Page 53 of Hemlock

He lifts his eyes to meet mine, and I feel trapped. How can he not feel even an ounce of what I'm feeling?

I pull in a deep breath when my words don't seem to be enough for him.

"I saw you walk that young girl back to his office."

"Do you know her?" I ask, wondering why he'd be upset about that girl... unless he's in her life the same way he's in mine.

He narrows his eyes, and it makes me rethink my tone.

"Do you know her? She showed me her license. She's twenty-two, an adult, but as far as I'm concerned, too young for you and most definitely too young for Tommy."

I drop my ass to the bed, exhaustion settling inside of me.

"She mentioned modeling and being there for a job interview. It gave me the creeps, but she didn't seem to be in any danger."

"And?"

"And what?" I snap, throwing my hands in the air. "I make drinks and go home. That's what I do."

"What does Tommy do?" he snaps, as if he's frustrated with me being frustrated with him. "Is he trafficking girls out of his bar?"

"He's… what?" I immediately shake my head because there's no way he could be doing something like that right under my nose without me knowing about it. Then again, the man has given me the creeps more than once here recently.

"I can tell by the way you're looking at me that you don't trust me. I haven't given you any reason not to trust me, but let me repeat myself, so we can get all this shit out in the open. I got a call from Tommy after he found out Billy was arrested. He offered me a job at the bar and a low-rent house. My little town was doing nothing but gossiping about the arrest, and I saw it as my only way out of that situation. I've been working at The Lost Kitten since right after Halloween. Two months," I say, holding up two fingers. "I walked in on Tommy getting a blow job the other night by a girl with her hands tied behind her back."

He shifts then, sitting up straighter, and I don't miss the way his eyes scrunch in the corners from the pain it causes. I can recognize the valiant effort not to react to it at all.

"I backed out because, honestly, who wants to see their ex-brother-in-law getting head, but then Tommy came out into the hall. A minute later, the girl popped her head out and she was untied. She didn't seem in distress."

"How old was she?"

"I thought the girl from the other night was in her teens but her license said she was twenty-two, so I don't think I'm the best judge for determining someone's age just by looking at them. It's why I normally ID every single new customer we get at the bar. I don't want to mess up and get arrested for serving a minor."

"Go on," he urges when I grow quiet.

"I know he did something sexual with the girl you saw me with because I heard them when I went to get a case of beer. She didn't sound like she was in a situation she regretted," I explain, my nose scrunching up in disgust. "That doesn't mean she wasn't coerced, but I didn'tsay anything."

It's my turn to drop my eyes to my hands, guilt swimming inside of me. Whatever other reason that girl was there, I have no doubt she wished she could have made a different choice in life instead of the one that led her to the bar that night.

"Anything else?"

I shake my head, but then the memory from when I took the trash out comes rushing back.

"A while back—"

"How long? I need you to be succinct."

I shake my head. "I don't know. After I met you but before you broke into my house."

He raises an eyebrow at me as if he's surprised I would bring up any connection the two of us have.

"I was out back, throwing trash away, and a car pulled up. Tommy came out of the back of the bar with a crying girl and put her in the car."

"Who was driving it?"

"I have no clue,"I answer, annoyed more with myself for not demanding Tommy explain what was going on. "He wasn't hurting her. He wasn't rough with her."

"He didn't look angry?"

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