She’d needed him, and he hadn’t been there. If there was one thing that Chay was really in tune with, it was that. He’d needed his mom a million times, and filling the void left had made him into the tough ass he’d thought he was until Ava.
“What’s up?”
“Um…were you aware that Fern has a tattoo that she doesn’t remember getting?” Ava asked.
“No. I wasn’t. I don’t think Jacob was, either,” he said. “Where and what does it look like?”
“On her neck, and this is a rough sketch. She doesn’t remember all the details and she has a cast on her leg so this iswhat you’ll have to go on.” Ava handed him a piece of paper that had been torn from a notebook.
Chay looked down at it. “This almost looks like a brand, maybe?”
More talking to himself than to Ava.
“What does that mean?”
“Human traffickers mark their property.”
That sent chills down Ava’s spine. “Do you think that’s what happened to Fern?”
“I’m not sure yet. I have some paperwork to do but should be done here in an hour or so.”
He was being so calm, as if he hadn’t just saidhuman traffickingto her. But maybe that was the way he had to be in order to get the job done. “You good with me taking Gracie to the National Parks ISB offices?” he asked.
Ava beamed at him, and he realized he was playing straight into her fantasies of him as a dad. As much as he was reluctant to talk about adopting Gracie, Chay did spend a lot of time with the little girl.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Text when you’re back and I’ll meet you out front.”
“We’ll come in.”
Chay wasn’t taking any chances. The tattoo on Fern could link her to a trafficking gang. Prove that she was taken for a purpose. Human trafficking seemed to be the main motive. Still, he would be happier if he could tie those other disappearances to the same gang. He wanted to talk to Jacob about the case.
“I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Too bad,” he said. Meaning it as well. The break-in last night now seemed more important than ever. Had Annie Ross or her friend Camille Lancaster been taken for the same reasons as Fern? He needed to call the medical examiner and see if Annie had any tattoos.
“You’re bossy.”
“So are you. That’s why you like me.”
“True,” she admitted, leaning over to kiss him. “Tell Jacob thanks again for last night.”
Chay agreed and watched her walk away after she kissed Gracie as well. “Mama.”
“Yup, your mama is going back to work,” he said, gathering up their things. “Want to come to work with me?”
It had been on the tip of his tongue to call himself “daddy.” But he wasn’t Gracie’s father. He was her uncle. Changing that relationship was going to require him to do some soul searching and heavy thinking. He was already leaning that way. Last night had changed a few things. Shown him that even though he felt he was protecting himself, he hadn’t been.
He got to the National Parks ISB offices and made a beeline for Jacob. He’d texted over the information he’d gotten from Ava and was ready to discuss it.
The baby strapped to his chest got a few smiles, and more than one person came over to say hi. Normally his gruff exterior kept most people at arm’s length, but no one could resist Gracie’s charm.
He caught Jacob up on the tattoo and the fact that Fern wasn’t sure if she’d had it since she was a teen. The other man was just as interested in finding out what the rest of it was like. “I think Fern will shut down if we push her. This is going to be all we have until Ava gets her talking more about it.”
“Agreed. But at least it gives us something to look for on other women. It’s got to be trafficking. Are they using the women as sex workers or for porn?” Jacob asked.
“We could check arrest records. But usually officers aren’t looking for tattoos.”
“Yeah. And the sketch…it’s not really enough to go on,” Jacob said.
