Page 106 of Amber Gambler

“Talk fast.” I spun to find him standing a few yards away. “The clock starts now.”

The sight of him in faded jeans and a tee thinned from frequent washings called to mind the boy I had first met. The chaotic mess of his hair from where he had been raking his fingers through betrayed his anxiety. Good for him. He deserved to be stressed, to be afraid of the consequences of his actions.

“I could tell the old man was up to something, okay, so I waited until he left one night and followed him. He went to Armie’s, which I knew was a hangout for you, so I went in. I was worried he would hassle you again, like when he stopped by your shop. I planned to confront him, to tell him to back off, but I walked in on him having drinks with Armie. Since you Marystell each other everything, and some of that trickles out to your friends, I figured Armie might have had the same idea. To set him straight. I invited myself to join them to make sure things didn’t get heated. That’s it. I met themonetime.”

Until Carter’s team finished viewing the footage, which was extensive, I had to take his word for that.

Ha ha ha.

Yeah.

Right.

I might have given him a chance if he hadn’t taken Matty. We would never know now, since he had chosen the nuclear option. Despite the wiry grasses struggling through the shale walking path, I saw only scorched earth between us.

“Audrey Collins was your waitress that night.” While watching the video, Carter remarked on how Harrow hadn’t so much as looked her way, but I wasn’t interested in absolving him. “Convenient how the only surviving witness to your clandestine meeting has gone missing.”

“About that,” a soft voice rose over the stone wall.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I refused to turn my back on Harrow, but I registered motion on the edge of my vision. “Audrey?” Incredulousness dripped from her name. “Audrey Collins?”

I wanted to punch Harrow in his pretty face. I wanted to kick him in the balls. I wanted to rip off his arms and beat him to death with them. Of all the stunts to pull, this belonged in the Dumbass Hall of Fame.

“That night…” Harrow lost his voice. “You called me.” His rasp scraped my ears. “I was at my uncle’s.” He gathered himself. “I told you someone had been there.”

“There was a loud pop, the line went dead, and I sent Kierce to you.”

A girl inched forward, cutting across my periphery, until she stood next to Harrow. Like he would protect her. Like she viewed him as safe. Like…they had spent enough time together to build trust.

“That dirtbag Lyle kidnapped me,” Audrey said, braver with Harrow in her corner.

Another truth, one I had seen in black and white on the recording, but I didn’t let it faze me.

“The pop was me tripping an enchantment Armie set to contain Audrey in Uncle Lyle’s safe room.”

The irony of a safe room used as a prison cell didn’t escape me, but I was finding it hard to care.

The resulting mess must have come from Lyle’s attempts at restraining her until he could contain her.

No matter how this shook out, Harrow had lied to me. And to Carter. And to his boss.

The 514 had allocated resources to find the missing girls, of which Audrey was believed to be one, but it looked to me like Harrow had known her whereabouts for a good long time and not breathed a word.

“Kierce left you to finish breaking the enchantment,” I recalled softly. “That’s why he didn’t see her.”

“Sam has been letting me stay at his place.” Audrey might as well have had hearts dancing in her eyes. “I worked closing shifts mostly. I was always last to go. I had to wait on Ian to pick me up, and he was never on time. I saw things, heard things, I shouldn’t have. Sam wanted to make sure I was safe from Armie.” Her adoration hit a snag. “Then Sam told me about the other girls.” Her voice thinned. “He said I could have the spare room if I promised not to leave the house until after y’all caught the killer.”

Sam.

She was calling himSam.

Good Lord, he was out of his mind for allowing an underage girl to play house with him.

Police officers were tried in the court of public opinion, and he was already halfway to a conviction after this boneheaded move.

“The 514 sent an officer to search Lyle’s house after his death.” I answered my own question. “Audrey hid in the safe room until they left. I’m guessing no one knew he had one.” I rubbed my eyes. “Otherwise, it would defeat the purpose.”

“He must have installed it after I moved out.” Harrow came across as tired rather than defensive. “I didn’t know it was there until the mess gave it away.” He massaged his temples with his thumbs like it might ease his obvious headache if he punctured his auditory cortex. “Unless he kept more secrets than I’ve uncovered so far.”

---