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“Her father, Gary, was involved with some bad people. He got a reduced sentence for turning state’s witness against one of them.”

“Why’d he get arrested?”

“Possession of child pornography, trafficking, and intent to solicit a minor.” My father’s voice was calm, matter of fact. Like he hadn’t just dropped the mother of all bombshells on me.

“What the fuck!” The chair tipped over when I jumped to my feet.

“Sit down.” His tone left no room for disobedience, so I picked up my chair and sat back down. I clenched my back teeth and put my fisted hands on my thighs. I desperately wanted to punch someone.

They waited a few seconds while I calmed myself down. I used the breathing technique I learned in the Army. Breath in for four, hold for four, breath out for four, hold for four. After a few cycles, my heart rate was back to normal.

“Where was her mother during all this?” Jesus, no wonder she never talked about her family. “You said they both got arrested.”

“Her mother was, and still may be, a drug addict. When the FBI questioned her, she claimed she didn’t know anything about Gary’s illegal habits. They arrested her at Gary’s trial on drunk and disorderly charges and released her into court ordered rehab soon after.”

“Christ.” I ran my hand through my hair.

“And the FBI?” I choked out, fear caused my voice to rise an octave.

“They changed her name after she testified against Patrick Sullivan, a Boston crime boss on their most wanted list. Meg was one of the four underaged victims who testified. One of them called 9-1-1 from a client’s phone, which led to Sullivan’s arrest. They redacted the names in the court documents to protect the identities of the minors, so we don’t know if Meg made the call.” I stared, unblinking, at my father as he told me this in a calm, steady voice.

“Christ.” My brain was struggling to put it all together. Meg’s history was so much worse than I’d expected.

“We’ve reached out to the FBI agent who handled the case to find out more. He may not tell us anything, but it’s worth a try.”

“Regardless of the how or why Meg was involved, Sullivan’s a sick son of a bitch who won’t lose sleep over getting revenge. If Meg’s the one who called 9-1-1, she’ll be his first target.” Jamie said.

They gave me a moment to digest it all.

I leaned forward and ran my hand through my hair while I processed everything they’d told me. Meg was on the run, and hiding from the mob. This was bad. My heart was beating against my ribs. I stood up and started pacing back and forth, clenching and unclenching my fists with each step.

“Wait, who’d her father testified against?” I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

Jamie looked at my dad, who gave him a subtle nod. “Sullivan.”

“Sullivan?” I spit out the familiar name.

“The same. He was wanted for a laundry list of crimes, including trafficking minors.” Jamie turned his monitor so I could see it. I stared at the image of a short fat man smiling and waving to the press as he left court, my blood pressure rising the longer I stared. I wanted to wipe the smug smile off his fat face forever.

“Please tell me he’s still in prison.” If Sullivan was out of prison, he’d want to find Meg.

“They released him on parole. The timing lines up with Megan’s move to Texas. I think it’s safe to assume she knows Sullivan is out of jail.”

I couldn’t speak. Anger and fear raged through me. I wanted to hunt down Sullivan and beat him to death with my bare hands. His death was the only thing that would guarantee Meg’s safety. “Do you think…” I was barely holding it together, thinking about the things Meg might have suffered.

I didn’t think either of them had ever seen me look so shaken or pissed off. I took a few deep breaths and sat back down.Pull yourself together.

“How do I help her?” My voice cracked.

“First off, you don’t. We do.” He pointed to himself and Jamie. “Second, you can’t work-”

I cut him off as I stood up and leaned over his desk. “The hell I can’t!” So much for staying calm.

He raised his eyebrows and waited as I struggled to control my emotions. “You’re too close. We can’t have you digging into her past if you’re trying to date her. It blurs the line of ethics and could appear like an abuse of your position. I won’t risk the company’s reputation.” He paused. “Trust that we’ll do everything we can to help her.”

“I can’t sit around and do nothing, dad.” This is so much worse than I’d expected.

“I know, son. You can help her by being her friend and continuing to train her,” he paused, “but keep it professional.”

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