A/N… I'll get out of your way.

~oOo~

Chapter 9

BELLA

"Hey, Bells," Jasper said softly over the phone.

"I'll refill your canteen in a few, Jazz. I'm kinda busy." I'd answered on my earbuds because I'd been cleaning the walk-in fridge in Common Ground's kitchen while listening to music.

Stuff needed rotating, thrown out, or pulled from the freezer. Normally Carmen helped me, but she wasn't feeling well, and Eleazar had wanted her to stay home today. So Alice was watching the door. Luckily, it was the usual slow Sunday afternoon.

"No… Well, thanks, but that wasn't why I was calling you," he mumbled nervously.

"Well, what? Because I've got shit to get done today if I ever want to get out of this place." I grunted, picking up a tray of tomatoes that needed to go and walking them to the rolling garbage bin.

"How the hell am I… What the fuck am I supposed to…"

I huffed a laugh because I couldn't help it. My brother was a mess, even worse now that he knew he was about to be a father. That conversation had been an emotional fucking rollercoaster after we'd found out about Jake and Laurent attacking him in the jail's cafeteria. Alice had cried, Jasper had cried, and I'd cried. This baby was coming, and we all needed to prepare for it…him…her.

"You'll either grow the fuck up, Jasper, or you won't. No one is making this fucking decision for you. I'm sorry. You act like you didn't have decent parents growing up. Your dad was an ass, but mine was not, and he loves you like you're his. Mom was awesome when we were kids."

I dropped the empty pan in the growing pile in the big sink and went back into the walk-in.

"Honestly, you'll probably lose him to Dad because he's stoked about being a grandpa," I tacked on to the end of my rant.

Jasper laughed. "Him?"

"Dad totally wants a fishing or carpenter buddy. I'm pretty sure Alice and I are driving him crazy."

"Got it." He went quiet for a moment. "I'm… I'm sorry about all the shit you're dealing with out there. It's on me."

"It is. It's on Maria too. You assholes threw gas on a fire. Now I've got paperwork that says Jake and Laurent can't come within fifty feet of me, Alice, or Common Ground thanks to Ed – Detective Masen. They think I know where Maria hid a shit-ton of drugs. Christ, Jasper, I've never even seen heroin in person, and James thinks I have it stashed somewhere."

"I know! I'm so sorry."

"The fact that you were just gonna…run…" I trailed off, shaking my head as I checked the dates on the milk. "That was like a slap in the face, Jazz. I can't believe you'd just leave us. After everything…"

"I wasn't thinking."

"You were. Just not about anyone but yourself." It was as truthful as I could be with him.

"So you like this cop now?" he asked, trying not to sound pissed.

"It's complicated, but yeah, I guess I do. He's placed himself as a shield between James and me, so… He's not what I thought he was," I explained carefully.

"He arrested me."

"You got busted. There's a difference, you know," I argued back. "Now… I want to know how rehab is going. And no bullshit, like it's fine."

"It's hard. We have to talk about stuff. Bad stuff. We have to talk about things we've done while high or in order to get high. We have group therapy, and someone comes in to talk to us alone. Sorting through all of that makes me see just what a huge piece of shit I've been. But it also shows me that I'm not the only one, that it's physical and mental and genetic."

"Genetic?"

"My dad was a raging alcoholic."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So…I'm trying, B. I promise."

"Okay. And what do I tell Alice, because she's… God, big brother, she's alone and scared, and her hormones are giving me nightmares."

Jasper barked a laugh, but it wasn't in humor. "I'm trying for her too."

The voice over the line said that the call was just about over.

"You'd better try, Jasper. Go. I'll send canteen money soon."

"Thanks, Bells. Love you—"

The call disconnected, and I sighed deeply, pulling out my earbuds and tucking them into the front pocket of my hoodie that I kept at Common Ground just for this reason. I leaned back against the shelves, shaking my head before getting back to work.

After a few more things were rotated and thrown out, I made my way up front to check on Alice and Eleazar, but the two of them were deep into a reality show on the TV. That merely meant I could count the drawer and call it a damn day.

