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I groan and lean into him, spreading my legs a little wider, and then tip my head back for a kiss.
The look on his face gives me pause. “What’s wrong?”
He blinks away his frown and gives me a faint smile. “Nothing.”
“Gideon.” I grab his wrist, pulling him out of me. “Tell me.”
Using his other hand to swipe water off his face, he glances away for a moment. Then the look is back on his face. I reach behind me, turning off the water. The shower invigorated me, made the awful PTSD flashback I just experienced seem more like a lucid dream than a memory. I force strength into my words, so he’ll know I can handle whatever news he has.
“What is it?”
Frustration draws a line between his brows. “I might have a lead.”
My stomach tightens like a fist. I struggle for words, lips moving soundlessly, before I slap his wet chest. “That’s great!” I know I should sound happier, but his announcement caught me off guard.
He studies me for a long beat, and then turns and gets us each a towel, wrapping mine around my shoulders. “It is.”
“Then why the face?” I pat dry my hair and then sling the towel around my body, grimacing when I catch sight of some of the darker bruises on my skin. The nervousness in my stomach transforms into anger. “Tell me everything.”
There’s a coldness to my voice that doesn’t go unnoticed, Fyre’s frown deepening as we exit the bathroom. Arrow spins to face us, not even bothering to look guilty at the fact that she’d been licking her lady bits. I guess she likes to keep clean too. Her ears prick up when Fyre speaks.
“There’s a catch.”
“Always,” I say through a bitter laugh.
“No, Charlotte, I mean—”
“Did you honestly think it would be easy tracking him down?” I scoff at him, and then detour to the coffee cup I just spotted. I take a long sip of the lukewarm coffee, then turn to face Fyre again. “Just spit it out.”
“I’ve been communicating with someone in a chat group. He’s into young girls.” Black eyes pierce into me, judging my response. I sip as calmly on my coffee as I can, but my pulse is accelerating in excitement. “I set up a meet on Friday.”
“Okay. That’s good news, right? We need to turn over as many of these creeps to the cops as possible.” I feel my smile crystalize when Fyre’s expression doesn’t change. “What’s the catch?”
“He’s not expecting me.” Fyre’s dark eyes stare me down, causing my excitement to solidify into a heavy ball that sinks deep into my stomach.
“Oh.”
“But Charlotte, that was before…” Fyre waves a hand back in the direction of the bathroom.
“Before my little meltdown just now,” I say, tightening the towel around my chest. My gaze goes to the floor as I fight back another rush of emotions.
Terror is right there at the top, of course. I can think of a hundred different ways things can go wrong at a meeting with a pedophile. But then the fury comes back. Red is our main target, but in being so laser focused, I forget how many others are lurking around. These other people are just as dangerous, just as deviant. And capable of hurting many, many more.
“Do you think this guy knows Red?” When my eyes find Fyre’s again, there’s relief in them.
“Everyone in those circles knows Red.”
I nod. “Then let’s do it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. I get the feeling chances like this don’t come along often.”
Fyre returns my nod. “It’s become very quiet out there. Like everyone’s holding their breath.”
“Friday,” I murmur, still nodding, sipping at my coffee as I mentally work up the courage for what’s coming.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Fyre gently takes hold of my shoulders, but I shrug him off with an annoyed huff, setting down my nearly-empty coffee. I see the brown bag, and for a moment I’m curious what Fyre brought us for breakfast, but then I think about having to eat, and my stomach turns to lead. I’m too nervous for food, too anxious for Friday to come around. How am I going to wait so long?
