Page 14 of Ashes’ Addiction

“I’ll make sure it gets to you. Don’t worry about it.”

Slowly, she stood, then followed Winter to another table where Bishop’s old lady pulled two chairs close together and put the laptop between them both before they sat.

“How is it?” Hammer said before taking the seat Miranda had just vacated.

Ashes turned to find the Sons’ tech sergeant watching the women as they pointed to the screen and said something Ashes couldn’t hear.

“So far so good, but there have been a couple of issues. I suspect they’ll resolve themselves as she gets more comfortable here. What have you been able to find out?” He assumed Hammer wouldn’t be here like this if he didn’t have something to tell him.

“I’m not finding a ton. At least not much on her disappearance.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. It seems Dwyer had a type—girls who had lost their family, cut them off, or were otherwise isolated. I think he liked that no one would come looking for them. Someone might report them missing, a coworker, a boss, or a roommate but there was no one who cared enough to stay on top of it. No one to prod the police into keeping the case on top of their caseload.”

Hammer nodded slowly, his eyes still on the girls. His gaze flicked to Ashes. “I think you’re right. But it’s more than that. It looks like he specifically chose people who were new to town, never here more than a year or two, people who were more introverted and didn’t make friends easily.” He tilted his head toward the women. “Your girl had been in town about a year when he took her. She went to class, showed up for her work-study job, and studied. She was living in the dorm and was supposed to move into an apartment but hadn’t yet put down deposits when she disappeared. She missed her last couple of shifts with her work-study job, which isn’t uncommon, but her boss thought it was out of character. He tried to call but every call went straight to voicemail. He called the cops. They took a report and assumed she’d gone home, that she had disappeared of her own volition, so that’s where it ended.”

Ashes shook his head. He hated that Miranda had no one on her side. That there was no one who cared enough to stay on the cops to find her or to take the matter into their own hands.

“As to her life before he took her, that I found quite a bit about,” Hammer said, lowering his voice so it wouldn’t carry to where the women sat.

“What?” Ashes said with a scowl. It couldn’t be good or Hammer wouldn’t care if the women heard him.

Hammer shook his head. “She had it rough. In and out of the foster system until she was twelve when the removal from her parents was made permanent. I can give you what the records say, if you want, but you’d be better off asking her.”

Ashes nodded but didn’t say anything.

“After that she was placed in a home, and it looks like it was a good home, they eventually adopted her, but the parents passed away just after she turned nineteen, one after another, as if one couldn’t live without the other.” Hammer tapped the fingers of one hand against the tabletop. She received a small inheritance and shortly thereafter, she moved to Phoenix.”

“Where was she before that?” He’d gotten the impression she was from the area, but maybe he was wrong.

“She was in a small town in the mountains a few hours from here. She’d started going to school, actually got an AA, then moved here to get her degree. Because of her status of having been a foster child, she was there on enough grants for a full ride, including housing.”

“And now she’s missed nearly all of this semester. Will that hurt her if she wants to go back?”

“Not sure.” Hammer lifted one shoulder. “I’ll have to look into it. If they try, we’ll fight back or I’ll reach out to an acquaintance and we’ll get it taken care of the back way.”

Ashes stared at his brother, then shook his head. “I don’t want to know. I don’t have to lie about what I don’t know.”

“Fair.” Hammer looked at the girls again, then back to Ashes. “Either way, I found her bank account. And reached out to the school about anything she might have left in her dorm. I haven’t heard back yet. She’s not destitute, but she doesn’t have a lot. She does own the house her adoptive parents had, but it’s older, and without knowing what kind of shape it’s in, it’s impossible to know what it’s worth. You might consider talking to her about it, maybe taking her to Snowflake to see it and see what she wants to do. In the meantime, I’ll make sure she’s issued new ID, bank cards and all that, after I change her address to here. Let me know if you need anything else.” Hammer knocked on the table before standing and walking away.

Ashes found himself watching Miranda and wondering how she’d managed. She’d done so much, and a lot of it with only minimal support. If he had his way, she’d never have to struggle through anything alone again. The Sons would be her family.

Chapter Fourteen

Miranda spent the next hour sipping her margarita while she and Winter looked at clothes online, ordering way more than she needed, but Winter insisted. The other woman wasn’t as scary as Miranda had first thought. When she’d started questioning her about Kevin earlier, it had sent Miranda into panic mode. She’d just retreated into herself.

Now that all the attention wasn’t on her, or at least not on her face, she found that Winter was fun. Through a couple of offhand comments, Miranda learned that Winter had only narrowly escaped being Kevin’s next victim. Did that mean he’d been close to selling her? She pushed that thought away but knew she would need to tell Ashes. Not that she had any idea what he’d do with the news, but still, he would want to know.

She waved at Billy, the prospect who’d brought her a drink, as he made his way back toward the bar.

“Can I get you another?” he asked when he stopped beside the table.

Miranda nodded.

“What can I get you tonight?” Billy asked Winter.

“A beer will be fine.” She didn’t look up from the computer screen. She seemed to be looking for something specific as she scowled at the screen and scrolled through the page.

“No problem. I’ll be right back.” Billy didn’t seem to notice but Miranda thought it was a little rude. Not that she said anything. The last thing she needed to do was piss anyone off and make the Sons of Sin withdraw her welcome. She had nowhere else to go and now she owed Ashes for all the clothes they’d ordered.