Just as I reached for the cash register, I glanced up at the sound of the door. My brow furrowed as I took in a really well-dressed woman. And she was carrying some bags.

"Welcome in," I greeted with a smile, because she was wearing one as well. "What can I get you?"

"Coffee, please. Cream and sugar," she replied, but she tilted her head at me. "You… You wouldn't happen to be Bella, would you?"

I froze as I was reaching for a paper cup. "Why?"

Her laugh was light and easy. "I'm so sorry. I'm looking for Edward Masen. And they told me to ask for you in here."

I poured her coffee, adding her cream and sugar. "I am. And I'm not sure…" I trailed off, meeting her eyes, and it was then I saw she had the same color green as he did. "Who's they?"

She chuckled again. "Emmett said you'd show me where Edward lives. I'm so sorry." She placed a hand on her chest. "Edward's my nephew. I got him a few things for his new apartment. I've tried calling him, but he's not answering," she explained, pointing to the bags at her feet. She reached out her hand. "I'm Esme Cullen."

Meeting Emmett had been awesome. He was funny and so easy-going. He and Edward had followed us back to Common Ground after the incident at The Hub with James. He was everything opposite of Edward, but he also seemed to soften Edward a little, which was an interesting dynamic.

"Ah. Bella Swan," I said softly, shaking her hand. Glancing out the front window of Common Ground, I could see Edward's silver truck parked across the street. "Well, he's home. I haven't seen him today, but if you'll give me a few minutes, I'll help you."

She went to pay for her coffee, and I held up a hand. "Don't sweat it. I was about to close anyway."

"Thank you, Bella."

I poured myself a cup of coffee, taking the drawer back to my office to count it and put together a deposit. All of it went into the safe so I could deal with it in the morning.

I stepped back into the dining room, shaking my head at Alice simply being Alice – which was a mixture of chatty and nosey. She had plopped down at a table with Edward's aunt.

"He's my sister's only child," Esme answered, wearing an absolute love-filled expression, but my God, there was such sadness in her eyes.

It matched her nephew's that I occasionally caught here and there. Something fucking awful happened to that family, and Edward seemed to have been smack-dab in the middle of it, because his walls were impenetrable. Even after his apology for snapping at me, we hadn't really seen each other or talked over this past week. He was truly busy. Between getting Alice and me the order of protection and working, he was rarely home.

"He came to live with me when he was just a boy. He was fifteen."

My heart plummeted, and I didn't want to hear this. Edward was already twitchy about giving up a middle fucking name. For us to know he'd apparently lost his parents at such a young age would probably cause him to snap completely.

"That's enough, Alice," I chided gently. "Edward's private enough without you questioning his family."

"I know! How else are we gonna get the scoop?"

I sighed, but Esme's laugh made me smile. "Sorry," I told her. "I'd blame the pregnancy hormones, but really, she's just…Alice."

Esme grinned, and it was as beautiful as her nephew's. "Ah, I know my boy is…private. He's always been so independent. He means well, but it doesn't always come across that way. He doesn't like to burden people with his problems."

I nodded but stayed quiet. I could understand what she was saying, and a bit of that put a few puzzle pieces together about Edward.

"Has he driven you guys crazy yet?" Esme asked. "He can be so gruff."

I laughed, shrugging. "He's busy. He's working on an awful case. And he was here when my apartment was broken into, so no matter his personality quirks, he's tried to keep us safe."

There was pride overflowing from her, and she reached over and patted my hand. "You have a giving nature, Bella."

"Yeah, well…my dad was a cop growing up, so I get it. It's an ugly, sometimes thankless job."

"It is. Edward's built for it. He was an extraordinarily bright child. Could solve any puzzle, work out any riddle. A perfect student," she said proudly. "When he moved in with me, he was always studying some mystery or playing games online where he had to put all the clues together. It was amazing to watch."

I couldn't help but like her. She was such a bright spirit, and her love for Edward was all over her face. She knew how he was – gruff and not exactly social – but she loved him.

