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“It’s okay, baby. Take your time.”
“He came back about an hour later. No Portia.”
“What did he say?”
“He said they ran into a group of her friends at the mall. Portia wanted to spend time with them, and they promised they’d drop her off in an hour or two. He thought it would be okay since the mom of one of the girls was there. He acted as if everything was fine. Gave me a kiss and went to watch TV while we finished making dinner. You’d never have known what he’d done.”
I run one palm along her back and squeeze her thigh with the other, offering silent support.
“Claire pulled me aside when I was setting the table. She said she saw splatters of something dark on his jeans.”
Unable to hold in my disgust, I curse under my breath.
“She looked closer and noticed red flecks along the underside of his forearm. Blood.” Her tears spill over. “It was my sister’s blood. Guess he didn’t do a good enough job cleaning it all off.”
“What did you do? How did you find her?”
“My mom got home a few minutes later, thankfully. She had phone numbers for most of Portia’s friends and their parents from a cheerleader contact list. Discreetly, Claire and I called them while Mom kept Luke distracted.”
“No one had seen her?”
Mia shakes her head. “No. So I told him I was running to the store to get more soy sauce. Mom wanted to call the police, but I felt it was my responsibility to handle it since he was my boyfriend. Plus, I didn’t want him to know what we were suspecting. What if it turned out to be nothing? That’s not something a relationship can bounce back from.” She takes another steadying breath. “I left him with Mom and Claire, making sure they both watched out for each other around him. I went to the police station, but they were no help at all. She wasn’tmissinglong enough for them to care.”
“The blood didn’t point to foul play?”
“The cop I spoke with said it was probably nothing, but they’d come by and question him if I insisted. I considered it, but what was the point? He’d only lie.”
“What happened next?”
“I went home, excused myself to my bedroom, powered on my laptop, and hacked into her cell phone provider’s system to ping her phone. In a matter of minutes, I knew the area of town where she was. Back then, cell phone towers only gave approximate locations. But I found her.”
Judging by the gutted look she wears, it wasn’t a pretty sight.
“The tower showed her in a fairly sparse section of town, which initially scared me. I had no idea how to find her in miles of fields and forests. But a new subdivision was under construction, and something told me to start there. None of the builders were there, given the late hour and being so close to Christmas. I searched the partially constructed houses one by one until I found her.”
She sobs openly, barely able to choke out the rest. “Her clothes were ripped, and her pants were off. She was beaten and bloody. Lying on an unfinished concrete slab. Nails and sawdust on the floor around her. Unconscious, but alive.”
I press her head into my chest and let her cry. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“She was only fifteen, and he…” Her words trail off when another sob shakes her chest. “How could he do that and come back like nothing had happened? The fucker honestly thought he’d get away with it. When he was arrested, he had a whole bullshit story ready to go about how it must have been one of her friends who attacked her. I guess he thought she wouldn’t survive to identify him. Thankfully, she did, but she has to live with those atrocious memories every single day. And it’s all my fault.”
Keeping her close, I wrap her tight and whisper soothing words as she sobs and wails.
“Mia, that wasn’t your fault. Why would you think it was?”
“He had a criminal record and served time in juvenile detention. He had a violent past, including sexual assault when he was fourteen. Fourteen. And I brought him around my sister and let him take her. I gave her to him, practically gift-wrapped.”
“Yeah, but there was no way you could have known.”
And then it hits me. I know what she’s going to say before she speaks.
“But that’s the thing, Cal.I should have known.A simple background check would have saved Portia. I had the skills. Hell, I’d been hacking for eight years by that point. Accessing a sealed juvie record would have been child’s play for me. If only I had looked instead of trusting him blindly.”
“Baby, I realize nothing I say will convince you otherwise, but I’m going to try anyway.” I cup her nape to keep her gaze on mine. “It wasn’t your fault. Most people don’t do background checks on people they date unless they have some damn strong suspicions. It could have happened to anyone. You have to forgive yourself.”
“I can’t do that. Maybe one day, but not now. I had the skills and opportunity to prevent it, but I didn’t. It’s unforgivable, as far as I’m concerned.”
Something doesn’t sit right with me, aside from the obvious misplaced guilt she carries.
