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I raised an eyebrow. “Again?”
“Yes, she had said that this wasn’t her first time running. The first time she didn’t get far before he found her. It’s why she used an alias this time, something that would take him some time to find her. But she thought she was running out of time and, well… she needed help.”
From the look of pure panic in her eyes, I gathered who helped her.
I dragged a long breath through my lungs and out of my mouth. “You helped her, didn’t you? That’s why she called you to tell you she was back in town.” When she gave me those cartoon wide eyes again, I resisted rolling my eyes and explained very impatiently, “There wasn’t a viable reason for her to call you. If she was just coming into town quickly to get something from her house, she would have just done that. After all, you two just shared a couple of drinks and told each other your stories. That didn’t bond you two together. Unless… you did something above and beyond to help her. My guess you helped her disappear. What I want to know is, how did you help her?”
“I—” she began, but I quickly interrupted again, just to make sure she understood the repercussions if she lied to me.
“Before you answer that, know that I have connections and ways to find out whatever I want to know. It will be better for you if you just come clean now. Don’t let me find out something that you neglected to tell me.”
She nodded emphatically, but I knew she would test me. I could just sense it. I just hoped she could handle the outcome.
“I understand.”
“Good. Now, answer the question. How did you help her?”
“I didn’t do anything special, honest. I told her that I had helped others in the past escape from their abusive boyfriends or husbands. I knew what to do.”
“Wait, you’ve done this before?” Hell, I was shocked she admitted it. I just knew I was going to have to pry it out of her. Could this be what Schindler meant when he said she was into dangerous shit? No, I didn’t think so, but I was getting close.
“Yes, quite a few times. These women didn’t have anyone brave enough to help them. Their abusers held all the power. They manipulated them, controlled them. I provided a way of breaking free.”
“Okay, explain how you would help them. What would you do, exactly?”
“Well… I would help them find a place to live far from here, a job, an apartment, school if there were kids involved. I don’t know if you know this, but there’s like an underground railroad, if you will, for victims of abuse. If you need help getting away, these people will help them, hide them in plain sight. Help them get an apartment that wasn’t in their names or find a job that paid under the table, stuff like that.”
Surprisingly, I knew about connections like that. Homer, one of my detectives, had an aunt in Baton Rouge, LA that helped women looking to start a new life. We’d sometimes send her bags of clothes, donations from the department, all hush-hush of course, and would assist in any way that we could. The operation wasn’t something that was well known outside of the women’s shelters. You had to know someone that had the connections. I shouldn’t have been surprised Phoebe knew about them.
“I actually know about the underground railroad, as you call it.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Sometimes, women fighting to get free from their abusive partners need extra help to find a life and start over. So, are you saying Ansley used one of these connections to disappear?”
“Yes, well, that’s what I think. Lock, all I did was drive her to the casino in Oklahoma. That’s it. Where she went from there, I don’t know.”
I remained quiet, taking what she said in, watching her every movement, the steadiness in her eyes, the pleading in them to believe her. And I believed her, up to a point. There was still something to her story, something that she wasn’t telling me. However, by the look in her eyes, I knew I wouldn’t get the answers I wanted, not yet, anyway.
I acquiesced and ran my hand down my face. “Alright. If you think of anything that would be useful, let me know.”
She smiled, looking relieved. “Of course, Detective.”
I closed the book and placed it in the back pocket of my jeans.
“I need to go. It’s going to be a long night. Walk me to the door.” I asked her, as I stood from the couch. She stood to and walked ahead of me to the door.
I watched her ass, noticing she wasn’t wearing any underwear either.
She is truly going to be the death of me.
We reached the door, and she turned and leaned against the wall, watching me through her thick lashes. Unable to resist, I leaned in and placed a soft kiss against her lips, which was a bad idea. I should’ve known better. Kissing this woman always triggered something in me, something dark, desperate. Her taste and her scent caused me to lose my senses, my mind, my control. I caged her against the wall, my hands roaming over her silk-covered body, squeezing in places, pinching in others. I was two seconds from delving my fingers down the front of her pants when my phone started vibrating again.
I growled and rested my forehead against hers, taking as much air as I could to calm my thudding heart.
Almost a minute had passed before I stepped back from my addiction, dread of leaving her taking hold like a vice grip.Damn, I was in trouble.
“I gotta go,” I announced like an idiot, but she merely smiled up at me.