Smiling her way, I nodded but flinched when the door's bell rang. I was going to tell whoever it was that we were closed, but it was Edward. He wasn't dressed for work, but if I thought jeans and a button-down could put him on the cover of a magazine, then I wasn't prepared mentally or emotionally for long shorts and a T-shirt stretched across his torso. And the fact that he'd recently gotten a haircut… Yeah, he could've made way more money as a model and wouldn't have had to deal with murder and mayhem.

"Speak of the devil," Alice muttered wryly.

Esme grinned her way but stood up. "There he is. I was just about to make Bella take me to your apartment." She gave him no alternative but to hug her, walking straight into his arms.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked her, and I noted that he still had pillow lines across his neck and arms. But even better was the adorable yet grumpy furrow to his brow.

"I wanted to spoil you, kiddo. So let me," she said without apology.

I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped me because she didn't even react to how gruff that sounded, but I turned toward the counter. I knew why he was coming in; Edward needed coffee, because it looked like he'd just woken up. I grabbed the largest cup, filled it, topped it, and walked it to him.

"Tanya told me your Keurig didn't survive the move, so I wanted to get you a new one," Esme said, apparently explaining all the bags on the empty table.

"I'm… Thanks, but…" He trailed off, taking the cup I was offering.

"I've been enabling this addiction," I teased them both.

Esme chuckled, but it was Edward's slow, slightly embarrassed smile that changed his face completely. It was bright, like a rising sun, and it completed the shorts and T-shirt and new haircut to perfection. It made him look young and a touch happy. Casual, smiling Edward was deadly sexy. Like a raging forest fire of dangerous good looks.

I had to look away from it. As attractive as I found Edward, he kept me at arm's length all the time. In fact, I wasn't sure what his aunt showing up here would do, so I focused on getting ready to close as she scolded him a little.

"I tried calling you," she told him, poking him on the arm.

"I'm sorry. I was asleep until about ten minutes ago. I was going to call you back. I was working most of the night," he explained softly yet firmly.

"Well, now you're up. You can show me your place," she sang sweetly at him.

I needed to take lessons from her on how to deal with him. She didn't take his gruff answers personally, she didn't give him a chance to back down, and she stepped right through his walls without apology.

Or maybe he simply allowed all of that. For her.

He smirked her way, nodding a little. "Okay, but I need to talk to Bella for just a moment." He met my gaze. "Can… Is there…"

"Yeah, my office. Come on back," I told him. If he wanted privacy, then it was probably about Inferno or Jake or James.

I led him behind the counter and through the kitchen to my office in the back corner of the building. When I closed the door, I took a seat behind my desk.

Edward didn't sit, but he paced a little, giving his shorter hair a habitual tug.

"Edward? Is something wrong? Is it Jasper? Because I just talked to him…" I trailed off because Edward shook his head.

"No, I just… Three things, really. I just wanted to apologize again. I… Despite our history concerning Jasper, you've been honest and kind, and when I told you I wasn't one of your many responsibilities, I didn't mean it how it sounded. I meant that you take care of enough people without adding me to it."

I studied his face, and now that I'd heard Esme explain his gruff nature, I kind of could see the independent/doesn't-want-to-bother-anyone demeanor.

"I know who's my responsibility, Edward. But like I told you, I remember what it was like for my dad as a cop. Long nights, scary cases, terrible people." I sighed deeply, setting my elbows on my desk and rubbing my face. "You and I got off on the wrong foot six months ago with Jasper, and we've never really gotten it back."

Edward barked a laugh. "Maybe you're right."

"I blamed you because it was easier than blaming my brother."

He nodded, gazing down at the cup of coffee I'd handed him. "You love your family, Bella. I told you that wasn't a bad thing."

"Yeah, well…sometimes that shit feels one-sided."

"I can understand that. They come to you because you're this…this…rock of stability, and I didn't see that back then. I'm sorry for that too."

I waved that away. "I'm sure I came across just as badly. I'm the drug dealer's baby sister. You wouldn't have known any different."

We went quiet for a moment, but I glanced up at his face when a humorless laugh escaped him.

"I… Maybe then, yeah. But I don't… I don't see you that way now. You're…too pretty and you make me more awkward that I already am."

