“If you were expecting a smoking gun, I’m sorry, there’s nothing. He’s not clean, so to speak, but there’s nothing that ties him to sex traffickers.”
“Thanks, Luna.”
“Am I keeping this from Allora? I haven’t said anything yet but she’s become my friend and I don’t want to lie to my friends. If she asks me directly, I’ll tell her.”
“I plan to tell her, so no, I don’t expect you to lie.”
“Thanks, Grim.”
I disconnect just as Allora comes out of the bathroom. She’s in a short bathrobe, her hair up in a towel, padding across the floor gracefully.
“Why do you look all serious?” she asks, taking off the towel and starting to pull a comb through her wet hair.
I tell her what I found out from Luna. “Was he ever violent with you?” I ask carefully.
“Violent?” She shakes her head. “No. Overbearing, overprotective, and occasionally short-tempered, yes, but never violent. He never laid a hand on me in anger.”
“Did he talk about his life in foster care?”
“To a degree. I mean, he told me stories about how there were too many rules, how they wouldn’t let him work, stuff like that. He never told me he was kicked out for being aggressive or having a temper. I did know about the shoplifting.” She grimaces. “It was for me. He stole a pair of designer jeans I’d been asking for. My mom said a hundred dollars was too much for jeans and if I wanted them, I’d have to earn the money myself. Pete thought he was being romantic. My dad bailed him out and reamed him a new one. That was around the time I was getting tired of how overbearing he was and started planning my escape.”
She pauses what she’s doing and looks at me. “Why the interest in Pete?”
“Something about him rubs me the wrong way. I can’t explain it.”
“He’s an arrogant ass. If you ask me, he borders on narcissistic.”
“Are you mad that I had Luna do a background check?”
“Why would I be mad? You’re just looking out for me. I’d be a little annoyed if you did one on me, but it’s not the same thing.”
I hesitate.
“What?” Her eyes narrow. “Didyou?”
“Not me, but Daniil did. It was basically to find out if there’s anything in your past, or present, that might be tied to illegal activity. For example, if you were dealing drugs on the side—that might be a reason this trafficking ring targeted you.”
She seems more thoughtful than annoyed. “That makes sense. I hope you discovered that I’m pretty boring.”
“You don’t have a boring bone in your body,” I say, leaning over and kissing her.
Her phone rings and she makes a face. “Ugh, it’s my dad. Hey, Dad.” She puts it on speaker phone.
“Hey, honey. How are you?”
“I’m all right. Bored but hanging in there.”
“These fuckers are really hard to track down,” he says. “But I’m trying.”
“I know. You and Shadow Security are doing all you can.”
“So, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”
Uh oh.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Are you…” He hesitates, like he’s unsure what he wants to say. “Are you dating Grim?”
