Maren’s heart bumped. “She mentioned me?”
“She did. She said you were her only family, and she didn’t want to drag you into her mess. She didn’t trust that you wouldn’t—” He clamped his lips together, cutting off the rest of his words.
Maren stepped forward and Haven kept pace.
Vinnie’s eyes grew round as he noticed the dog. He scrambled back to the wall underneath the bunk. “Are you going to hurt me?”
Taking a breath to control her upset, Maren crouched down and gestured for Haven to lie on the floor next to her. “We are not here to hurt you. But I need you to tell me everything you know about my sister. I have to find her.”
Vinnie shook his head. “She drowned. She’s dead. Nobody can hurt her anymore.”
Rage at the thought of someone hurting her sister thrummed through her blood. “Who would hurt her?”
Vinnie shook his head. “He’ll hurt me, too.”
“Are you talking about Shadow?” Colt crouched down next to Maren and peered at Vinnie. Rusk sat with his gaze trained on the man pressed against the wall.
“He’s got eyes and ears everywhere,” Vinnie said, his gaze going to Cindy.
Colt stood and cupped Cindy by the elbow. “Thank you for your help. But we have it from here. You may go.”
Cindy hesitated. “I’m not sure—”
“Out,” Maren practically growled, her impatience growing exponentially. Haven responded to the growl in Maren’s voice by scrambling to her feet.
“I’ll be just down the hall if you need me, Vinnie,” Cindy said before hurrying out of the room.
Colt shut the door behind her.
Keeping her voice as even as possible, Maren said to Vinnie, “We know my sister faked her death to get out from under Shadow’s thumb. Do you know where she would go?”
Blinking rapidly, Vinnie shook his head. “I don’t. She told me it was better if I didn’t know.”
Frustration pounded against Maren’s temples. “Do you know how to get a hold of her?”
Vinnie licked his lips but didn’t answer. Hope rose within Maren. His hesitation had to mean he actually did know how to get a hold of her sister. Purposefully, gentling her voice even more, she coaxed, “Please, I need to find her before Shadow does. There are bad men out there looking for her. They will kill her. And her baby.”
“A baby? I didn’t know.” A tear rolled down Vinnie’s cheek. “I can get her a message. I don’t know if she’ll respond.”
“You need to tell her that Maren is looking for her and that we can get her in a safe house,” Colt said.
Vinnie slowly eased out from under the upper bunk bed and stood. There was a small desk wedged between the wall and the end of the bunk bed. From the drawer he pulled out a burner phone. “I’ll text her. If she responds, I’ll let you know.” He clutched the phone to his chest. “That’s the best I can do for you. My loyalty is to Opal and Georgy.” His face fell. “Georgy is gone now. Oh man, I need a hit.”
Maren’s heart ached for the man and his struggles with addiction. Seeing Vinnie so distraught and craving drugs brought back memories of Opal and her dependence on the poison she’d relied on to numb her emotions. Maren reached for a tissue from the box on the bedside table and then withdrew her business card from her pocket. She handed both to Vinnie. “Contact me at this number. You can also give it to Opal. She might prefer to reach out to me directly. Or maybe not.”
Pain twisted in her chest. Her sister had always known how to reach her.
Vinnie nodded as he took the card and the tissue. He used the tissue to wipe at his runny nose as he stared at her card as if mesmerized by the rectangular paper.
“You don’t need a hit,” Colt said to him. “You’re stronger than you believe. You’re here—that means you want to get help. There’s got to be a group, or therapist, you can talk to right now. Don’t blow this chance at recovery.”
Doubts swirled in Vinnie’s bloodshot eyes as they lifted. “I want to get better.”
“You will.” Colt’s voice held a note of certainty. “You just have to push through the hard parts.”
“The hard parts,” Vinnie repeated as if it were a mantra.
Before leaving, Colt asked, “Have you ever seen Shadow face-to-face?”
