Duke took the opportunity to squat down in front of a seemingly unflappable Reese. Softly, he said, “We can’t help her if we don’t know what is going on. What can you tell us?”
Reese remained silent for several beats. Finally, she nodded and strongly stated, “She needed help to get away from where she grew up. She said she needed help getting an ID. I told her to come here. I don’t know much more than that.”
Duke reached out and squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
She looked up at Duke, her usually blank face full of trepidation. “Can I see her? Please.”
He shook his head. “Not just yet, sweetheart…” He was cut off by the sound of Reese’s chair scraping across the floor as she pushed back from him. It must have startled Duke, because he reached out to grab for her, his hand landing hard on her thigh.
Carbon suddenly burst through the door, “Get your fucking hands off my sister.”
Phoenix stood and bellowed, “Everybody out!” He heaved in a breath, “Byte, stay. One of you take her to see the girl, but don’t leave them alone.”
Phoenix dropped back down into his chair, Byte continued his relentless typing, and the rest of us scurried out of the room.
Carbon, Duke, and myself took Reese down to see Ember.
Ember was still curled into a ball on the floor crying. I don’t think she heard us come in. She didn’t move in the slightest when I pushed the door open.
I stepped forward and unlocked the cell. Reese immediately rushed in, pushing me out of her way as she went. She dropped to the floor and wrapped her arms around Ember. “Oh, honey. What did they do to you?”
Ember’s head shot up. “Reese? What are you doing here?”
“Carbon told me to come,” she hedged. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Ember sniffed and seemed to calm some just from Reese’s presence. “I’m not sure. I was talking to that man named Phoenix and all of a sudden he started yelling and flipped his desk over. He told me to get out, so I did. I ran out the door and he grabbed me.” She pointed an accusatory finger at me. “I managed to get away from him and ran outside. Another man tackled me to the ground.” She looked around the room again and pointed out Duke. “That one, but I got away from him, too. I ran as fast as I could to the gate. When I got there, another one of them put a gun in my face! Then, the three of them locked me in here.” Ember started crying in earnest again.
“Shhh, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Reese rose to her feet and turned to face the three of us. She was furious. If I was a lesser man, the look she fixed us with would have sent me running. She settled her eyes on Carbon and screamed, “What the fuck, Carbon? You said he helped women! Is this how he helps?!?”
I had been leaning against the wall, carefully observing the scene before me. I stepped forward before things could escalate between Reese and Carbon. “Hold up a sec. I think we are all missing something here.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket, scrolled to the name I wanted, and brought it to my ear. “Brother, can you come down to the cells?”
A few moments later, Badger came through the door.
I spoke to the room, “As I was saying, I think we are all missing something here. I’m hoping Badger can help us put it together since he has known Phoenix longer than any of us. Ember, can you tell us what you and Phoenix were talking about when he flipped his shit?”
She visibly swallowed, her fear palpable to everyone in the room, “He was asking me why I was here. He wanted to know my name and age. He asked where I grew up, which led to him asking about my parents. He started to get upset when I told him my mother’s first name. He threw the desk when I told him her last name.”
All eyes went to Badger. “Well,” he drawled, “I might be able to help you if you can tell me how you answered all of those questions.” I got the feeling Badger already knew how she answered those questions. Was he testing her?
Ember sighed, “My name is Ember and I’m 18. I’m here because I wanted help getting away from the place where I grew up, which is the orphanage across town. My mother died during childbirth and my father was never around. I don’t even know his name. My mother’s name was Annabelle. I never asked her last name, but I assumed it was the same as mine. My full name is Ember Rose Blackburn.”
Badger’s face paled and he took an unsteady step back, “Oh shit!” Okay, maybe he didn’t know how she answered those questions before. He shook his head in disbelief. “You said you are 18. Uh, when is your birthday?”
Ember looked just as confused as the rest of us, but readily answered, “It’s actually today.”
You could see the wheels turning in Badger’s head. He was trying to calculate something, holding out fingers as he silently counted. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak. Before he could utter a word, a frantic Phoenix burst through the door. “Let her out!”
Ember and Reese looked at each other. Ember seemed to cling even tighter to Reese. They both slowly stood together but neither took a step forward.
Phoenix was still very tense, but this seemed to be a nervous tension rather than the previous rage that consumed him. What in the hell was going on with everyone around here?
Phoenix looked directly at Ember. His eyes softened and he lowered his voice, “I’m sorry if I scared you earlier. Please know that no matter how angry I am, I never have and never will lay my hands on a woman in anger.” Ember didn’t say a word, she just watched him curiously. He continued, “I do need to speak with you privately…” Ember was already shaking her head no, but he continued, “I understand if you’re not comfortable being in a room with just me, so how about I let you lock me in that cell and you can stand out here while we talk.” What was he doing? I glanced at Badger who just shrugged.
Ember hesitantly asked, “Can Reese stay with me?”
Before he could answer, Reese stated, “Carbon and I will wait right outside the door, Ember. I promise.”
Ember’s eyes darted between Reese and Phoenix. Her gaze landed on me for a brief moment, surprising the hell out of me, before it settled on Reese. She visibly braced herself and nodded, “Okay.”
