Page 12 of Girl Lost
Corbin winced. There was teenage drama and then there was a crisis. A cry for help. “Pretty dramatic stuff.”
Marge sucked smoke into her lungs. She blew it out as she said, “Yeah. I had to seat some customers.”
The smoke stung his eyes, and he shifted, trying to put space between them without taking a rude step away.
“When I came back to refill the girls’ drinks, they seemed all serious. So, I’m not ashamed to say that I eavesdropped. Didn’t like no suicidal teens making plans in my diner. Wanted to see if they really meant it.”
She flicked the ash off her cigarette. “I was busing the table beside them and heard Carlie saying they should just run away together. Said she had enough money for both to get to New York. They could get jobs, be roommates, and their parents would have to spend the rest of their lives wondering what happened to them.”
This was new information. No one had mentioned this before. Not even Ashley. “Did they make any concrete plans?”
“Not that I heard.” Marge breathed out a long stream of smoke. “But Carlie gave something to Ashley.”
“What was it?”
“I didn’t see. Just heard her say, ‘Here, this will get you through the weekend.’ Then Ashley paid for their food and they left.” Marge dropped her cigarette and stubbed it out with her toe. “On the way out, they made plans to sneak out and go to some party.”
Corbin’s mind put it together. Carlie giving Ashley something to “get her through the weekend” could mean a lot of things, but given Carlie’s history, drugs seemed like a strong possibility. “Either of them mention a boyfriend?”
“If they did, I didn’t hear it.”
No surprise. Adults seemed to be the last ones to know when a teenager was in a relationship. He sure hadn’t told Stryker when he’d started falling for Luna.
But Ashley would know if Carlie had a boyfriend. She hadn’t mentioned it during their first interview, but her parents had beenthere. Now her best friend had been missing for weeks. Maybe she would be more forthcoming.
“Is there anything else you remember, Marge? Anything at all?”
She shook her head. “That’s all I got. Now, if there’s nothing else, I got to get my restaurant back in order.”
“Thank you, Marge. You’ve been very helpful.” The new details filled in a few more gaps.
As Marge headed back inside, he lingered. The Florida sun had turned the alley into an oven. He yanked at his tie.
Carlie Tinch, the commissioner’s daughter, wasn’t just a rebellious teen. She was dealing with serious family issues, that much he’d known. But possibly sharing drugs with her friends and making plans to run away? That was new. It sounded like more than just typical teenage drama.
He thought about his own teenage years, about the pain and confusion he’d felt when Luna told him she was pregnant. How scared and overwhelmed they’d both been. How badly they’d handled it all.
And Luna? She’d vanished. Disappeared from his life without a trace. Just like Carlie.
5
THE DRIVE FROM STRYKER’S HOUSEtothe Kingdom MMA Gym took fifteen minutes,but Luna neededanother fifteen to work herself up to go inside. Which was stupid. She’d walked into the apartment of a Pakistani arms dealer without backup—she could go into the gym and face her friends.
She could do this.
Some of her best memories were at this gym. Luna smiled to herself. She’d had fun in the ring with the others. The way Corbin used to wrap her hands before sparring, his touch gentle, his gaze warm. How he’d stood up for her against some tweakers who’d tried to steal her backpack, his fists clenched, his jaw tight. She’d felt safe with him, a feeling she’d craved after years of chaos and uncertainty.
They’d whispered secrets in the halls, shared dreams under the watchful eyes of Stryker.
Her smile faltered. She’d loved him. Thought he loved her too. They’d planned their future. A small house with a porch swing. A dog. A life far away from Millie Beach. A family. They were supposed to raise their daughter together. Be the kind of parents they’d never known.
A childish dream. A dream shattered when Corbin decided he didn’t want to be a father. Those were the kinds of thoughts that had kept her awake most of last night.
It didn’t matter. She’d moved on. Corbin didn’t want to be a father? Fine. Then he didn’t need to know that Stryker had promised to help her find their daughter.
That had been the other thing keeping her from sleep. Good thing she didn’t need much.
Luna flinched at the sharp tap of knuckles on her window, then smiled. A lot could change about a person from age thirteen to thirty-six, but she’d know that brilliant smile lighting up those dark, almond-shaped eyes anywhere.
