Page 21 of Maddox

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration and disappointment coursing through me. "Clare. The session on Saturday...it didn't go well."

Gideon leaned back in his chair, studying me. "Define 'didn't go well.'"

I sighed heavily, sinking into one of the chairs across from his desk. "It started off okay. We were coloring, talking. She evenbrought her old teddy bear. But then I showed her the playroom I set up, and something triggered her. She panicked and ran out."

"Shit," Gideon muttered. "Is she okay?"

I nodded. "Physically, yes. But emotionally... I don't know. She said she doesn't think this is going to work. That she can't do it."

Gideon was quiet for a moment, processing. "And how are you holding up?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "How do you think? I feel like I pushed too hard, too fast. Like I've ruined any chance of helping her."

"Maddox," Gideon said firmly, "you can't blame yourself for this. Trauma recovery isn't linear. There are always setbacks."

"I know that," I snapped, his words too close to what I’d told Clare, then immediately felt guilty. I glanced at one of my oldest friends. “Give me something to do.”

He nodded. “Actually, we did just get something in. I was just going to call everyone in and see how we wanted to proceed.” He flicked on the screen on the wall so I didn’t need to move, and saw a picture of a dark-haired twenty-something woman wearing frayed denim shorts and a t-shirt covered in yellow daisies. Her long brown hair was in pigtails at each side and tied with a pink ribbon.

“Who’s that?”

“Emily Carter. She works for children and family services, and she’s gone missing. Her mom and dad are raising hell, but the weird thing is, her contact with her parents and older sister has been practically non-existent in the past three years. On the face of things, she has a tight family, but her sister Melanie seems to be the star of the show.”

The door opened and Dion walked in, but I barely acknowledged him. I heard Gideon repeat what he’d just told me.

“What do you mean by the star?” Dion asked.

“George Carter is a lawyer. Specializes in contract law and has big business names behind him. His wife Dierdre was his personal assistant before they married, and now is a big name in Coral Gables, probably one of the wealthiest city in Florida. Their eldest daughter Melanie is also a lawyer and has followed in daddy’s footsteps.”

I stared at the picture. Emily didn’t seem like the daughter of a socialite and a top attorney, but what did I know?

“Emily Carter is a social worker, but the interesting thing is that she seems to have paid for her schooling herself, unlike Melanie, who had her daddy pay. Emily had two jobs but still has a mountain of student debt, because she pays for her own apartment as well. Incidentally, it was her roomie who initially raised the alarm about her disappearance, and the parents only got involved when the media got hold of it.”

Gideon pulled up another pic of a woman we all immediately recognized. “Is that Jennifer?” She was one of our servers.

“Yes, and she shared an apartment with Emily. She’s worried and came to me two days ago. I’ve been getting all the details so we’d know what was happening.”

“Is she a Little?” Dion asked. “Not that it matters,” he added hastily.

“Jennifer says she has grilled her about the Little nights at Salvation. Her room is full of stuffed animals, and Jennifer doesn’t know for sure, but she thinks she’s been seeing someone. Jennifer says Emily’s parents screwed her up so much she didn’t dare even tell Jennifer what was going on.”

I stared at the photo of Emily, my mind racing. A young woman, possibly a Little, estranged from her family, now missing. It had all the hallmarks of a potential trafficking situation.

"Do we have any leads on where she might be?" I asked Gideon.

Gideon shook his head. "Not yet. Her phone's been off since she disappeared three days ago. No activity on her credit cards or bank accounts either."

"What about the person Jennifer thinks she was seeing?" Dion asked.

"No details," Gideon replied. "Emily was apparently very secretive about it. Jennifer just had a hunch based on Emily's behavior."

I felt a renewed sense of purpose coursing through me. This was exactly what I needed—a mission to focus on, a Little to protect.

"I want in on this," I said firmly. "Where do we start?"

“Me too,” Dion added.

Gideon nodded, unsurprised. "I figured you would. We'll start by interviewing Emily's coworkers and friends. See if anyone noticed anything unusual lately. Eric will dig into her financials, see if there's anything that stands out. Maddox, you and Dion can take the family angle. See what you can find out about her relationship with them."

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