He could barely make out the word over her tears.
“I saw Becca’s backpack through a window. I thought she’d be down here.”
“Calm down. I’m coming downstairs now. Lift your light so I can see where the hell I’m going.”
The light lifted and illuminated the rotting stairs he wished like hell he didn’t have to step on. He lowered one foot at a time, taking care not to place too much weight on one step. He didn’t need to end up in a heap at the bottom of the steps with Mickey.
He tightened his grip on the gun. His suspicions had died down over Mickey’s involvement with the sex-trafficking ring,but that didn’t mean he was right. If his gut was wrong, the outcome would be a lot worse than it had been in Austin.
This time, he’d be the one dead.
13
Heavy footsteps pounded the stairs toward her. The vibrations from the shaky wood shook her nerves. Mickey pulled herself to a sitting position on the dirt floor and kept the light from her phone pointed on the steps. “Graham?” She whispered his name and the word echoed around the empty room.
Black shoes came into view and her taut muscles relaxed…but only a little. No way she’d completely relax while inside this house. Graham’s broad shoulders filled the archway and tears of relief slid into the corners of her eyes.
Until she spotted the gun.
“Holy shit,” she screamed, scrambling backward like a skittering crab. “Why are you pointing a gun at me?”
Graham lowered the gun, but his finger stayed close to the trigger. Too close for her comfort. He stopped at the base of the stairs, his muscles bunched together like a jungle cat ready to pounce on its prey. “I told you I had a gun.”
“And I told you I was the only person down here.” Anger quickly replaced her fear and she jumped to her feet. She placed too much weight on her right foot and winced, but was toopissed to stop and acknowledge the pain. “Did you think I lied? Big bad Mickey lured you here so she could take care of you once and for all?”
“I didn’t know what to think.” He shifted the gun to one hand and shoved the other hand through his dirty blond hair.
Good God, the man was infuriating. She swept a hand in front of her and gestured around the basement. “As you can see, it’s just me. We missed them.” Her voice caught and she struggled to keep her composure.
Graham stepped into the room and ran his long fingers along the wall. He flipped a switch and flickering lights poured from low-hanging lightbulbs. Not that it helped much. The light from her phone offered much more light than the barely lit bulb above her head. “I need to make sure no one else is down here. It’s not safe for you to be in here. Hell, it’s not safe for me.”
Mickey straightened her shoulders and faced him. She refused to let him browbeat her into more guilt and fear than she already had. Hell, even if he shoved it down her throat, her body was already filled to the brim with exhausting emotion. She’d been through more in the last forty-eight hours than any human should be forced to endure.
But it still wasn’t as bad as what Becca was dealing with. “I found this address in Pete’s apartment and wanted to see what it was. I didn’t want to bother you, and Lord knows I didn’t need to hand you anything else to use against me.”
The strobing light beat down on his face and the fury in his eyes had her taking a step backward. “Are you kidding me? It took me hours to find this address. And I’m still not supposed to be inside. I’m waiting for a warrant so we can use whatever we find in this hell hole as evidence if we catch the bastard we’re looking for. If you had told me the address, I could have gotten the ball rolling a whole hell of a lot faster.”
A vein throbbed above his eyebrow and blared a warning to Mickey. His temper was slipping, and his slow and controlled tone was far more intimidating than if he’d screamed at her. She tucked her bottom lip into her teeth and her gaze darted around the shabby room. Her breath caught on the ball wedged in her throat.
Oh my God. What did I do? He could have caught them before they’d left.
She took another step backward and the back of her knees folded against something hard. The unexpected movement had her sitting down on a cot. The old hinges squeaked, but the hard board of a mattress didn’t budge. She grazed her fingers against the torn and tattered blanket on top of the cot and her heart splintered in two.
“I’m sorry. I…I didn’t think about that. I just thought…I wanted…” Sobs tore through her words and rocked her body. She wanted to be strong, helpful. She didn’t want to be the reason two sex-traffickers had escaped. “When Connie and the other guy left with a suitcase and I saw Becca’s backpack, I had to act. Instinct took over. But you’re right. I should have called you or the police. I shouldn’t have?—”
“What did you say?” The urgency in his voice had her finally meeting his eye.
“I should have called the police.”
He shook his head. “Not that. The part about Connie and a guy.”
“Oh. I was sitting in my car watching the house when Connie carried a suitcase to the car, and then she left with a guy. A big guy in a black hoodie. I thought maybe they’d left the girls alone for a minute.”
“How long ago was this?”
She shrugged. “Not long. Maybe twenty minutes.”
“Shit. I missed them by minutes. Dammit, I need to call this in and get the police searching for them right away. What kind of car did they drive?”
