We don’t talk about her.
We don’t talk about any of them.
Everything began to fall apart.
No one ever stopped to ask how I felt.I’d lost Donna, Becca, my aunt and uncle.But because I was a kid, I guess they thought I was fine.
I wasn’t.
But it did motivate me to join the force.I wonder though, if it was to help people or pay a debt I felt was due?
Caylee collapses on my chest, and as familiar fury rises to just below the surface, I run my hand over her back to soothe both of us.
Can I really make a dent in this revolting industry?Like the war on drugs, this beast is too big for me alone to destroy.
Possibly too big for Black Hawke Security.
Hell, even the United States.
It is a stain on our species that has only gotten worse with technology.I can play my part in weakening the supply chains when we find them, but I would put money on it still existing when I leave this plane.
And that makes me see red.
Still, Agent Reed is right.Someone in the area is pimping these middle-class girls to high-paying customers.Someone with access to them.
Someone like a dentist...
Perhaps.
It’s soul-destroying to learn that these people are living among us under the guise of their everyday lives.They aren’t gangsters; they are our neighbors, our colleagues.
How else do you think a 150-billion-dollar industry thrives?
It’s sickening.
I’ve studied the profiles of these predators.These people are narcissists, sociopaths and sadists who get off on the control and satisfaction that sex with children gives.For some, it’s safer with a weak underage individual, as they were victimized themselves as children.
That’s no excuse.
I climb off the sofa and lift Caylee into my arms.“Let’s go to bed.”
She throws her arms around my neck and nuzzles it.“Jake?”
“Yes, baby.”
“How do you feel about costume parties?”
I frown, nudging her bedroom door with my toe.“Um, neutral.”
“What about a Superman outfit.”
I glance down into her sparkling eyes.
“I’m having a party.Next weekend.So that we can meet each other’s friends and family.”
Jesus.
“Right.”I lower her to the floor and rub my cheek, flinching when I remember the bruising.
