Page 32 of Knot A Trace: Part Two

My hands start to shake, and I shove them under the table. After seeing me, Landon insisted we go and eat something before he heads off to work with Ben.

I’ve dealt with this shit before. I’ve seen the results of trafficking.

But this is different.

It’s Skylar.

It’s Skylar in captivity, likely being used for her blood.

We still don’t have a DNA match for her, but we have one for April. Hopefully, that will lead us somewhere.

“When’s the last time you’ve eaten?” Landon asks carefully, watching me as I bring a trembling hand from under the table to grab the coffee cup.

“The fuck does it matter to you?” I spit at him before taking a sip. The patrons in line at the coffee shop glance at me, but I simply scowl at them until they turn their gazes elsewhere.

“Because you look like you’re killing yourself. And the attacks are happening again, aren’t they?”

I narrow my eyes. He has that look on his face, the one where he’s seeing through someone’s bullshit.

I take another sip of my coffee.

I’m not answering his stupid fucking question.

He already knows the attacks are back. They’ve made their way into my system, panic and fear affecting my movements.

But we don’t talk about that.

“You want to help her? You need to stop sabotaging your health,” Landon says, talking to me as if I’m a child.

I put the cup down as it sloshes coffee over the rim, as if proving his point.

Fuck, I’m craving a cigarette.

But somehow, it feels as if I do that, I’m failing her even more.

So I grit my teeth and shoot daggers at the asshole in front of me. “Lecture over yet?” I snap. “Why did you even bring me here? What’s your grand plan for today?”

Landon glances at the bagel next to my cup, then back at me. I roll my eyes and take a bite.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to question the dealer with me,” he says. “The one that sold April’s O.”

I snarl, and the people in line turn to look at me again. “What?” I growl at them.

Landon sighs loudly and drags a hand through his hair. “But,” he adds. “Vincent?—”

“Fuck him,” I hiss.

“Like I was saying, Vincent found something interesting. A possible suspect.”

I take another bite of my bagel. “Yeah?” I ask. “Explain.”

“There’s someone suspicious on the video footage from the café the day April disappeared. Vincent looked him up and found two separate properties. One here, one in Slatten. The Slatten one is a plot of land with a mobile home on it.”

That piques my interest. “He’s going to question the owner?”

Hundreds of people have been interviewed in the last month, but it’s not enough.

It will never be enough until we find Skylar.

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