Page 40 of The Lair

Jada didn’t look too keen on telling me at first. But after I insisted, she finally admitted, “After they were arrested, the police told us she was part of… of a ring of some sort.”

“A ring,” I echoed.

By that time, I was old enough to understand what that word meant in that context.

But I wanted to hear it from her. From the only adult I could trust.

“Why did they come for me?”

“They knew your parents had money, so maybe they wanted that. Your mom… Well, she made it easy for them to find out all kinds of information on your family to gain your trust.”

Nausea climbed up my throat. “What kind of ring was that woman part of?”

Jada lowered her gaze. “Child trafficking.”

The ground opened beneath my feet. My soul turned cold.

I understood then. All of it.

The danger I’d been in. What could still happen to me if I didn’t save myself.

Because nobody else was going to do it for me.

Chapter Twelve

“Doyou want to know who my Secret Santa is?”

I arch an unamused eyebrow at Charlie as he polishes some drinking glasses next to me behind the bar.

“I distinctly remember you telling us to keep our Secret Santa a secret,” I remind him.

“We don’t count, Allie Cat. We’re best friends.”

Jada’s words hit me again.

Sometimes we need to be a bit brave in order to get what we want.

She promised to keep me updated on George Eden and any other articles that could arise in the upcoming weeks, but so far nothing new has come up. It doesn’t ease the anxiety clinging to my chest every second of every hour.

I also can’t deny that our conversation opened up something not entirely comfortable in me.

What do I want?

That’s a question I haven’t allowed myself to answer in a long time. Before, what I wanted was to get away and start anew. But now that I’ve done that—or I’m trying to—I want to find a further meaning to my existence. A meaning that includes a bit of that calm and happiness I’ve always longed for.

I look at Charlie, Jude, and Sandra, who have treated me with so much kindness from the start, and I find that I want to get closer to them. I want to go out with Charlie and his friends, tag along with Jude and Sandra to visit their grandson, experience new things.

My gaze shifts to Travis, who’s tidying up the bar before we close for the night.

And fine, I want to get closer to him too. He’s still my boss, and he’ll never be interested in me in the same way I’m pathetically interested in him, but it doesn’t matter. When we played darts a few nights ago, I had a great time. And I know he did, too, if only because Travis is never where he doesn’t want to be.

I’m not ready to tell any of them the truth. Maybe I’ll never be. But I’m ready to take a small step toward that calm, happy life I so desperately crave.

“Wearebest friends.” I finally concede what my heart has known for a long time now, earning me a smirk from Charlie. “But I don’t want to know who your Secret Santa is. It takes the fun out of it.”

“Boo.” He puts away a cocktail glass. “Now that I think about it, you’re right. I don’t want to tell you.”

“See? You needed three seconds to think it through.”

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