Grinning down at my desk for a moment, I glanced up at him. He was shifting on his feet, with a furrowed brow and downcast eyes.

"Thank you," I said through a small laugh.

To look at Edward, one would think he could walk into a room and own it. He was over six feet of handsome, well-built man. Those rare green eyes were always calculating and assessing, and that even rarer smile could just about blind a girl.

Suddenly, a few more pieces to the Edward puzzle fell into place. Despite his looks, his job, and even his clothes, Edward was shy. It came across as gruff or awkward, but I could see that telling me he thought I was pretty was just about to send him running from the room. He could walk into my apartment while it was being robbed or show up at a restaurant when we were followed by James and his band of goons, but he was scared to death to apologize and compliment me.

And that meant Edward had no fucking clue how handsome he was. Or if he did, it wasn't something to which he gave much thought.

But that compliment made me curious… "Who's Tanya?"

His gaze snapped to mine. "My best friend. A family friend. We've known each other since we were kids. We went out in high school, but…"

I nodded when he trailed off. I wondered for a moment if whatever happened to his family back then attributed to that relationship.

He was just about to fidget out of his own skin, so I decided to give him a break. "You said three things?"

The nervous man shifted into the no-nonsense cop almost instantly when he said, "I did. I wanted to know if James has bothered you again."

"Nope. You'd know because I'd call you. I have the paperwork to show someone too, if the other two come around."

He nodded, his brow furrowing. "Good. I was also wondering if you could come down to the station tomorrow. I've been going through some of Bree's things, and I need some clarification."

"Umm, okay. It'll have to be after lunch after I close."

"That's fine. There are some photos, and I can't seem to place the people."

"Yeah, okay." The difference between Edward and Detective Masen was black and white. "Is that it?"

"Yes. Thank you." We started for the door of my office, and Edward paused with his hand on the knob. "Okay, four things. What did my aunt say to you?"

"No offense, Edward, but you get pissed off when we discuss your personal life."

He grimaced, flinching a little. "I promise I won't."

I studied his face. Something was different, or maybe he was trying to let me in, which seemed to be harder than chasing bad guys for him.

I smiled his way. "Not much. She loves you. It's all over her face. She's very proud of you, saying that you were made for solving all the mysteries and riddles of life. She mentioned that you came to live with her when you were a teen. And that she knows you're kinda grumpy."

He grinned, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. "She would know that part better than anyone. And I did move in with them when I was fifteen."

I asked nothing. I'd learned my lesson on that shit. I merely waited until he opened the door, but he didn't move.

"Edward?"

He shook his head. "You were right. Back at The Hub. It was a tidal wave of shit that had hit me, but I…"

"But it hurts to talk about it," I concluded softly when he didn't finish, and those beautiful green eyes locked on me when he gave the most minimal of nods. "I can understand that."

"It's not you; it's me. When I don't talk about…" He waved a hand dismissively, but I got what he was saying.

I couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped me. "You keep breaking up with me," I teased him, and his head fell back as he sighed deeply, but there was a smile there. "C'mon, your aunt wants to spoil you. Let her."

"For the record, you broke up with me first," he snarked back, grinning when I laughed.

"That's true. Go. Get out of my shop," I told him when we walked back into the dining room.

"See you tomorrow?" he verified, picking up all the packages that Esme had lugged into my shop.

I nodded, walking them to the door. "I'll be there."

~oOo~

EDWARD

Esme was quiet as we walked up the three flights of stairs. Once I let her in, she smiled as she gazed around my apartment.

"This is nice. Lots of space," she pointed out as I set all the bags she'd brought down on the sofa.

"Yeah, and it's close to the station."

"You like her. Bella, I mean," she said softly.

I huffed a laugh. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

Her laugh was light and easy. "Because we love you, and we want to see you happy. And the way you treat her is different than how you normally act. She's a beautiful girl, and she's doesn't seem scared of your personality."

"She should be. I've already said some stupid stuff."

Esme smiled, tilting her head at me. "Yet she still handed you a cup of coffee without even asking."

Smiling at that, I nodded down at said cup of coffee. "She has a natural ability to take care of people."

"Let her."

