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“His girl, Pia, she’s one of the women who have been taken from the streets. She’s been missing almost two months now, girlie. Two months. Teddy went to the police, and nothing.” He shakes his head. “Not a word about it. One of the cops even joked about her having overdosed in a crack den.”
Fucking bastard. “How was she taken?”
He turns his head. “Some women have only one way to survive on these streets, girlie, and not one of us will judge them for it. They do what they need to do in order to survive.”
I hold my hand up. “I know,” I say softly. “I’ve come close a few times,” I tell him honestly. As much as it pains me to say it, it’s the truth. When I first hit the streets as a teenager, I learned pretty quickly that the best way to get food and money to stay alive was to sleep with guys. Become a prostitute. I would have done it if I hadn’t met Nell, so I won’t ever judge anyone who’s had to turn tricks to survive.
“They pretended they wanted her for a good time. No one has seen her since.”
Fuck. It makes sense now. They’re going after the women who are desperate.
“Since then, Teddy has been at the police station every day. He’s determined to find someone to listen to him. He’s got information on the make and model of the car that took her.”
Christ… Teddy could have some vital information that we need. I’ll be sure to let Kelvin and Robert know that Teddy’s the man they need to speak with.
“Have you seen Jay lately? It seems that I keep missing her whenever I’m in the area.”
His face darkens. “I warned that girl,” he says thickly, his voice breaking as he does. “I warned her not to go snooping. I tell you girlies that you need to be careful, that you need to stay near me. I can protect you. But she wouldn’t listen. She thought she’d be okay.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Eli, what happened to Jamie?”
Tears fill his eyes. “Took her right in front of me. It happened in the dead of the night. They came for her.”
“Who did?” I ask, my heart racing, my hands sweaty. Who the fuck has Jamie?
“The men who have been stealing all the women. They knew that Jay had been asking questions. Questions that would get her into trouble. I warned her, girlie. I warned her no good would come from those pesky questions, but she wouldn’t listen, so they took her.”
“Last night?” I ask, horrified.
He nods, the tears he had in his eyes slowly tumbling down his cheeks. “They took her in the dead of the night. We’re never going to see her again, are we?”
I swallow back the bile. Fucking Marco, that bastard.
“I’m going to find her,” I vow.
He shakes his head. “Listen to me, girl. Don’t go looking for her. Save yourself, keep to the streets, and use your knowledge of knowing what people to trust. You’ve led yourself well thus far. Don’t do something stupid. Save yourself, girl.”
“Why do you sound as though you’ve given up hope?”
“I watched those men take her. I watched how easily they overpowered her. There’s no way she can get out of it.”
I bury my head in my hands. God, what on earth is she going through right now? We should have had people watching her, eyes on her at all times. She should never have been alone.
“Go,” he tells me. “Run, girl. Get the hell out of here. Make sure those animals don’t come for you. I beg of you. You need to leave.”
Fuck. I get to my feet, hating that I have to leave, but knowing I need to go back to the office and raise the alarm. “I’ll be back,” I promise him.
He nods. “Not until this has settled down and those fuckers have stopped stealing women like it’s a normal thing. We’ve lost two of our women already, Portia. We’re not going to lose anyone else. Go back to Indiana. You’ll be safe there.”
That may all be well and true, but my work is here. I need to be here. Had I stayed all those years ago instead of running away, I could have put a stop to this. I would have a lot more information to help us find out where they could have Jamie right now.
“Go,” he urges me once again. “Go and don’t look back.”
I don’t wait to be told again. I push my feet hard and run away from him, my feet pounding the sidewalk as I push myself harder than ever.
We need to find Jamie.
TWENTY-TWO
