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“Greed. As long as there are people willing to pay, then there will always be someone willing to do unspeakable things like what happened in Tabiq.” What I didn’t know was how it happened in such a large magnitude in a country I’d never heard of until Damien mentioned it.
Did the how matter now? Maybe not, but I’m a person who likes to know the full story, and right now, I knew I didn’t have it.Not because I haven’t asked. It’s because no one wants me to know.
I would dig deeper into it, but Damien told me to drop it. That it had nothing to do with what we were trying to do here. He’d actually told me that it would do harm to the Tabiqian people, including his wife and mother-in-law, Venus. For that reason alone, I backed off. Not sure Kinsley would do the same if she decided to look for that answer.
But she didn’t ask anything more about the police or the government. Instead, she asked about the women.
“Have you been able to find any of the girls?” she asked.
This is where it was painful for me to admit. I’d been working so hard to help but earning their trust had been nearly impossible. For the first time, I actually had some hope that we might gain some answers for these families. “No. None yet.”
She reached over and touched my hand. “I’m sorry. I know how hard it is. You want to help them. You want to bring them good news. But the truth is, the more time that has passed, the less likely you will be able to find them. And since they haven’t ever talked to anyone before, then it’s not like we can go and question witnesses or pull up old records to help with the search.”
“I know that but there wasn’t anyone to help them when they needed it. I won’t mislead them. I never make promises, and that is if I can get them to tell me anything at all. But I don’t give up hope that we will find some of them,” I replied, appreciating the fact she was trying to be supportive when I was the one worried about her. Squeezing her hand I said, “I forget that you used to do this all the time with the FBI.”
“Not like this, but yes, I’ve dealt with a lot of missing person cases.”
“Is this why you left the bureau? I mean, was dealing with all these types of situations too much?” I asked. Brian hinted but I wanted to confirm that.
“It takes a toll on you.”
That wasn’t really an answer, but not a denial either.
“Yes, it does,” I replied.
Was it me or was Kinsley purposely hiding something? Did it have to do with her job? Was it from me or from everyone? Whatever it was, I hadn’t forgotten that Brian wanted me to keep an eye on Kinsley. Maybe he was concerned that this role was going to be too much for her. Listening to her now, I might agree. This sucked. But no matter how hard it was for us, I couldn’t imagine what all these families were going through. Not just one or two families, but most families in Tabiq had been affected by human trafficking in some way.
Kinsley wasn’t aware of the magnitude of this yet, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep her in the dark for long. Should I tell her now?
“I know you said it was just dinner tonight, but maybe you can shed some light on some of your other cases while we eat,” she suggested.
And here it comes. Kinsley outsmarting me to get the answers she’s looking for.There was no point in my denying her request. She would find out another way, so I might as well be the one to tell her.
“Only if I can renegotiate our terms?” I said.
She looked puzzled. “What terms are you talking about?”
“The dinner only terms. We can talk business during dinner if you agree to take a walk on the beach with me after dinner,” I said.
“Draven, we discussed this. You’re my boss. How will it look?”
“First of all, I don’t care what anyone thinks. Secondly, it’s just a walk on the beach. Very innocent,” I replied.
Put on a bikini and it will be game over.
Kinsley replied, “I may have gone shopping, but I didn’t purchase beach attire. Would you mind if we stopped at a store on our way back to the resort?” My expression must have revealed how much I hated the thought because she added, “I promise, it won’t be an all-day event like with Reesa. I know exactly what I want and where they sell it. I’ll be five minutes, tops.”
“Kinsley, you take as much time as you want. While you’re inside, I’ll give Bennett a call to see what he wanted.”
“Draven, I know you have this…need to make sure I am…okay, but believe me, I am. You do not need to feel as though you must entertain me, or protect me. I’ve been fine all these years on my own. I’m used to it.”
“Whether you like it or not, you’re my employee and you’re my responsibility.” That had absolutely nothing to do with my wanting to have dinner with her. Usually, I could easily figure out women that I dated. Nothing about Kinsley was easy. She was a closed book and it only made me more eager to get to know her on a personal level.
When we got into town, Kinsley gave TJ instructions as to where the shop was. Before she got out she turned to me and asked, “Is there anything else I should shop for?”
“I don’t know what you’re getting now,” I smiled.
“What I’m asking is, will there be any more ‘employee fun time’ that I should be planning for while I’m here?” she smirked.
