“So she sold her baby to the pimps? I don’t fucking believe it,” Forrester said.
“Come on, fucko. You know how the world works. It’s not all daisies and unicorns. There are some bad men in the world. Pure evil. The group Elle was sold to was called Los Lobos.”
“Los Lobos,” Forrester gasped, a flash of recognition in his voice.
“You heard of them?”
“I’ve heard of them,” Forrester said grimly.
“Then you’ll know that what I’m saying makes sense. Those men bought and sold women like they were cattle. They liked nothing more than to put a little girl into slavery in the sex trade.”
“How did Elle get away?”
“Well, that’s the funny thing. Just before they started forcing her to turn tricks, just before they turned her into an underage whore, the members of Los Lobos started to get murdered, one by one.”
Forrester nodded. He knew about that. It was his brother, Jackson, who’d killed the Los Lobos members to save his own girl, Faith, and their son, Sam. It turned out Jackson might have saved Elle from a fate even worse.
“So what’s all this got to do with me being in here?” Forrester said.
“Well, look at it from Elle’s point of view. She’s been abandoned or abused by everyone she’s ever known. She’s got serious trust issues. It’s a miracle she hasn’t gone crazy from all the shit she’s been through. She was brought up by a criminal gang who wanted to turn her into a child prostitute. Think about that for a second.”
Forrester did think about it. He was thinking that if any members of Los Lobos had ever escaped Jackson’s wrath, he’d have killed them himself. His only regret was that he knew they were all already dead.
“Now, think about this. The only man Elle’s ever been able to trust is me. I’m the only thing she’s known. We have a bit of a fight and she falls into bed with you. That’s understandable. I’m not going to hold that against her.”
“She’s done with you, pal,” Forrester said.
“Quit thinking about yourself, fucko. She thinks you’ve abandoned her. She thinks you lied to her. She thinks you’re no better than all of the other men in the world who wanted to abuse her and hurt her.”
“I haven’t abandoned her. I’m in here.”
“To her, it’s all the same. You know what the right thing is, fucko. I’m going to take my girl back, and bring her to the safety and security of the life she’s used to. You’ve broken her heart. Hopefully, that’s all the damage you’ll do to her. I’m here to tell you, when you get out of here, which won’t be any time soon, you stay the fuck away from her. For her sake, not mine. You do what’s best for her, in the delicate state she’s in, and you let her be. Let her get on with her life. You’ve done enough damage as it is.”
As if to punctuate his argument, Gris closed with another powerful punch into Forrester’s broken ribs. Then he left the cell and waved at the sheriff to lock it back down. Then he was gone.
And Forrester was left to think about what might be going on in Elle’s mind while he was trapped in there, powerless to do anything about it.
Chapter 29
Elle
ELLE WAITED AT THE DINER until long after everyone else had left. Kelly and Grace wanted to stay with her, but she’d insisted they leave. They were exhausted from the day’s work and needed to get some sleep. Plus, Kelly really had to get home to her kid brother and spend some time with him. He was pretty independent for his age but he still needed his sister. Elle couldn’t bring herself to leave, though. She was certain Forrester hadn’t abandoned her, and she was going to stick around and give him more time. Whatever had come up, she knew he had a reason for not showing.
She sat at the counter and sipped coffee until long past midnight. Every time a car drove by on the street she jumped to see if it was him. It never was. At about two in the morning, she started to doze off. When she realized she was falling asleep, she decided to call it a night.
She hadn’t cried since her pity fest with Grace and Kelly, and even though she was on the verge of tears now, she refused to cry again.
What did she have to cry about?
He was coming back for her. She knew he was.
She changed her shoes and put on the snow boots Kelly had lent her and her coat. Then she opened the door and let the freezing air rush in around her. It felt good. She stepped out into the parking lot. There was a slight gust blowing. She turned and looked up the street. She could see some headlights in the distance. She waited for the vehicle as it approached.
Then she saw that it was a pickup truck. As it got closer, she felt her heart begin to soar in relief and happiness, but at the last minute, it turned at the intersection and she saw that it wasn’t Forrester.