I nodded again but said nothing. The conversation I'd had with Bella in her office was still playing in my head. It was the most I'd told anyone, though maybe Esme had opened that door. The more I saw Bella, talked to her, the more I liked her, and that scared me because this case with James wasn't over. Bella was still a focus, as were Charlie and Alice. What scared me more than anything was that I found I wanted to tell her about me.

"Does she know?" Esme asked, as if she could read my thoughts.

I shook my head, taking a sip of coffee.

"My offer still stands. You should talk to someone. I'd even go with you to Dr. Gerandy's office, if you want. You've never really talked about it to anyone, Edward. That's… Sweetheart, that's not good. It's not healthy," she offered gently.

"It's been like fourteen years. You'd think—"

My aunt tsked, interrupting me. "You'll find as you get older, Edward, that fourteen years isn't all that long. Time moves quickly."

I nodded, sighing deeply and glancing over at the bags on the sofa.

"I'll say one more thing, sweetheart, before we change the subject," she warned me, walking to me and cupping my face. "None of it was your fault. Do you understand me? Not a thing. You were just a boy, and Liz was protecting you from it all. I need you to know that. Okay?"

Squeezing my eyes closed, I nodded that I'd heard her, but it was hard to accept.

"I promise you, Edward. You weren't responsible for any of it," she said, raking her fingers through my hair like she'd always done.

I opened my eyes to see her love and sincerity. "I know, but sometimes…"

"I get that," she whispered, her eyes watering, but she blinked them away. "Now…on with the spoiling. Let's see if we can't decorate a little."

Huffing a laugh, I gestured toward the sofa. "Okay, Aunt Esme. Let's have it."

~oOo~

I leaned back in my desk chair, loosening my tie and studying the board. The whole case was at my fingertips. The autopsy was back on Maria, and while it showed she'd had heroin in her system, she was not high the night she was killed. My assessment of her injuries had been correct, as well. They'd beaten her, and she'd fought back. There was also semen. She'd had sex before this all ended so violently for her.

The question was…who did she have sex with prior to her death?

My eyes shot to the picture of James Hunt. Fucker. Even in his driver's license picture, he looked like a slimy bastard.

Unfortunately, there hadn't been a DNA match in the system.

I rubbed my face because this case was all over the place. If I could find Bree – or her body – I might be able to put all this shit together. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. If Jasper said James had something to do with Bree and Maria, then I needed to find a way to tie it together.

I saw Garrett stand up from his desk out of the corner of my eye. He walked to the board, stretching a little from being in his chair for so long. He was still going through video footage. This time, it was Bree Tanner's case. It was four years old, and no one could get beyond James's office.

"Let's go through this from the beginning," he stated, tapping the board. "Ready?"

"Yeah, okay. So… Two days before she died, Maria went to Inferno. Not to work, but to see James." I sat forward in my chair, pointing to the still we'd printed from the security tape. "Next, she didn't show the next day."

Garrett rounded on me. "But by then, she was already in deep shit with James. I mean, your buddy Jasper said that they'd already stashed the drugs six months ago when he was arrested by you. Why was she allowed to live this long?" He waved a hand in front of his face. "I don't mean that she should've died, but was she placating him? Like feeding him small amounts of money just to shut him up?"

"Maybe." I ran a hand through my hair. "Maybe he didn't realize how much was missing. I mean, she and Whitlock were his dealers, his mules for distribution, so maybe two kilos weren't on the radar until someone did the math."

"Yeah, but two kilos is huge."

"It is," I agreed. "But it's a drop in the bucket compared to what he's pushing out there."

"Motherfucker…" he murmured to himself. "How has this asshole not been stopped? We've got missing girls, dead girls, and who knows what he's done to the ones walking around inside that place. We've got one dealer caught, one dead, and two assholes who are way too loyal for their own good." He pointed my way. "Mark my words, Black and Brunelle will never see the court room, and if they do, they'll die before their sentence is up."

"Mm," I hummed, nodding a little. "James's uncle is the Chief of Staff for the mayor. Which means he's pushing paperwork and maybe his own agenda? You think maybe we should look into Randall Powell? Because every time James has been brought in for any-damn-thing, he's been released – no evidence, no witnesses, no nothing."

