Page 28 of Promised Vows

“She said I was pretty.” She sniffed.

That was the first thing she’d said since she’d gotten into the vehicle. I resisted the urge to ask her questions and waited. She was already traumatized. I didn’t want to add to it.

She rubbed her red nose with her hand. “I wanted to have my picture taken. I wanted to feel pretty.” Her head lifted and red-rimmed eyes met mine. “I told my mom I was going to hang out with friends. We were going to see a movie. She dropped me off and I waited like they told me. A van pulled up, and it all happened so fast. I woke up and didn’t know where I was.”

If I could, I’d find Marco and make his last days on earth nothing but misery. “Where are you from, Cindy?” That was her name according to the nametag she wore.

“My name is Samantha Braden, and I’m from Charlotte, North Carolina.” Cindy, to go with the Cinderella costume. Sick.

“How long have you been here?”

She shrugged. “They drugged me. I don’t even know what day it is. They’d bring me here for parties. Well, not only me but other girls too. They make us take these pills at night when I come here. They make me feel weird.” A sob caught in her throat. “I woke up this morning and I was…naked... This man…”

I couldn’t listen to it anymore. “Samantha, I’m going to take you to the police station. You’re going to tell them exactly what you told me, and they will make sure your mom is notified.”

“No!”

What? “No?”

“A bunch of us were taken to a party last night. Several of them had uniforms on.” She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. “I remember one of them being called Chief Edwards. I pretended I was knocked out, but my friend didn’t. They took her away and I haven’t seen her again.”

I was at that tipping point. The moment the flame in a fire gets so hot it flickers blue. They were the same type of men who’d touched Gianna. I thought I’d taken care of them, but I’d clearly let a few rats escape.

“Do you think you could point one of them out to me?”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “They said they’d kill my mom if I told.”

“No, Samantha, they won’t.”

“But…”

“They were lying. But I have friends who live in North Carolina. I’ll make a call. I won’t let anything happen to you or your mom. I promise. Help me make sure they won’t hurt anyone else.”

I pulled up some photos from a few news articles and showed her the screen. I’d flipped through about six when she started weeping.

“That’s him.” Her lips trembled again. “I’ve seen that man too at other parties.”

The man with her the night before was Chief Edwards, and the scum standing next to him was the mayor. “Thank you, Samantha.”

Right as I finished my conversation with the little girl, Lucas flung the car door open and got inside. “Franklin’s at my condo. We have to go now.”

Ares gave me a look through the rearview mirror and peeled out.

Lucas touched the screen of his phone, put it to his ear, and caught himself before he let a four-letter word fly. He flicked his gaze to me, swallowed the worry, and asked Samantha, “Are you okay?”

Giving no answer, she began crying again. His gaze caught mine and he worked his jaw.

I suspected, like me, he was thinking of Gianna. Had she died this frightened? We knew there’d been trauma, but to think our baby sister went through this was more than I could process. I took a breath, pushing the thoughts down for the moment.

“This is Samantha. She shared some interesting information with me. Once we’ve got Franklin, I have business I’ll need to take care of.” Similar to three years ago, I had friends within the police department who would look the other way or make sure any evidence would disappear. Their tolerance for this filth was as low as mine.

“Ari…”

I cut a glance at Samantha. “We’re going to make sure she’s taken care of, aren’t we?”

Lucas looked at her. “Yeah, we are.”

“My mom probably hates me.” Her bottom lip trembled. “That man said she would. We’d been fighting so much. I’d lied to her. My dad left and I was mad. I told her it was her fault.”

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