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Maria shakes her head before she adds, "No, but he said something about her neglecting her duties as a daughter." I firm my jaw. Jaz's father is dead, so it has to be her stepdad. Although we haven't had time to talk about much, I was able to put two and two together and figure out why she's been scraping by and struggling to be on her own at such a young age.
I thank Maria before turning and heading toward the door. I'm not exactly sure where Jaz is, but I have a pretty good idea of where to start.
I pull out my phone and call up my buddy who's a detective with the local police department. One of the perks of being a firefighter is that we have close contacts within the force. I've never called in a favor like this before, but there's a first time for everything, and Alex knows me. He knows I wouldn't be asking for shit if it wasn't serious.
"Hey man, it's me," I say when he picks up. "I need your help."
"What's up?" Alex responds.
"I need a favor."
"Alright, shoot."
"I need the address of a guy. Jeff Belamy."
"Got it," Alex says, no questions asked, before he reads the address off to me.
"Thanks, man. I owe you one." I hang up and hail a taxi, offering to pay the guy double if he can get me there within the next ten minutes.
As I ride, my mind races with thoughts of Jaz. When I get my hands on her piece of shit stepdad...
I flex my hands, my nostrils flaring. I can imagine what the man wants with her, and it makes me want to roar with rage.
She's been through so much already, and now this.
I'll tear this fucker limb from limb with my bare hands if he's harmed a hair on her head.
When I arrive at my destination, I hop out of the taxi and throw the driver a hundred. It's more than double what I offered him, but I don't have time to wait around for him to make change.
I don't bother knocking on the door. Instead, I kick it in and go barreling through the house, intent on finding Jaz.
I'm half-crazed with worry. "Jaz!" I call out her name. "Jaz!"
"What the fuck?" A man who I can only assume is her stepfather steps out of a room.
"Where is she?" I growl.
"Who?" he asks.
I can see the fear in his eyes, and I tighten my hold on his throat. Good. He should fear me. If he's hurt one hair on my girl's precious head, I'll demolish him.
"Who?" he chokes out again, playing dumb.
And that just pisses me the fuck off.
I don't have time for this. I wrap my arm around his throat and pull him back, slamming him against the wall. "Where is she?" I repeat, my voice low and dangerous.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen her," he coughs, his eyes bulging.
"Where is she?" I ask again, growling.
"F-fine," he stutters. "In there."
He points to the room he just came out of, and I look up just as Jaz's tiny frame fills the doorway.
I push off him and hurry over to Jaz. "Jaz," I breathe out her name in relief as I pull her to me and then hold her out to look over her. "Are you hurt?"
She shakes her head before a sob comes out of her and she throws herself in my arms.
