorcan had been assigned to a flailing team of agents and told to
use what he could and replace what he couldn’t, until he had a team
worthy of the CCU. Lorcan had fired six of his eight agents, then
pulled Alessandra Brockman and Paige from the almost defunct
Undercover Operations division, as well as recruiting a few agents
from around the country. Now his team ran nearly as well as
Hellbrook’s. Dan definitely had to respect that.

He might respect the man as
an agent, but he sure as hell didn’t want him sniffing around
Carrie.

He paused, debating whether
to catch up to his teammate or to continue into the restaurant for
breakfast. He took a moment to study the two of them as they walked
down the sidewalk. So they’d walked from the PAVAD building,
then.

Lorcan had his hand wrapped
around Carrie’s elbow. That surprised Dan. Carrie didn’t like to be
touched, yet she seemed completely oblivious to the man’s grip. She
was comfortable with Lorcan, then. Accustomed to his touch. What
did that mean?

Dan couldn’t help but
wonder if they’d slept together. Carrie didn’t need that kind of
trouble in her life. She was a good, sweet, kind kid. Sunlight to
Lorcan’s shadow. The two didn’t belong together, anyone could see
that.

Dan picked up speed as they
neared the curb. He didn’t know what he’d say to them, but it would
be nice to observe them in a situation outside of the one he’d seen
at Carrie’s apartment. Just reassure himself that Carrie was as
comfortable with Lorcan’s attention as she seemed.

He started to call her name
as she and Lorcan stepped off the curb at the crosswalk.

He didn’t get the chance.
An oncoming car had his attention jerking to the road forty feet
from where Carrie and Lorcan were walking.

Dan’s mind immediately
cataloged the car—dark blue sedan, approximately five years old,
tinted windows. The driver was most likely male, though Dan
couldn’t see him.

The car flew toward Carrie
and Lorcan, who were halfway through the intersection, and Dan
shouted. He ran toward them, hoping the eighty feet that separated
them was not too much to keep him from reaching them in time. He
shouted again.

The car squealed as it
barreled toward the couple. It sped up. Dan knew it was aiming
right for Carrie and Lorcan. Someone else shouted as he ran past
them as fast as his damned bad leg would let him. Was it him that
was still shouting?

Lorcan saw the car. The
younger man had turned at the sound of the shouting. Dan knew
Lorcan recognized him, knew Lorcan realized something was
wrong.

Lorcan threw out an arm,
catching Carrie around the waist. He pulled her with him as he
bolted for the safety of the curb.

The sedan narrowly missed
clipping them as it sped by and through the green traffic light
above. Lorcan shouted a curse at the driver, and someone behind Dan
screamed. It was just that damned close.

Dan waited for his heart to
stop pounding as he crossed the street after the damned sedan had
disappeared. It had been too close and for a moment he couldn’t
help wonder if the damned car had been aiming for Carrie and
Lorcan. Was it possible the driver had been the same person to
trash Carrie’s place? Why? He’d be checking in with the locals on
Carrie’s case.

Dan made a vow to keep a
closer eye on the girl. Just in case.

What would it hurt to be a
little extra vigilant?

Chapter 46

*****

Agent Al put a bowl of
cereal in front of Ashleigh. “Eat, kiddo. You’ve got a big day
ahead of you.”

“
I do?”

“
Yep. We need to go back
down to the office and decide what happens next. With your mom and
stuff.”

Ashleigh didn’t want to see
her mom. Not yet; but she knew she’d have to. Sometime. Would her
mom be mad at her for what had happened? “I don’t want to see my
mom.”

“
Are you afraid to?” Agent
Al asked. “That’s perfectly ok, you know.”

“
Is it?”

“
Yes. And so is being angry
with her. Your father showed up last night. He’s waiting for you at
the FBI building. Do you want to see him?”

“
Daddy?” Ashleigh’s eyes
filled when she thought about him. She’d ran to him for help, had
even stayed in the neighborhood by his house for a few days. But
then she’d thought about what Elliot had said. He’d promised to
kill her dad if she told anyone what he’d done. So she’d run away
from her Dad’s, too. “He’s here?”

“
Yep. My teammate said he’s
been at the PAVAD building all night, and that he’s been extremely
worried about you. Do you want to see him?”

“
Yes. I want my dad. Can we
go now?”

Al’s eyes were nice when
she looked at Ashleigh. “We can. As soon as you eat a bit more.
I’ll call my boss and give him a heads up. He will be able to keep
your mom in another room when you get there. And someone can talk
to your mom for you, if you like.”

“
I just don’t want her to
hate me. She really liked Elliot...”

