Page 64 of Found By You
“No,” I said. “This is not your fault.”
“I agree,” said Damon. “It seems like you were about to crack this whole operation wide open, that’s a big deal.”
“But I didn’t,” Azalea said through tears. “My stupid brother followed me.”
“Protected you,” I said.
She nodded, more tears falling. “I just hate the fact that I put him in danger, too.” She winced. “He kept telling me to stay out of this, he had a bad feeling about it, but I just couldn’t stop. I had to find out the truth.”
I squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. And, your brother is going to be okay.”
She sucked in a long breath. “Sorry, Damon, for breaking down. And everything.”
Damon sighed. “Listen, this is how things go sometimes. The truth is important. We have to have the truth in a world where we swim in lies a lot. And, it seems no matter how much you prepare, it can all go to crap at times. It’s okay, Azalea. I’m sorry you were led into this whole deal. I am glad that you followed your hunch. The fact is that exposing human trafficking is very important.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, and I looked over and saw tears streaming down her face.
“But, I do agree with your brother, you have to protect yourself, too.”
She sniffed. “True. I will be better about that. I promise.”
“Okay,” Damon said. “Why don’t you two grab dinner when you get to town and go to McCrae’s? McCrae, I’m going to take you off duty for the next couple days and put you as personal protection for Azalea. I think that’s important.”
I was relieved. “Sounds good to me. You can even take my vacation.” And I meant it.
“No,” Damon said quickly. “That won’t be needed. Goodbye. Love you, bro.”
“Love you too.” I hung up, I couldn’t stop the lump of emotion in the back of my throat.
Azalea wiped a tear and sniffed. “Your family is so amazing. I just feel bad about this whole situation.”
“You don’t have to feel bad. This is …” I hesitated. “Like my brother said, truth is important and I respect the fact you were searching for truth.”
She put her hand inside of mine. “Thank you.”
I couldn’t imagine all the things she’d gone through. We drove in silence for a bit, taking comfort in each other’s presence.
We were passing a gas station and a Subway. “Should we pull over and use the restroom and then grab a sandwich?” I knew I was starving. I’d been running on adrenaline this whole day.
She nodded. “Yeah, that would be great. Do you care if I use your phone to call the hospital?”
“Of course.” I handed it over to her.
She put it on speaker.
“Sis, are you okay?” he asked, sounding a tad drugged but wanting to hold on—the same way he’d spoken when we’d walked into the room.
“I’m okay,” she said, “and safe. How are you?”
“Good. Good. There’s an FBI person here that’s standing guard and another one outside the door, but they told me that they caught that big group in Arizona. Did you hear that?”
“Yeah, I heard that.”
He hesitated. “Are you being protected?”
She sniffed and looked over at me, squeezing my hand. “I am. I’m really lucky.”
“Okay, well, I love you, so stay safe, and I’m hoping this whole thing ends soon. Praying for you.”