"Yeah, we can…" he said distractedly as he looked at the board. "Now let's go back four years. Bree Tanner. Runaway from Portland, Oregon. She's a beautiful girl with long brunette hair, starts dancing at Inferno. She moves in with your gorgeous coffee girl…" He grinned my way, and I just snorted, waving him on. "But they only live together for a few months before Bree suddenly stops coming home, stops showing up for work, and her phone is just…off. Now, here's the beautiful thing about four years. I've got a call into the cell phone carrier. They're seeing if they can track back to her last few days."

My eyebrows shot up at that. "Oh, like cell towers, texts, that sort of shit?"

"Yeah, yeah. They'd said they'd call me back in a few hours."

I sighed, gripping my hair again before leaning back in my seat. "What if they're not the only two victims? James has been running that shit-show for well over ten fucking years. And I wonder if we go back far enough, we'll see a pattern."

"What? A pattern that strippers – most of them addicts with a host of personal issues – have come and gone without a trace? That would be hard to prove."

Chuckling, I shrugged. "I'm not talking about a high turnover of employees. I'm talking about missing girls or dead girls going back ten years. Former or current Inferno employees who went missing."

"You'll never prove it," we both heard from our doorway.

I smirked Bella's way. "I'm sure. Thanks for coming in."

She was wearing jeans like a second skin and a hooded sweatshirt for the drizzly day outside. Her long hair was pulled back from her face in a high ponytail, making her look young, and it meant she'd come straight from Common Ground. Some days, she was temptation incarnate.

"Are you saying he covered his tracks, Miss Bella?" Garrett asked her.

"No, I'm saying that most of those girls are damaged, that they don't always use their real names. And sadly, some of them weren't missed by anyone. It's a hard life, even harder if they get wrapped up in the substance abuse and other illegal bullshit James has them doing," she answered him. "Trust me, it's hard to stay away from it. And it's even harder if someone is desperate for extra money."

I stood up, gesturing to a chair in front of the board. "You've become a fantastic resource for this place, Bella, but if you're uncomfortable…"

"No, I'm okay. Dad had a case like this once. A girl was found in the woods, and no one would talk. Her family was devastated. He tried to find anything to close the case, but no one said a word. Honestly, I think he still thinks about that case."

Garrett smiled her way. He had a soft spot for her, though I think he just liked that she wasn't afraid to tell me off. That, and he thought she was gorgeous.

I reached over to my desk, picking up the photo album that had been in the shoebox of Bree's things that Bella had given me. I set it into her hands.

"If you could put names to faces in there, I'd be grateful. And whatever you can remember about the last time you saw Bree," I explained to her.

"He's so bossy," Garrett teased, which made Bella laugh.

"He's fine," she dismissed him, opening the book.

Grinning at them both, I went back to the board. I basically was walking through Inferno – the front doors, the stage, the locker room, James's office. Knowing he had an online porn site, I rubbed my bottom lip in frustration.

"Where does he film? Where does he stream live?" I asked no one in particular.

"I don't know. I tried to stay as far away from it as I could," Bella stated, wearing an adorable expression of disgust.

Garrett laughed. "Don't blame you on that one, Bella. My wife recorded us once, and I just never wanted to see myself from that angle. Like ever."

"But did you keep it?" she countered, wearing a wry smile.

"Katie did. It's somewhere, but I never need to see my bare ass in the air ever again," he whispered, shaking his head and grinning at her laughter.

I chuckled at them both, barely taking my eyes off the board.

"The live stream is done somewhere here," she added, shrugging when we looked her way. "I mean, it's solo work with a chat that people pay to join."

"Where here?" I asked her roughly.

"I'm not sure. Somewhere near Inferno," she answered nervously, her brow furrowing. "I never… He asked, but…"

I knelt by her chair. "Sorry." I inhaled deeply, trying to keep myself from snapping at her; I needed to quit doing that shit. "I know he asked you, but you don't know where?" She shook her head, and I looked to Garrett. "He'd need privacy, space."

"And a hell of an internet connection," he added, reaching for a stack of papers.