Agent Al grabbed Ashleigh’s
chin and lifted her face so that Ashleigh was looking right into
the woman’s blue eyes. Agent Al was the most beautiful woman
Ashleigh had ever seen—and she was so nice. “Listen to me,
Ashleigh. Your mom will not hate you. You did nothing wrong. Elliot
did. Period. He threatened you and your family and your friends
because of the things he chose to do. Not you. If your mom had
problems with that then she wouldn’t be a good mother. She’d be
unfit, and I don’t think that describes your mother at all, do
you?”

Ashleigh shook her head.
Her and her mom might have argued a lot lately—mostly since Elliot
came around—but her mom had always taken care of her.
“No...”

“
I didn’t think so. But
remember, it’s ok for you to be angry with your mom. It is. But
it’s not really her fault, either. She trusted the wrong man. She
made a mistake, too. Just give her some slack, if you can.
Ok?”

“
Ok.”

Ashleigh didn’t have
anything to say while they were driving to the FBI building. Agent
Al chatted about everything. Ashleigh had to smile at the woman’s
words several times.

Agent Al seemed so normal.
That had her frowning; would Ashleigh ever be normal
again?

She somehow didn’t think
so.

“
All the kids at school
will know what happened.”

“
Yes. Probably. It will
eventually make the news about Marco. We can try to keep your name
out of it. But someone could find it.”

“
I don’t want to go
back.”

“
That’s something you’ll
have to talk to your parents about. But don’t make any hasty
decisions, ok? You might just need to take some time to readjust.
You know what I mean? Or transfer to a different school, if you
can. But Ashleigh...you can’t always run from your problems. This
time it was the right thing to do—scary, dangerous, and incredibly
brave—and the right thing to do. Next time, running might not be.
And you don’t want to get in the habit of running from things, or
you’ll be running for the rest of your life. Give it some thought,
ok?”

Ashleigh nodded.

They were at the FBI
building within a few more minutes and Ashleigh started shivering
when she could see it in the distance. Why was the building so
scary?

Because Elliot was in
there.

Ashleigh did something
she’d not done since she was a little kid—she slipped her hand into
an adult’s and clung.

Agent Al pulled her closer.
“It’s ok. He will not hurt you ever again. I promise.”

Chapter 47

*****

No one said much as they
sat around the back tables in Smokey’s bar a few hours later.
Sebastian and Carrie had finished up the interview with Elliot
Courtney and the few other people he’d named locally, then headed
to Carrie’s apartment. He’d offered to let her stay with him for
another night or so, but she’d declined. He’d just been thankful
the crime scene clean-up team had managed to restore her place to
some order. Her furniture would have to be replaced, but the trash
and spoiled food was gone.

He’d easily sensed her
reluctance to be alone in the place and he’d decided spur of the
moment that a visit to Smokey’s was in order. She hadn’t protested,
just grabbed her bag and keys.

He kept a hand on her back
as they wove through the crowd toward the table where Fin and
several members of Carrie’s own team sat sharing a few pitchers of
beer and trays of nachos. Carrie slipped into the large booth next
to her teammate Compton. Sebastian followed her down, knowing she
wouldn’t want to sit next to the aisle. She never did and had told
him when they’d eaten breakfast yesterday in the Louisville diner
that she couldn’t stand the thought of strange waiters brushing
against her accidentally.

How much did the sensory
issues bother her? How many times were her quirks overlooked, by
him or by others? Had she just managed to develop so many coping
mechanisms that no one really ever noticed?

He scanned the bar’s
occupants, just like he always did, taking note of how many of the
PAVAD agents, including half his own team, were hanging around.
They sat in clusters talking and a handful was on the small dance
floor barely bigger than his own living room. He felt himself start
to relax. It was like so many other nights after work.

“
So are you all taking the
case and running with it?” Fin asked from across the table. “Or are
you passing it along to ICE?”

Immigration and Customs
Enforcement often handled human trafficking cases. Sebastian was
waiting on information from them first. “We’re waiting for word
from Ed Dennis. We’re on standby. I’d like to finish it out, but
ICE might have better resources. Or might already be aware of the
ring. Waiting and seeing.” One thing PAVAD was famous for already
was its complete lack of jurisdictional bickering with other
agents. Ed Dennis claimed that the need for good teams was
universal, and if another good team could handle a case that freed
up his people to work on others.

“
And your friend’s
daughter?”

“
Currently in a safe house
with both of her parents. They’re also in a wait and see. They’ll
be entering witness protection together.” Waiting and seeing and
trying not to kill each other. It wasn’t an ideal situation for
Sherry, Ashleigh, or Cavanaugh. But both parents had insisted on
being with their daughter, no matter what. Sebastian could
understand and appreciate that. He would do the same in their
position.