Nyx and I spoke at the same time.
"Take her outside. I'll be right there." I didn't take my eyes off Krista as Nyx approached her and gently guided her out of the room. Day one and I was already screwing the girl up.
"This is going to have to wait."
I placed the tool back on the table and headed over to the sink to wash my hands of Alexander's blood. Just because Krista saw what I had done didn't mean I needed to flaunt the blood in her face.
Once I was sure there was none left on me, I exited the room and found all of my teammates huddled together in the common area.
"I'm so sorry." Lilith began apologizing profusely as soon as I got close. "I stepped away to use the bathroom, and when I came back out, she was gone."
This wasn't my teammate’s fault, it was mine. I was the one cocky enough to believe we could continue our lives like nothing had changed despite having a teenager living with us.
"Krista?"
The young girl was still pale, but I didn't see fear in her eyes. "Is that one of the bad men?"
I wasn't sure what specific bad men she was talking about, but I didn't lie to her either. "Yes, he's a very bad man. He's known for selling drugs to kids and abusing women." His laundry list of crimes was much longer, but I didn't think Krista needed to know all those details.
"Is he here to hurt me?"
I stepped closer to her but still far enough away that she could move freely if she wanted to. "Not you specifically but he's hurt other kids your age."
"Do you always do that?"
I tilted my head to the side. "Do what?"
"Hurt the bad men?"
"Yes." I took one step closer. "We rescue people and hurt the bad men. Does that bother you?"
I should slap myself upside the head. Seriously? Did that bother her? Of course it bothered her. She just walked in on a man being tortured. Any normal person would be bothered by that.
"No." Krista shook her head violently. "My mom used to say it was important to get rid of the bad men."
I glanced over at Sloane who merely shrugged her shoulder. We knew based on the information Hawk had sent over that Krista's mother died six months before Krista was taken, but we knew nothing about who her mother was.
"Krista, can you tell me about your mom?"
Supposedly she was from the same hometown as me, so that would mean I might know her mother. I hadn't recognized the name though.
"She had this online friend who took care of bad guys. They talked most nights about it. Mom wasn't very good around people, but she had no problem talking to someone over the internet. When she died, the police wouldn't let me contact her friend. It's why I kept getting into trouble. I just wanted them to understand."
"Understand what, Krista?"
"That Hawk would've taken care of me."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
BECKETT
I glanced down at my ringing phone. It was Callahan. I had spoken to my old partner more this week than I had the entire year prior to this.
"Hello." I was just finishing my workout, so I was a little out of breath.
"Hey. I know you're off the Dunkin case, but I thought you'd want to know. Alexander's missing."
I stopped chugging my ice-cold bottle of water and set it down on the weight bench. I had called Callahan after my meeting and told him what happened. Needless to say, he wasn't happy with my predicament any more than I was.
