Page 44 of Girl Long Gone

She shook her head. “My life has always been a secret. Lacey knows some of what I went through, but I’ve kept most of it from her.”

He encased her hands in his, settling them in his lap. “Why?”

“Why burden her? Child abuse and sex trafficking are talked about more regularly now, but so many people still bury their heads in the sand and don’t believe it could happen to anyone they know.”

Anger pounded against his veins. “Is that what happened to you?”

“No one called it that. My parents made me make people happy. Those were the words they used, which of course messed with my head for years. There were always different people coming to the house and they forced me to”—she cleared her throat—“spend time with them. If I refused or put up a fight, they’d beat me and lock me in a room, usually binding my hands so I couldn’t even try to leave.”

Connor had seen a shitload of horrible things in his life but had never known someone personally affected by such brutality...especially at the hands of their parents. “If I could go back in time and kick their asses, I would in a heartbeat. I wish someone would have known, could have helped you.”

“Plenty of people knew. You’d be surprised how many adults talked to me about their lives after they used my body. Doctors, lawyers, ministers. My parents drummed it in my head from an early age not to trust anyone. If I tried to tell, it would make my life worse. And when I was abused by people I was supposed to trust, people who were supposed to protect me, it only solidified everything my parents told me.”

His mind flashed back to the day he’d met Evelyn. She’d been so skittish. Then, when they were at the police station, he’d chalked up her panic attack to being in close quarters, like she’d said. “What about the police? Did you ever try to tell them?”

Tears hovered on the edges of her eyes, and she sniffed. “Once. When I was seventeen, my dad brought home another girl. She was a few years younger than me. He took her into a room, and I heard screaming. I couldn’t let that poor girl be trapped in the life I lived, so I ran away.” Her voice caught on a sob, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Take your time.”

“I made it to the police station. I didn’t care if what my parents said was true. I was almost eighteen and had plans to disappear. But if there was even a slight chance they were wrong, I could get help and save that poor girl. I walked into the waiting room and ran into a man I’d met many times before.”

“Who was he?”

“An officer. I don’t know his name. He recognized me, grabbed me, and locked me in a room while he called my parents. My dad came to get me and gave me the worst beating of my life. For the first time, he used something other than his fists. After he got tired of hitting me, he got a knife and cut me. That’s how I got the scars. He got carried away and had to take me to the emergency room. He had concocted a whole story about how I got jumped on the street. When we got back to the house, the girl was gone.” She turned against him, her hot tears seeping into his shirt. “I failed her.”

Fury sparked a raging fire inside him. “You didn’t fail anyone. You risked your life to save a girl you didn’t know.”

“I should have done more. I tried. I wanted to...” Sobs broke through her words, and her shoulders shook. “That’s why I want to help find Monica. I can’t let another innocent girl be hurt and not do anything to stop it.”

His heart stalled. “You did everything you could to help a child when you were just a kid yourself. You don’t need to risk your life again to help me find my sister. I love that you want to, and respect the hell out of you for caring about her, but that’s not your job. It’s mine.”

“I’m not risking anything.”

Connor snorted. “Because of me, Gabriel has you in his sights. You’ve done nothing wrong and someone is out to hurt you. Again.”

“Because of you, I finally have the courage to stand up for myself and anyone else who comes along.”

“I just want to keep you safe.”

She lifted a palm to the side of his face and he turned against it, kissing the center of her hand. “And you can do that by finding Gabriel and Monica.”

“You’re right. We need to find the bastard quickly. You can help by continuing to research his background.”

A small smile touched her mouth. “Everything I’ve found has been pretty boring.”

“I bet, but you never know what kernel of truth will lead us where we need to go. I still need to talk to Simon again, and I’m taking you to Ben’s. After what happened with Mr. Wilson, I don’t want you anywhere near when I talk to this guy. The situation is too unpredictable.”

“Okay. Maybe I’ll find something useful while you’re gone.”

Connor rubbed a hand over his head. “God, I hope so. The clock is ticking. We need to find Gabriel soon before the worst happens.”

Before he kills Monica.

Evelyn wrapped her arms around Connor’s waist, not wanting him to go. She wanted to be back in his arms—in his bed—with nothing but time to waste. But that wasn’t their reality. He kissed the top of her head, and she watched him leave Ben’s apartment.

Hoisting her laptop bag on her shoulder, she joined Lacey in the kitchen and settled into the two-person table shoved in the corner.

Lacey glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “Hey. I’m getting dinner started while Abbie naps. You need anything?”