"It's not his house," Bella said. "I know that much." My eyes met hers, and she wrinkled her nose. "Sorry. I wish I knew more."

"Don't be sorry," I whispered back. "You're a huge help."

She nodded, holding up the photo album. "I don't know many, because some of these people are her family from Portland, but closer to the back…" She flipped open the book, pointing to a picture of three girls. "The one in the middle is Victoria Fields. Goes by Tori. Bartender at Nomad's."

"Pink hair?" Garrett asked, grabbing the statements from the cold case.

"Sometimes," Bella answered with a laugh. "She changes it. I think its natural color is red."

"She's still there," he muttered, meeting my gaze. "They never talked to her."

"This," Bella went on, pointing to another picture. "This is Angel. Angela Weber is her real name."

"I've talked to her. She's…"

"She's like I was," she finished for me. "She's in school, just trying to pay the bills. We kinda stuck together there."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Anyone else?"

She pointed again. "I know her face, but I don't know her name. I've seen her at Inferno."

I leaned closer, taking in the girl with ink-black hair – a Goth look to her. "That's…um…Sarah. No… Sasha?" I glanced up to Garrett.

"They did talk to her. Maybe we should, too." He held out the statement, and I took it from him, standing up and walking around my desk.

"Sasha Mendelson," I mumbled, typing her info into my computer. "Originally from Des Moines, thirty-two, no kids… Well, I'll be damned." My mouth fell open.

"What?" both Bella and Garrett asked together.

I shook my head. "She was found dead three years ago in her car. GSW to the head. The case is cold, but they assume it was a robbery. No one was ever charged."

"Oh, my fucking God," Garrett groaned, locking gazes with me. "And there's that pattern you were looking for, so how many girls who worked at Inferno are now a fucking cold case?"

"I guess that's the question we need to be asking," I told him.

"I wonder… Of how many of those you find, who had personally offended James in some way, like Maria, who was trying to take from him? Like Bree, who wasn't interested in him," Bella said, glancing from the board to me.

"Fuck," I hissed, gripping my hair. "And like you, who declined him and got his boys in trouble."

"Never mind she's the sister of his dealer, who's doing time," Garrett added.

"Right." I looked to Bella. "I need you to be extra vigilant, extra careful. Am I clear?" Softening my tone, I walked back to kneel in front of her. "You're safe at Common Ground. You're protected."

"You want me to never leave?" she asked us.

"Actually, I think James is convinced you know where his drugs are. I'm afraid he won't stop trying until he finds it or exacts revenge. And since Maria and Jasper were working together, then he can only aim that revenge at Jasper's family now," I rambled nervously, because the mere idea of something happening to the girl in front of me was making me fucking crazy.

"How could I possibly know where his shit is?" Bella snapped. "Seriously. I haven't seen Jasper in person since he was sentenced, and he said nothing about this. I saw Maria her last day at Common Ground, but she—"

Bella stopped abruptly, looking to me.

Garrett and I both bellowed, "What?"

"She was only there for a couple of weeks, but… She would've learned the layout, where the security cameras were, because she'd been there when I had one fixed. She… She preferred to prep in the kitchen, wash dishes, because it gave her a break from people."

"She worked there just long enough to find a place to hide it," I mumbled, looking to Garrett as I stood up. "Those two kilos are hidden in Common Ground, and somehow James knows that piece of information."

Garrett looked to Bella. "We need your permission to look, Miss Bella."

She nodded, looking my way. "I'll let you in, and I'll call Dad to help us."

She stood up from her seat, starting for the door. Garrett met my gaze as I said, "Maybe if we find his drugs, it'll take the target off her. I can't let him hurt her. She's done fucking nothing to deserve any of this bullshit."

Instead of his incessant teasing, he merely gripped my shoulder. "Okay, buddy, then let's see what we can find."

~oOo~

A/N… Many of you had guessed the drugs were in Common Ground, so we'll see if you're right. This is a favorite chapter for me, because it kinda starts a shift.

Okay, so this will update next Tuesday. When Angels Fall will take one more week for an update, so just hang in there for me. Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)