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“Clint, what?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything. Listen,” I need to get out of here,“I’m sorry about before. I need to head to the office and prepare for your court date and get everything in place just in case Sonya attempts to use today against you. I don’t think that she can, but I also didn’t think that she would pull what she did either, so…” I trail off. I look everywhere except at him. I step out of his hold and head toward the kitchen.
I feel Nate’s hand on my arm, attempting to stop me. I pull my arm out of his grasp and shake my head.
“Audrina, talk to me. What’s going on with Clit?”
I use the name he calls Clint as an excuse to get angry. I can’t go into the details. I can’t tell him how I know the truth about how he doesn’t honestly want me. I can’t tell him how Clint’s told me that no one would want me. That would only expose why Nate and everyone in this house keep me around. And regardless of the fact that they’re just using me, I want these kids placed where they should be with Nate.
“Stop calling him that! His name is Clint. And nothing is going on. I need to go.”
I rush into the kitchen and grab my things. Elvira and Judge attempt to stop me, but I tell them that I have to hurry if I want to stop the game Sonya is attempting to play. I can tell that they don’t want to, but they let me go.
I rush into my car, and before I know it, I’m at the office again. I can’t believe I did that. How stupid am I? Clint told me he would be the only one ever to love me and the only one to want me. Why didn’t I believe him? I’ve believed him for so long. Why stop now?
I head into the office and get to my desk. It’s time to focus on the case that matters and nothing else. There’s no point. Clint told me so.
***
Hours. I’ve been at this for hours, and I still can’t figure out what Sonya’s game plan is. Why was she so determined to get these kids away from Elvira? I lean back and stretch, pushing myself away from my computer. When I turn to crack my neck, I see the missing persons’flier tacked on the wall.
Immediately, I sit up straight as everything crashes into me.
Missing Kids.
I think about the call from Noah regarding Mallory and how she was simply gone from the hospital. We’ve been led to believe that she ran, but I know Noah and the rest of the MC think she’s missing.
I pull up all of the accounts from the hospital where Sonya has worked within the last five years. Multiple kids have been processed for adoption right as they were born. Those kids were taken by their new parents. Court documents show the kids were adopted and everything processed. These aren’t the files that I want.
I pull up the ones for the kids placed into foster care.
I comb through multiple files. I look up at the clock and see that it’s now dark outside, but I can’t stop. There has to be something here. I rub my face, ready to give up, as I click on the last file. It opens up about six more files. All of the kids are listed as foster kids. All of them were reported missing. All of them are from in or around Wyman.
Multiple foster parents talk about how the kids are runaways, and they believe that is what happened. No one batting an eye because the kid has done this before. I pull up the first kid. He’s nine years old, and prior files show he’s never once run away. I pull the following file, the next, and the next. Every single kid is labeled as a runaway, and then nothing. The trail ends. That’s it. There isn’t anything else in the file, just that they are no longer the responsibility of their foster parents.
All of them.
And all of them were signed off by Sonya.
She didn’t want these kids to save them. She tried to steal them. The only question now is, who is she working for?
For the next week, I was barely home. If I wasn’t at work, I was at the court, talking to the lawyers. I don’t know how many times I gave my statement on Nate and how those kids need him. Clint and I were passing ships in the night. I was getting into bed as he was leaving. He was working more doubles and night shifts than before.
We had a few small fights over Nate. He didn’t like how much time I was spending with him. I’d turn around and remind him that it’s for my job. What I didn’t tell him was that I also try to always plan it for when Elvira is there. Having El there makes sure that no one gives into the urges that are bubbling below the surface. Nate seems to be in control, but I’m not. But I knew it was because of some misguided attachment he feels to me—he doesn’t want me, not really. But because I am doing everything I can to get him the kids, I can see why he would think he feels the way he does.
I shake my head. I get lost in the thoughts of Nate and me. I know that I shouldn’t. He doesn’t really want me. It’s convenient. I’m here, and I’m helping. I also know that once this is finished, I’ll be out of the lives of everyone associated with the MC. There’s no reason to play pretend anymore. They aren’t my friends. Not really.
Because Clint told me.
No. I can’t. Not right now. I have so much to do to get this case ready to be closed out. While no one is closer to discovering who the killer is, Nate and Cowboy were cleared. The MC as a whole was never suspected. The police didn’t focus on them the way they did Nate and Cowboy. So surprisingly, it’s going smoother. I honestly thought that everything would become a million times harder, and we had an even smaller chance of success. But, the lawyer who showed up for Nate and Cowboy had apparently wiped the floor with the sheriff.
“I don’t know who your dad called, Ellie, but I’m happy.”
“I know exactly who he called. Even if he doesn’t tell me.”
I give her a look, letting her know I want her to tell me—that I’m not planning on guessing.
“Ugh, you’re no fun. Dad called my uncle Artem. No man in this state can bring in a lawyer of that caliber other than him.”
