Page 74 of Locked In

She nodded. “That was a surprise. I just didn’t peg him for it, but I supposed I should have after he broke into my place.”

“Let’s get you back upstairs. You’ve got to be exhausted.” He needed her locked in somewhere so he could call Archer. They needed to deal with all this pronto.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

He stared at her. “You need some sleep.”

“After what we just heard? You’re crazy. We need to call the police. Those people were talking about trafficking girls. Are we supposed to just let that go?”

“Youneed to let it go. I will take care of it. All of it. You need to stay as far away from all this as possible.”

“That’s just insane. We need to tell the police what’s going on.”

He had to make her see reason. Maybe if he appealed to her ambition because appealing to her safety hadn’t worked. “Listen, we have no proof and telling the police won’t change anything. Hell, did you hear them? Your boss is probably already compromised, as is the police department. I’m asking you to stay as far away from this as possible because if it all blows up someone is going to have to take the reins of the local government. Your boss’s days are numbered. And so are the police chief’s.”

The appeal seemed to drive home the reality of the situation for her. She rubbed her face with her hands. “What do we do then?”

“Wedon’t do anything. I’ll take it from here.”

She straightened. “That’s not acceptable. Astrid and Calli deserve justice.”

“And they’ll get it, but you can’t be a part of that. It’s too dangerous both physically and career-wise.” If she only knew how dangerous it was for her. If anyone ever found out that she heard anything about the Society then it could be the end for her. His heart crashed against his ribcage at that thought.

She stared at him, then let out a sigh. “I’m not shocked to find out that my former boss, Will Findley is involved with these guys. He was always shady. I knew at the time he was up to all kinds of shit. Backroom deals were just the tip of the iceberg. The fact that the Lock and Key Society is involved in this doesn’t surprise me either.”

He started to reply, but then froze. Did she just… What the fuck did she know? And how did she find out? He forced air back into his lungs and tried to figure out what to say.

“Do you know about them? The Rainy Day Club reminds me a bit of them except you guys are more public. There’s nothing public about the Lock and Key.”

Wait…she hadn’t connected him with the Society yet. “What’s the Lock and Key Society?” He kept his voice as neutral as possible.

“It’s this secret society that a lot of the top-tier people in New York and around the world belong to. Supposedly you can get anything you want or experience anything you can think of if you’re a member. Apparently, Will was, and still is, a member. He used to talk about it in hushed tones with Webber, but we all knew about it. His hushed tones weren’t so hushed when he was drinking. I never knew if it was real or something he made up, but it sounds like it’s real and it’s involved in some nasty business.”

She ran her hands through her hair. “We have to do something about all this. Who do we tell?”

Flynn said nothing. She was going in circles trying to absorb the situation and deal with the shock.

“I need to talk to Susan and tell her what the hell is going on here. She’s being used. And as horrible as she can be at times, she’s a damn good mayor. I’d hate to see her do something stupid to wreck her political career.”

“It’s probably too late for that. As I said…you don’t want to be anywhere near this. You need to take a breath. We can go up to my room or, if you want, I can take you home and stay with you. I think we need to take a step back and assess before we do anything. I don’t want to make a mistake that could jeopardize things.”

She stared at him and then gave a small shrug. “I want to go to my place but I…” she licked her lips. “I just need to be alone.”

The pain that shot through his chest was unexpected. He rubbed the area above his heart but said nothing. Instead, he just nodded. “Being alone is not a great idea. Can you stay with a friend or go see your parents?”

“Yeah, I could do that. I can go see my folks. They won’t question me too closely. I can just say I can’t sleep and needed to be with family.” She glanced at her wrist. “It’s just gone one a.m. I better get a move on. My dad will still be up.” She pulled her phone out and sent him a text. She got an immediate response. “Okay, I’m good to go.”

He walked her out of the basement and through the building to her SUV parked outside. “Text me when you get there so I know you made it safely.”

“I will.”

She was so pale and looked so worn out that it broke him somehow. He wanted to hold her close and tell her it would all be okay but he could tell her walls were already up. She didn’t hug him or kiss him or give any indication they were anything more than acquaintances. Smart girl. If only he could do the same. He stood back and watched her drive away. A feeling of dread washed over him, leaving him a bit queasy and clammy. It was the same reaction he’d had many times when he was in the gang or when he was in serious trouble in Iraq. His body was telling him this was far from resolved and if he wasn’t careful, it wouldn’t end well for him or Harper.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Flynn pulled out his phone. Karl had sent several texts. Carruthers had run and he’d scooped her up. She was on a plane on her way to see Archer. He sent a text to Karl asking if he was around and if could he make sure Harper made it to her parents’ place. He responded immediately and said he would text when she made it and then hang out for a while to see if she stayed there. Karl was a good man who knew his shit. Flynn idly wondered if he wanted to leave Maine. There were lots of good positions for someone like Karl.

He started back inside and then thought the better of it. Turning, he went to his rental and drove into town. He sat on Main Street outside the Coffee Cake and made the call he’d been dreading.

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