Wanting (5 page)

“
Sherry has a tendency to
exaggerate, but this surprises me.”

“
Do you think she knows
more than what she’s said?” Carrie pulled one leg up and tucked it
beneath her knee before grabbing her copy of the file and making a
quick scan of what he’d compiled of Sherry.

“
No. She was genuinely
worried for Ashleigh.” That was something Sebastian could be
absolutely certain of. Sherry loved her daughter. So why would she
be lying?

“
Yeah. Now that she’s been
missing for a week. Why did she wait so long to contact
you?”

“
She said she was hoping
the police would find her or Ashleigh would come home on her own.”
Sebastian didn’t condone it, but he’d seen and understood why some
parents would want to hide their heads in the proverbial sand when
it came to missing children.

“
Many runaways do. But
Ashleigh doesn’t seem to be the typical runaway.” Carrie drummed
her pen against her file. Her eyes narrowed and he could almost see
her mind working as she thought. She fascinated him. In so many
ways.

“
She feels safer in the
same city as her father, so I doubt the stressor has anything to do
with him. Should we tell him she’s been spotted here?”

“
I have a feeling he’s
ready to hit the streets looking for her himself.” Sebastian rocked
back on his heels as he thought. “That could be good or bad,
depending on why she’s run.”

“
If she wants to be safe,
why not contact her father? He’s right here. And we know she’s
relatively close to him considering how far apart they live.
Despite what her mother told you about minimal contact.”

“
Something is stopping
her. Something she’s afraid of. And did Sherry know she was in
contact with her father? I’m not so sure.” Sebastian wanted to give
his friend the benefit of the doubt, but evidence was multiplying
for that doubt.

“
We need to get out there
looking. Are we going to tell Cavanaugh?”

“
Not until we confirm she
is here. Come on.”

***

Carrie tried to understand
it but failed miserably. What type of mother would lie to the
police if it meant threatening her child’s safety? Was there ever
any justification for that? She was rapidly forming an opinion of
Sebastian’s friend, and it wasn’t a flattering one. Carrie opened
photo editing software she’d designed a few years earlier and
imported Ashleigh’s photograph. “The clerk said Ashleigh has cut
off her hair. She’s probably no longer wearing any earrings or
jewelry. Probably pawned or traded them.” Carrie adjusted the
picture to reflect the changes. “She’s probably changed into more
masculine, non-descript clothing. That’s good. Smart. Shows she’s
thinking of survival.”

“
Why? How?” Sebastian sank
onto the bed beside her, peering over her shoulder at the image on
the screen.

Carrie’s mind flashed back
to her first frightening days on the streets of Houston. “Because
she’s smart. Boys are slightly less vulnerable. Paige did it for
years. At first I thought she was a boy. Her hair was an inch long
and her clothes bagged on her. Hid what little figure she had. She
looked like a boy, and acted like one you didn’t want to mess
with.”

Paige had been so tough, so
protective back then. Carrie knew she’d been lucky to find the
other girl. Ashleigh probably wouldn’t be so lucky.

“
Did you? Become a
boy?”

“
No. I was too
well-developed at fifteen. I never would have managed it.” Carrie
looked over her shoulder at him in time to catch a quick glance of
appreciation in his green eyes. Her cheeks warmed. He liked how
well developed she was. His eyes told her so. She looked away. “We
should get out there before this second storm hits. Start asking
questions. Find her.”

“
Yes. I’ll be ready in
fifteen minutes. I need to make a phone call.”

***

“
You ready?” Sebastian
threw the SUV into park and killed the engine.

“
This city has a crime rate
worse than the national average, and is one of the worst five
percent of cities in the state.”

“
I don’t want us getting
separated out here.” She’d be too much of a target. She was young,
looked even younger, and beautiful. She’d attract notice, and not
all of it good. “Zip up your sweatshirt; the rain is cold,
too.”

She complied, then gave him
the once over. “You may want to loosen a few of those buttons, mess
up the hair a bit. You look too...clean and neat...to be out here.
Too perfect.”

She looked around for a
moment. “I’ve been here before, I think. About ten years ago, I
think. Paige and I stayed here for a weekend before heading up to
Chicago. It wasn’t a nice town back then, either. At least, not
where we were. Indiana was nicer. We stayed in Indianapolis for a
few months, even. We left Gary, Indiana really quick,
though.”

Sebastian did the math—she
would have been sixteen then.

“
So how are we going to do
this?” She tightened the straps of her backpack and pulled her
sweatshirt over the holster at her side. Sebastian did the same,
hiding his most visible weapon. He carried several others that no
one ever saw.

“
As low key as possible. I
don’t want to stand out as law enforcement.” He led the way out of
the parking garage and to street level. Her shoulder bumped his;
her no-nonsense long-legged stride easily matched his. “You know
these kids, Carrie, what will make them talk to us the
fastest?”

“
Trust. Make eye contact,
but don’t stare. Don’t be derisive or condescending. For many of
these kids this life is better than what they’ve left behind.
They’ll take pride that they’ve made the decision and taken control
of their lives—even if they secretly feel out of control. Don’t act
as if their appearances offend you, despite the smell. And they
will smell. It’s hard to stay clean out in this world.” Carrie
pressed the button for the crosswalk. She turned to him, a flat
expression on her face. One of remembrance. Of pain. “Most of all,
don’t ask personal questions or get in their space. They’ll run
then. And we’ll lose any credibility.”

“
Is that what it was like
for you? Did you get hassled a lot?”

“
Nearly every day. We kept
moving, to keep under the radar. Paige...Paige was obsessed with
avoiding the cops, social services. We would do what we had to in
order to get money. We’d use that money to get to another city. I
don’t think we spent more than a month in any one place those first
two years.”

