AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He lifted the curtain and slipped into the backroom, flicking his Maglite on. He did a quick search and found nothing. By the dust on the floor and shelves, no one had been in there for months. He went back out to join Sophie, dialing Ethan as he walked. Ethan would be at Fort Henry at his new SEAL training assignment. It would’ve been preferable to call someone closer by, but Owen didn’t trust anyone else.
“Hey, man. I need an extraction pronto.” He gave the street name and described where they were. Ethan didn’t bother to ask questions, so the conversation was brief.
“Ethan’s on his way.” He crouched on the floor next to her.
“Are you sure that’s wise?” she asked.
He understood her concern. After Helen’s kidnapping, they’d agreed that Helen and Ethan would drop out of the investigation, leaving Wilson with the impression that they’d been killed by Mason. That had, after all, been Mason’s plan when he’d captured Helen and had thought, briefly, that he’d gotten the upper hand on Ethan, too. Mason couldn’t correct the story since he was still in a coma after falling through the floor of an old farmhouse after a fight with the not-dead-after-all Ethan.
“No choice,” Owen said. “Good luck trying to get a taxi or Uber to come into this neighborhood.”
“I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry about your Jeep.”
He shrugged it off. “It doesn’t matter. Tires can be replaced.” People couldn’t.
“Do you really think it was a trap? I mean, it could be a coincidence. This is a shitty neighborhood.”
“Not arguing with that, but if it was just shitty neighborhood stuff, they’d have broken into the Jeep or just stolen it outright.”
“Oh, you’re right,” she said for the second time—a rare moment between them. “It’s a warning, then.”
“Received. Loud and clear.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re with me. It’d be scared witless without you.”
“You get scared?” He found that hard to believe. He’d only seen the fearless and relentless sides of her personality.
“Only stupid people don’t get scared.” She was quiet for a moment, and he thought she’d leave it at that, but she kept on. “I’ve gotten myself into some situations in the past. Dangerous ones.”
“Yeah? Tell me about one of them.” It would give him some insight into her ambitions. Plus, he got the sense that she needed something to focus on in order to keep it together.
She thought for a moment before speaking. “When I’d been with the paper for just a few months, I decided to go undercover as a prostitute. I was doing a story about pimps and johns.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “I know. Not my best idea. I dressed the part and started talking with the girls. I’d spend an hour or so each evening, just getting a feel for that world.”
“No one solicited you?” He found that hard to believe. She was a beautiful woman with her flaming red hair and curvy figure. Her features were delicate which probably made people underestimate her at first glance.
“If they did, I named an exorbitant price and told them that my pimp wouldn’t let me take less. That worked for three nights. Then it didn’t.”
“Someone put up the cash?”
She nodded. “Three guys pooled their money and came prepared. I’d talked to one of them the evening before.”
“I hope you ran in the other direction.” He could feel his blood pressure rise just imagining her facing down three punks.
“Hard to do in four-inch heels,” she said. “They were trying to get me into their car when one of the prostitutes—a woman named Lila—intervened. She told them I was working with the cops, and they’d all go to jail. Those guys scrambled out of there so fast.”
“Jesus, Soph. That was close.” He’d seen her put herself in some dangerous situations while investigating Wilson, but this was worse on a personal level.
“I wasn’t hurt beyond a bruise on my arm, but it did shake me,” she admitted. “The silver lining was that I had the cash they’d paid for me, so I gave it to Lila. It got her off the streets for a while.”
“Tough life for her. Tough situation for you.” An understatement. He hated that she put herself in that spot. But he had to admire her bravery and willingness to go after a story. “Did you write about her?”
“I wrote about all of them. Exposed the shady underbelly of Virginia Beach. My editor didn’t much like the story. He’s always concerned with how things will look to the public.Ithink a reporter’s job is to give the public the truth even if it’s ugly. My editor was going to block it or at least force me to tone the article down, but Micky intervened and helped me get the story published.”
“Helen’s dad?” Owen had met Helen’s parents on several occasions over the years.
“Yeah, he’s been a huge supporter of my career,” she said. “He’s taught me so much—like when to charge in and when to back off. I’m not always good at the second.”
“You don’t say?” He managed to smile despite their situation. She hadn’t backed off when it came to putting pressure on Wilson and his operation. And when they finally nailed him, it would be due to her vigilance and determination. Meanwhile, it was up to him to keep some of her ambition in check. They couldn’t risk another incident like the one they were in. He was just about to begin that tough conversation when his phone pinged with a message. “Ethan says he’s five minutes out. This is how it’s going to go down when he arrives.”
