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“We wereable to place every woman and child in those containers in aftercare,” Colt said as he joined me in his office.
I didn’t often get to see Colt in his actual precinct. And I quickly realized that I didn’t like it. This side of the law would drive me crazy. Sure, Susie made us do paperwork, but the amount of memos, notices, and post-it notes that littered the surface of Colt’s desk would drive me insane. And the lighting. Couldn’t they get anything besides these dim, yellow lights? The furniture had to date back to before the eighties and the floors might even be older. I was a fan of antiques, but this look wasn’t good anywhere, much less in a place where Colt had to work every day. It wasn’t a wonder most officers preferred to be out in the field.
“That’s step one,” I said. My promise to those children would not be fulfilled that easily.
“I know. But they need it. And then we’ll try to get them home.” Colt paused and looked at me. “You do know that many of them won’t be able to go home, right?”
I dropped my eyes. I knew the statistics. A good number of these kids hadn’t been taken. They’d been sold—or worse, given—to these men as trade for drugs or other vices. How could a parent ever willingly give their children to these savages?
“Those kids will have homes too,” I said, lifting my chin defiantly even though I knew Colt was on my side.
“They will. It might take a bit longer, though.”
“I’ve got time,” I said with a shrug.
Colt gave me a sad smile, one I understood at the end of this long day. We’d found four containers in all. Two of them had been filled with children and another two with women. Although some of those women were so young they could have easily been considered children as well. It had taken some coaxing for any of them to believe they were safe. They’d been through so much. There was one particular little girl, with midnight tresses and big, brown eyes. Her dress was tattered and worn and as I approached I noticed an even smaller child behind her. Every time I tried to get a better look, the little girl had shifted, protecting this other child with all she had left, her own body. I’d tried to speak calming words, to assure her the worst was over, but she wouldn’t move. Finally a tiny girl, no older than four, had peeked out from behind her protector. She’d believed my words. But the wariness in the eyes of the slightly older girl was something I wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon.
We’d done something good. We knew we had. And yet, it felt too late and too little all at once. There were countless others out there just like the women and children we’d saved. And if we had been better at our jobs, how much sooner would we have found these victims? But it had to be enough for now, or we’d drive ourselves crazy.
So a sad smile seemed the only appropriate facial expression.
“I have to get your statement before I let you go. I’m sorry,” Colt said as he settled in behind his desk.
The dark bags under his eyes told me I wasn’t the only one exhausted from our day. Yet here he sat, faithfully finishing his job.
“I was the one who wouldn’t give you my statement until you could give me good news about our victims. I’d say I’m the one to blame for our late start,” I said. I leaned back in my chair, finally feeling a bit at ease for the first time that day.
“That’s true,” Colt said with a wink. “So do you want to start at the beginning?”
I did. I went over meeting Jasper a few days before, hearing about Detraux from Jasper and his girlfriend, and then forgetting about all of it because of Aria’s kidnapping. I explained how we’d tracked Detraux down at the convenience store earlier that day. Had it really just been that morning we’d been staking out the store? The day felt like it had gone by in a blur and at the same time like it had taken years to live.
“And then we left the docks,” I finished.
Colt nodded and pressed the stop button on his phone where he’d been recording our conversation. He said it was easier than taking notes while I spoke, so I always gave him permission to record my statements. I didn’t know if I’d do the same for any other officer, but I trusted Colt.
“And now we’re here,” Colt said, nodding toward the precinct around us.
I nodded.
We’d come out the other side. I would have never guessed the twists and turns this day was going to take when we’d first staked out the convenience store, but I was grateful for this end. Or was it the beginning? I thought about the promise I’d made to our victims. And I guessed it was kind of the beginning. I knew I would have the full force of Aurora’s Girls behind me as I fulfilled my promise. Susie would do everything in her power to see these kids in safe, sound, and hopefully loving conditions as well.
“Do you want a ride home?” Colt asked as he looked around the station and realized I was the last of my team here.
The other girls had given their statements and gone back to the office long before. I’d been the only stubborn one who’d had to stay to hear that the victims were all settled before speaking with Colt. And because I’d given Nadia my car, I did need a ride. Thankfully I was pretty sure Colt was going to the same place I was.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” I said, standing up along with Colt.
“I never mind,” he said as he sifted through the mess on his desk to collect his keys, wallet, and phone.
“How can you work in that kind of chaos?” I asked, thinking about my spotless desk back at Aurora headquarters.
“It’s not chaos,” Colt said. Obviously he wasn’t seeing the same desk I was.
“Everything is in its place,” he added.
I furrowed my brows. Yeah, that was surely not the case.
“It is,” Colt assured me as we left his desk and started out of the building.
