Page 49 of Concealed

Wallace is telling me about his anniversary plans with wife number four, and we’re almost at the back door when a gigantic cop I’ve never seen before purposely gets in our way.

I don’t miss the instant change in Wallace’s demeanor, or the tension radiating from every one of his pores.

“Brian,” Wallace says, “you’re back.”

As soon as he says the name, I put the pieces together that this guy is “asshole Brian” that everyone is talking about. He was on leave for discharging his weapon while Internal Affairs took a look at his conduct.

Most people were hoping he wouldn’t come back.

“I was cleared.” He preens like a peacock, as though he can’t believe his luck either.

“Well, it’s not like your bullet hit anyone,” Wallace mutters.

Brian scowls before his beady gaze and full attention land on me. “So, you’re rookie boy.”

“Only my friends can call me that nickname,” I retort, “and I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“So, trigger finger is outta the question, too, then?” Brian sneers.

“I guess we’ve got that in common,” I return. “Except, I hit what I’m shooting.”

Wallace doesn’t even try to hide his belly laugh. “C’mon, rookie boy, we’ve got crimes to stop.”

“We all know why you’re here,” Brian tells my retreating back. “And we’re waiting for when you inevitably fuck up again, and go back home to your daddy.”

Wallace subtly presses his shoulder against mine, silently propelling me forward. He’s taking me away from the chance to say something that would come back to bite me. Grant just praised me, and I don’t need to make him sorry for it.

Brian is behind us and still muttering under his breath while Wallace and I head toward the cruiser.

“Making friends already I see,” Wallace notes with a wink.

We’ve reached the cruiser, which is our home for the next twelve hours.

“What the hell did I do to him?” I demand.

“Competition. He wanted to be on the task force, but wasn’t allowed given his recent fuckup. And now you’re here, you’re Grant’s new pet, and you both want to make detective.”

“Great. Just what I need. More assholes in my life. I’m already stuck driving one around all the damn time.”

Wallace taps the roof of the car twice before getting inside, a ritual he never skips. “And don’t forget it, rookie boy.”

On the road patrolling our regular route, I tell Wallace about the sting operation we’re setting up for the task force.

“It’s not going to be an easy thing to watch,” he says. “To know that men like those pieces of shit even exist is too much. To know that the things they’ll say to Dean are what they’d actually be saying to underage girls if they had half a chance is sickening.”

“And it’s even worse that so many of the girls’ parents won’t even bother looking for them or reporting them as missing.”

“But you’re looking,” Wallace returns.

And I won’t stop until I find all the girls and lock up the men who took them.

Living in a world where people are treated as disposable commodities is a grim reality, and just one of many dark elements of society that fly under most people’s radars.

Human trafficking isn’t something people think happens stateside. They assume it’s a foreign problem, but it’s also right here in our own backyard.

And good cops are supposed to be the voice for the voiceless and take care of everyone, even the people society forgets about.

“A few of the key pieces are there, and we’re close. I can sense it,” I tell Wallace. “I just don’t have the box to know the exact puzzle that I’m trying to put together.”

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