Nick made a face and removed his hands from her leg. “This again? I thought we decided Hope was making this up? Plus she’s run away again, right? I think this is more about her having an addiction to being on the street than anything else.”
“I’m worried about her. This feels wrong to me. I don’t know why. She’s a mess and a delinquent and she makes horrible choices, but something else is going on. I just don’t understand it.”
Nick scooted over and wrapped his arms around Ari’s shoulders. “I know you’re worried. It’s what makes you so good at your job. I have a feeling that Maria was in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone did a really horrible thing to her.”
Ari felt all the emotions of the day building up and she finally cracked, letting out an ugly sob. “It just sucks for them, you know? Half the time I hate them for doing such stupid things and then I realize they can’t help but do stupid things because no one teaches them any better.”
Nick took her face in his hands. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and gave her a sweet, soft kiss. “Then teach them. Teach them better.”
An idea flared and Ari nodded, letting it take hold. An idea to help these girls and to protect them from the dangers roaming around Glory City. She tilted her head, seeking affection from Nick and he gave it, pushing her back into the couch cushion and kissing her long and deep.
***
Nick left once Oliver got home, giving her the impression that Nick might have been babysitting just a bit. She wanted a boyfriend, not a babysitter which increasingly, he seemed to be. Sure, they made out a little bit, but it never went far enough and Ari felt increasingly frustrated. Her mind wandered constantly to her night with Davis and it was a signal she couldn’t ignore. She and Nick would have to talk soon.
“I’m going to bed,” she said, shortly after Oliver got home.
He was on his third bowl of cereal and held the spoon up in a small wave. “Night.”
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Ari settled under the covers. Reaching for her book, she stopped in surprise. On her dresser, next to the black lacquered box, sat her keys. She’d lost them during the fight the other night with Jace.
“Oliver,” she said, walking back into the living room. “Did you put these in my room?”
“Nope,” he said through a mouthful of cereal.
“Huh.”
“Where were they?”
“On my dresser,” she said. “Nick must have put them there and forgot to tell me.”
“Probably.”
Ari counted her keys on the way back to the room, noting they were all there. There was something different, though. A small silver square ornament hung with the rest of the keys. A sinking feeling hit her stomach and she laid the keys on the dresser, opening the box. Her fingers shook as she pulled out the piece of paper. Looking between the keychain and the paper, she realized the characters were the same.
The mystery guy—her mystery guy—had been there. Again.
Chapter 16
“Ms. Grant, do we really have to do this?”
Ari arranged the chairs in the room for the first night of her group. All of the females at her office had been informed that attendance was mandatory. That didn’t keep Devon and a couple of other girls from trying to get out of it. “Yes, you have to come. It’s a three-week class. Tonight is the intro, where we’ll just talk about it, but next week I have some guests coming in. I think you’ll like it.”
“Do we have to learn self-defense or something?” she whined. “I just got my nails done.”
Ari shook her head. “Boo hoo. Grab that stack of chairs and put them out.”
In the lobby, Rebecca had a sign-in sheet for the girls attending. They straggled in one by one, pushing the start time as close as possible. These girls never made anything easy.
Class started at 4:00 p.m., and at 4:05 Ari decided to begin. A couple of girls didn’t show, which wasn’t a surprise. Devon and Shanna were there as well as several girls who were close to graduating from the program. Ari had promised them if they came, she would dock two weeks from their time and suggest early release to her bosses. Two new girls on her caseload sat near the soda machine. Clarice and Nicole. Both experienced runaways. Hope was still unaccounted for, and Apprehension had no leads.
“All right, girls, let’s get started,” Ari said, pulling up her own chair. She’d arranged them in a circle so she could see all their faces and encourage discussion. It was a tough group. One of them could give her the finger and walk out at any moment.
“What’s this all about?” asked Shanna.
“As most of you know, we lost a girl last week. Maria Snow. I feel like maybe we could have done more to protect her and I don’t want the same to happen to you girls.”
“Whatever,” Devon muttered. “I can take care of myself.”
“I knew her. We were in school together,” Margaret said. “She died?”
“Yes,” Ari nodded.
Devon perked up. “What happened? Sounds like she was doing stupid stuff.”