“I don’t know, and that worries me. I removed her chip and the sensor didn’t pick up anything else.” Taryn bit her lip. “What did he say to you?”
“He described Giselle. Said his girlfriend had gone missing and he was worried about her.” She excused herself to fill the order that a waitress brought to the bar. “There was something about him that seemed... off. Plus, I’ll never answer a question about a missing girl.”
“I never doubted you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you.”
“Thank you for trusting me to handle it.” She laughed. “I expected you to come running at any moment.”
Taryn winced. “I wanted to. But I was afraid he’d recognize me and jeopardize all of this. I didn’t intend to put everyone in danger.”
“You didn’t. You had no way of knowing he’d show up here. This place, the hope it provides, is more important. More important than me and,” Dani smiled tentatively, “more important than you. Not that I want anything to happen to you.”
Dani squeezed Taryn’s hand. Her touch was comforting, but her words helped the most.
“Backatcha.” She sucked in a breath, steadying herself. Dani was safe. The bar was safe. “Now I want you to take a break.”
“I don’t need a break,” Dani protested. “I’m fine. I promise.”
“It’s not for you. It’s for me. I want you to go write down everything you remember from your interaction with him. I need to figure out how he ended up here.”
“Could be a coincidence.” Dani’s expression said she didn’t believe it.
“Could be.” Taryn didn’t believe it either. “He shouldn’t have been anywhere near this neighborhood.”
Chapter15
Taryn tapped lightlyon the door. “Giselle?”
Not wanting to appear threatening or make any moves that frightened the new girl, she stepped back to the other side of the hallway.
“Yes?” A soft voice, barely audible, replied through the door.
“It’s Taryn. Can we talk for a few minutes?”
“Um, okay.” Locks turned, then the door opened a crack. Giselle peeked around the edge of the door. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine,” Taryn reassured her. “But I need to ask you a few questions. Can I come in? Or we can go to my office.”
The girl paled.
Dammit. She hadn’t meant to sound like both good cop and bad cop.
“Or we can go to the kitchen,” Taryn added.
“The kitchen.” Her voice was still soft, but Giselle’s response was decisive. She slipped through the crack between the bedroom door and the door frame. The flowing pants and baggy sweater made Giselle look even smaller than she had the first night. Having originally seen the girl in her skintight dress, Taryn wasn’t surprised by the loose clothes.
Taryn kept a closet full of new clothes that she offered to the women who stayed here. They could pick anything they wanted and if they couldn’t find anything that fit, Taryn purchased it. She truly believed it was the first step to reclaiming their lives and was glad Giselle had found clothes she was comfortable in.
Side by side, they walked to the kitchen. The lights flickered on automatically when they entered the room. “Want anything?” Taryn asked.
“I’ll take a beer.” Giselle looked everywhere but at Taryn.
“Yeah, um, no.” Taryn bit back a laugh.
Giselle dropped into a seat and glared at her. “Why the hell not?”
“Because you’re what, twelve?”
“I’m eighteen.” Her tone dared Taryn to challenge her.
