Page 62 of Bulletproof Love

“I didn’t know,” she cries. “I swear, I had no idea.”

Her head hangs as she quietly sobs. “What did they do to you?” It’s the one thing I ask that I almost don’t want the answer to.

She keeps her gaze trained on the tile floor. “Nothing nearly as bad as what they’ve done to others. He kept me safe.”

I tilt my head, wondering who she means. “Who did?”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s gone now, they both are.” Frustrated, I tip her chin so she’s forced to look at me. I haven’t slept nearly enough to deal with cryptic half answers.

“Did your father make you stay there?”

She shakes her head. “No, it was my cousin. My father too, possibly, but I don’t know.”

Okay, now I’m getting somewhere. “Alexander?”

“Yes. That son of a bitch killed Brennan.” Her lip quivers as she holds back a sob.

“He did, and he tried to kill Blake too,” I add. “We know he was upset with you for talking to me. He thought you were sharing information. Why would he think that?”

“Like I know? He’s a psychopath. I knew my father’s business wasn’t exactly on the up and up, but I had no idea what he and Brennan were doing. How evil they were.”

I study her face. I’m not as good as Damon and Leon at telling when a person is lying, but she seems genuine. “Can you give us anything on them? We think he may know something about my missing sister.” Her eyes widen. I grab my phone from my pocket and swipe to a photo of Bailey. “Have you ever seen her?”

She scans the photo, fidgeting with a loose string on her shirt. “No, she wasn’t one of the girls at the house.” A mix of relief and disappointment washes over me. “But there’s a way you could check if my father has her.”

I almost drop my phone. “What did you say?”

She smiles for the first time since I met her months ago, and a glimpse of her beauty shines through. “I hope you have a shovel.”

* * *

We’reall gathered around the couch eating pizza and catching up after an eventful day. Except Leon. Poor guy was miserable when he left to meet his father for dinner.

Earlier, Falin and I brought Kayla to the train station, where she shared a tearful reunion with her parents. Watching that moment, I couldn’t help but feel hopeful that someday soon we’d have the same experience when we find Bailey. Even though I know Kayla has years of healing ahead and her life won’t return to normal any time soon, seeing her safe because of our help fills me with a feeling of pride I haven’t felt in a long time.

Breaking down doors and confronting bad guys is one thing, but witnessing someone like Kayla get their life back, seeing it through to the end, that’s something else entirely.

“How’d it go with Mischa?” Falin asks. “When you texted me, you didn’t say much.” I’ve been thinking the same thing since we sat down, but didn’t want to be the one to ask.

“It went fine.” Blake takes a small bite of her gluten-free pizza.

“Okay,” Falin says, drawing out the word. “So what happened?”

Damon hasn’t touched his pizza. I glance his way with questioning eyes, but he doesn’t notice. He’s too busy watching Blake.

“We dropped her at the airport, just like we planned,” Blake answers.

Silence falls while we chew our food. They don’t ask about Kayla, which isn’t like them. I take a sip of my beer, and catch Falin watching my throat.

Finally, Damon breaks the silence, his voice laced with anger. “I still can’t believe you gave her your money.”

Blake drops her plate on the table. “It’s my money to do what I want with.”

“But you deserve that money. You’ll need it for school.”

Falin and I lock eyes across the coffee table, both feeling the tension thicken.

“Who knows when I’ll go back… if I can even get into another med school.”

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