That was all the encouragement Emily needed. She rushed to her mother, nearly knocking Anna down when she slammed into her. Anna wrapped her arms around Emily, and they both began to sob.
John watched them. The rest of his anger bled out of him, but he stayed in place.
I walked over to him, keeping my back to Anna and Emily, and lowered my voice. “I know you’re upset, but what she needs from you right now is love and peace. You have every right to be pissed—especially after hearing about what she went through, but the people who did this to her won’t get away with it. My partner and I are working on destroying the organization running this thing.” I held his gaze. “The man who took her will never have the opportunity to get near her or any other girl ever again. As for the rest? We will destroy them. So put your energy into healing your daughter and not on vengeance.”
He stared down at me and grimaced. “I was such an asshole.”
I gave him a grim smile, but I was relieved he’d softened. “It was an odd phone call, but I had to convince her that you both wanted her home. Now just love her. That’s what she needs.”
I turned around and walked over to Emily.
When she saw me, she pulled away from her mother and turned to face me. “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah. You don’t need me anymore. Now, I have to go save the other girls.”
She threw her arms around me, hugging me tight. “Thank you.”
My throat tightened and my eyes stung. “You’re welcome.” I squeezed her, then stepped back.
“Thank you,” Anna said. “I can never repay you. The reward?—”
“I don’t want the reward,” I said. “Really. I’d rather you give it to an organization that helps girls like your daughter.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
I took a step back and looked down at Emily again. “If you ever need me, contact Carter Hale. He’s an attorney in Jackson Creek, Tennessee. Tell him you need Harper, and he’ll make sure I get the message.”
She squinted up at me. “But your name is Amber.”
“Just like yours was Lexi,” I said.
Then I walked to my car and headed back to Little Rock.
Chapter 24
After I got back on the highway, I called Carter.
“You get the girl dropped off?”
“Yeah, now I’m headed back to Little Rock. Where’s James?”
He hesitated. “Did you get anymore information?”
“Yeah,” I filled him in on what she’d told me. “We need to figure out which cops are involved.”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky and find the accountant,” he said. “He’ll definitely have the names on the payroll.”
“That would be ideal, but it seems like a reach. Still, I suspect we have hours at best before Knox figures out we’ve taken Buddy and Emily. Then we’ll be back on the defensive.”
“Skeeter’s likely to get helpful information.”
“Have you heard from him?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
“Send me his location, and I’ll see what he’s found out.”
He paused, then said, “I’m wondering if you two should move from the hotel and into a new safe house.”