She was quiet for a few
moments. “These kids probably won’t be like that. Not for the most
part. We’ll have a few who are more transient, for whatever reason.
They’ll be the hardest to talk to and probably the least helpful.
Paige and I used to call them the nomads. They keep heads down,
hands off, and stay to self. We used to be like them. They don’t do
anything to get noticed.”

“
Yet these are the ones
we’re looking for?”

“
Not necessarily.” They
stopped, waited for another crosswalk. “We’re looking for anyone
who may have spoken with her. It could be anyone, at this
point.”

Sebastian scanned the
people on the block around them—two hookers too young to buy
alcohol, a small group of homeboys undoubtedly looking to score, a
man slumped against a door. Any of these people could have
interacted with Ashleigh. They’d just have to talk to the right
one.

The rain increased, giving
the concrete around them a hot, wet, sticky feel. It was the worst
part of the city, and Sebastian could feel eyes on them—on his
companion.

He wrapped a hand around
her elbow and pulled her more within his reach. “Just stay close,
ok?”

“
I’ve been out here before.
Both as a child and an agent. At least, these types of places.”
Annoyance was clear in her words.

“
Yeah, but never with me.
And you don’t look like a federal agent right now.”

“
What do I look like then?”
The challenge in her tone had him suppressing a smile. He’d
insulted her, then.

He looked her over, taking
in her feminine build, the red curls that the streetlight seemed
drawn to, the soft skin, and the mouth made for sin. She looked
feminine and hot and even a bit vulnerable. “You look like a
target.”

She stiffened and he knew
immediately he’d said the exact wrong thing. “That’s one thing I
won’t ever be again. Keep up, Agent Lorcan. We’ve got work to
do.”

She stalked ahead of him
and Sebastian let her. She’d been through the same training at
Quantico that he had; she should be able to take care of herself
out here. If she couldn’t, he’d be questioning why. With her and
with her superior. He straightened his jacket over his weapon once
more and pulled the photograph of Ashleigh from his pocket, shoving
the thoughts of his companion aside for when he was back in his
hotel room, alone.

Then he’d be free to
unleash every thought he had about Carrie Sparks...and all the
possibilities.

Chapter 8

*****

She’d never been this
hungry before. She’s used the last of her money earlier to buy a
day-old doughnut and a pint of milk. It hadn’t lasted long. Now she
was hungry and wet and tired. And afraid. She’d never been this
afraid.

The flood waters were
continuing to rise and she knew it would be only a few more hours
before she’d have to leave the construction site where she’d slept
the night before. She didn’t want to drown, although it might be
easier if she did. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about anything
anymore.

She wrapped her arms around
her knees as rain water sluiced over the soles of her tennis shoes.
Her jeans were soaked and muddy. She stunk, despite doing her best
to wash up in the McDonalds bathroom. She only had one other change
of clothes and those were just as wet. She’d washed them out in the
bathroom sink, then carried them back to her hiding place. As long
as it was raining, the clothes would never dry. Not that it
mattered; the clothes were probably always going to be as dirty as
she was.

She pulled the thin blanket
she’d brought with her, just a piece of fleece she’d bought on sale
at the drugstore near her mother’s house. It had dogs on it, black
and white puppies on a red background. It was so normal, so
bright.

It was all she had. Her
fingers twisted into the material and she sobbed.

Chapter 9

*****

Kevin had two photographs
of her. One was a second grade yearbook photo he’d found by chance,
the other was a black and white newspaper clipping taken the one
time he’d met her.

His little girl.

He had four others, all
younger. All with his deceased wife. They all knew he loved them.
Caroline didn’t have that reassurance.

But he did love her, had
from the moment he’d learned she existed. He loved her enough that
he would do whatever he had to do to see that no one hurt her ever
again.

He opened the desk drawer
and pulled his service weapon out. Thirty-five years on the force,
and only one smear on his record—a smear only he and one other knew
about.

And now that one other
threatened one of his children.

It didn’t matter that he’d
never been a part of Caroline’s life. She was still his
child.

He’d find her, before
Minton Rush could, and he’d do what he had to in order to keep her
safe. It was his responsibility; he was her—

“
Daddy?”

He dropped the gun and the
photos back into the desk drawer and turned to the pretty
girl—woman, now—standing in the study door. “Yes, baby?”

“
Dinner’s ready. I’ve made
pot roast.”

“
Thanks, Melody. Are your
sisters home, too?”

“
All of us are.” She
smiled at him, the expression of warmth hitting her hazel eyes. It
had been her kindergarten yearbook where he’d found his oldest
daughter’s photograph.

They’d favored one another,
his Melody and the sister she knew nothing about. Caroline’s hair
was more red, her eyes more golden than hazel. But he’d known
looking at that tiny one inch photo that she was his daughter. He’d
give anything to see Caroline sitting at his dining room table with
his four younger daughters. “My lucky day, then. I’ll be there in a
minute. And Mel, there is something I need to talk to you girls
about.”

Chapter 10

*****

“
Why are you askin’?” The
kid couldn’t have been more than thirteen, but the life he lived
shown in his eyes. “He do somethin’?”

“
Just trying to help.”
Sebastian didn’t reveal the fact that Ashleigh was hiding her
gender. It would be safer for the girl if that fact was not well
known. They’d been questioning people on the street for close to
three hours, and none had seen Ashleigh—or were willing to say.
Until this kid. “Have you seen Lee around lately?”

“
Naw. And it was just that
one time this afternoon. Homeless shelter. Shitty food, man, but
hell, it’s food. And it was dry. These rains are killers.”
Sebastian suspected the kid had seen far less of his share of food
than he should have.