Page 11 of Mortal Heart

“Shhh,” Arkady hissed. She dabbed her bloody lip. “It’s okay if you don’t trust me. I probably wouldn’t either if I was in your shoes. I just want to get you away from this bar to somewhere safe. Do you have someone you trust who could come pick you up?”

The girl shook her head. Her tears streaked the dirt and grime on her cheeks.

“You don’t haveanyoneto call?” Arkady prodded.

Another shake of her head.

“Poor girl,” Malcolm said. His voice had lost all its mirth. “Let’s get her to Alice and Sean. They’ll take care of her.”

“Okay, here’s what you’re going to do,” Arkady told the girl. “My friend Johnny is inside talking to the real nice girl they’ve got bartending tonight. She’s going to give you a ride to my friend Alice’s house. Alice is a private investigator. She’ll make sure you’re safe, and then she’s going to help you get on your feet. And just to make sure you arrive there safely, I’m sending my other best friend, Malcolm, with you. One thing, though: Malcolm’s a ghost.”

The girl’s eyes got huge again.

“You sure about this?” Malcolm asked worriedly. “She might really freak out.”

“She’ll be fine.” Arkady smiled. “Malcolm’s here with us now. He thinks you’re going to freak out if you know about him. But he’s just a sweet little boy, and you’re not afraid of sweet little boy ghosts, are you?”

The girl shook her head slowly.

“Sweet little boy,” Malcolm muttered. “Oh, I’m going to zap youso hard.”

“Awesome,” Arkady said brightly, ignoring him. “So I’ll take off that duct tape and get those handcuffs unlocked, and we’ll get you on your way, okay?”

The girl nodded reluctantly.

Carefully, Arkady got the duct tape off first. As slowly as she pulled it off, it still left an angry red mark on the girl’s face. Getting it out of her long, matted hair proved impossible. Rather than prolong the torture, Arkady used her knife to cut the tape loose. Up close, the girl smelled like she hadn’t bathed in days. How the hell long had she been in this trunk? Arkady had the sudden urge to use the dipshits’ corpses for target practice before they ended up feeding Alice’s garden.

Once the tape was off, Arkady wadded it up and tossed it into the open trunk. “What’s your name?” she asked as she studied the girl’s handcuffs.

The girl sniffled. “Regan.”

“Cool name.” Arkady fished a little lock-pick kit from her pocket. “FromKing Lear, right?”

“Yeah.” Regan blinked at her. “No one ever gets that. They think Reagan, like that old president.”

“People should read more.” In a few seconds, Arkady had the handcuffs unlocked. She tossed them in the back too and shut the trunk. They’d make sure the car disappeared once its contents were on their way to Alice’s garden.

Regan massaged her bruised wrists. “Thanks.”

Arkady stood and held out her hand. Hesitantly, Regan took her hand and Arkady hauled the much-smaller girl to her feet.

“Why’d you help me?” Regan asked. She still sounded suspicious.

“Because I don’t like assholes who pick on people who can’t defend themselves.” She hadn’t bothered to hide her anger and disgust, but Regan didn’t flinch at her tone this time. Maybe she was starting to believe Arkady really was helping her. And she seemed less skittish and steadier on her feet, so she might be able to answer some questions. “When and where did they grab you?” Arkady asked.

“I don’t remember.” Regan rubbed her eyes. “They must have given me something. Everything’s super blurry.”

Dang it, Arkady thought. She’d really counted on gettingsomethingfrom Regan. “You can’t rememberanythingabout how they got you?”

“All I remember is going to sleep where I’ve been staying lately, in an alley off Sixth Street. I woke up in this trunk.” She looked ready to burst into tears again. “I don’t even know what these guys looked like. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Arkady assured her. “We’ve got other leads. We’ll figure out who’s involved and we’ll make them pay. And maybe something will come back to you.”

She sniffled. “Yeah, maybe.”

Regan’s feet were bare. The cruel dipshits had taken her shoes to make it harder for her to run away, even if she got the chance. Arkady let out a little wolf-like growl.Too much time around Alice’s pack, she thought wryly.But how the heck do I get her to Mireille’s car? A piggyback ride?Malcolm would never let her hear the end of that.

A small blue hatchback appeared from behind the bar, ending Arkady’s internal debate about how to get Regan safely across the glass-strewn gravel lot. Mireille was behind the wheel. She parked beside them and hopped out. Arkady saw no sign of Ronan, but she had the feeling he was watching them from somewhere close by.

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