“What the fucking hell is going on?” I asked, weaving though traffic.
“Good ol’ Debbie and Ray were blackmailing the judge to get custody of Q. Federal offense. Cops assume they were going to try to use him to extort money from me.”
“Oh, fuck!”
“Anonymous blonde dropped off a box full of evidence last night. Pictures, recorded conversations—you name it, the cops have it. Ray and Debbie are going to prison.”
I was vaguely aware that Till kept talking because I instinctually held the phone to my ear, but my mind was stuck on two words: anonymous blonde.
I knew.
I fucking knew.
“I’m a good person. I’ll prove that.”
Suddenly, an all-too-familiar pain settled in my gut.
“You’ll never have to see this criminal again.”
“Oh God,” I breathed, dropping the phone into my lap.
“Ash Mabie!” I yelled at the detective, slamming my fist on the table.
“Chill. That’s not helping,” Till scolded from beside me.
“Neither is sitting here, answering seven million questions, when we could be out looking for her.” I turned my head back to the detective. “When you could be out looking for her.”
“Calm down, son. Her picture and the plates have been distributed to all the officers in the city. We really just need to figure out who this girl is. As far as we can tell, Mabie doesn’t even have a daughter.”
“Yes, he does! She’s not a fucking figment of my imagination.”
“And you’re sure this is her?” he said, pushing a grainy surveillance photo in front of me.
“Yes,” I snarled, shoving it away.
I didn’t need to look at that picture again. Once had been more than enough. I didn’t need to see her usually bright eyes absent of all emotion or the way her confident shoulders rounded forward in defeat. But what killed me the most was that pain-filled grimace that didn’t deserve to be anywhere near her beautiful face. However, even with all of that . . . it was still Ash.
“Get Mabie’s ass in here,” I barked.
“He’s asked for an attorney. It’s going to take a little while before we can get in there to find out who she really is.”
“I swear to fucking God . . . I just told you who the fuck she is. Now, get up off your ass and find her! She’s only sixteen. She can’t be running the streets alone.” I huffed out a hard breath as my anger momentarily slipped, revealing the true anxiety. “Please. I’m begging you.”
I had never exactly been an optimist, so my mind began to spiral out of control with scenarios—none of which brought her back to me.
I dropped my head into my hands as I tried to get myself under control, but I couldn’t even catch my fucking breath.
“Can you give us a minute?” Till asked the officer when I began to break down.
“Sure. And you guys can head out whenever. I’ll give you a call with any information we receive.”
“Thanks,” Till replied.
But I kept my head buried in my hands.
With a loud sigh, he squatted down in front of me and grabbed the back of my neck. “All right. Let’s pull it together. You’re the logical one, remember? I’m the emotional one.” He tried to lighten the mood, but it was useless. My mind was trapped in the dark and vicious pits of worry.
“You don’t understand. She’s . . . different than we are, Till. She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met, but she’s so fucking na?ve. And now . . . she’s out there alone. She’ll trust damn near everyone she comes in contact with. If something happens to her—”
He quickly interrupted me. “Nothing is going to happen to her.”
“Please help me . . . I don’t deserve it, but please,” I began to plead. I was looking at my brother, but my words were aimed at each and every greater force in the universe that could possibly exist.
“You love her?” he asked, temporarily snapping me out of my downward spiral.
“She’s sixteen. At this point, I’m just—”
He interrupted me again. “I didn’t ask how old she was. I asked if you love her.”
“I’ve only known her a month,” I answered.
Only Till didn’t think it was an answer at all. “Again, not what I asked.”
Was I in love with Ash Mabie? I could have sat there for a decade and never given an adequate answer.
“I don’t honestly know. I think I’m a little fucked up in the whole love department.” I shook my head at my own assessment.
“You mean because you think you’re in love with Eliza?”
Oh. God.
My eyes jumped to his then, just as quickly, bounced away.
“Uh . . .” I stalled nervously. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I’m not stupid, Flint. I’ve always known you had a thing for her.”
Fuck. Shit. Damn. Multiplied by infinity.