didn’t know and neither did I until the very end.”
Barrett stopped. The room swam. She glanced into Nick’s eyes and looked away. His dark gaze held a deep kindness she remembered only too well. Thank God he refrained from touching her. He got it. Sometimes being comforted was too fucking much to bear.
“But there was enough time to say good-bye to Sarah. Make sure that everything was in order. She appointed her sister and her husband guardians for Jane. I barely knew them but I trusted her choice—why wouldn’t I? And I promised Sarah that I would always look after Jane. She didn’t want to impose but I said yes—she wasn’t specific about the details.”
Then what? He hadn’t asked the question. There was no need to. He just listened.
“Sarah died a few months before I met you. I periodically checked in on Jane but …” Barrett shrugged.
“You were dealing with your own stuff.”
She nodded. “It’s no excuse. I should have been more diligent. Called more, at the very least. I—I assumed if she needed me, she’d reach out. Or her relatives would.”
“But?”
“But they didn’t. She didn’t.” She paused, composing herself. “She started dating darker guys. Got mixed up with one who was into the vampire life. About a week ago, they both disappeared and the boy was found dead. Two nights ago, a mark we were investigating related to sex trafficking finally showed me his site of choice, SexFlash. I’d told him I was interested in a girl, a virgin, that matched Jane’s description. He either already knew about her or found her for me. Suddenly there’s Jane on live video. The caption said Runaway Virgin. She recognized me. Called me Miley, her nickname for me. But then she was gone.”
He didn’t bother asking her if she was sure. If she said it, he’d know she was sure of her ID. Nick sat back, visibly affected. “Hell. She could be anywhere.”
“That’s not all. Whoever shoved her in front of that camera saw me, too.” Barrett’s voice was drained of emotion. “If they figured out that I was someone Jane knew, they probably got my name out of her. The hard way. For all I know, she could be—she could be—”
Nick shook his head. “No. Don’t go there. A seventeen-year-old virgin is a valuable commodity,” he said flatly. “She’s still alive.”
“Probably.” Barrett stared at him. “But for how long?”
He didn’t look away. “We’re going to find her, Barrett. You and me.”
“Don’t you have work to do? Whatever that is?” She wasn’t trying to be snotty.
“Yeah. I mean, realistically, I can’t drop everything to help you, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Okay. I can’t ask for more than that.”
“But …” He hesitated. “You know about vampires. You said you contract for the FBI. And you said ‘we’ were looking into sex trafficking, not you. So here’s the million-dollar question. Who, exactly, is we?”
That was the million-dollar question. One she knew she didn’t have any choice but to answer. She’d struggled with that decision. Belladonna was designated black ops for a reason, but with or without a green light from Carly and Mahone, she would have to reveal a little about what was going on. It helped, of course, that Nick was also working with the FBI, and knew about vampires and the Turning Program. It also seemed he knew more than she did. He’d asked her if she had level Six-Vee security clearance. And bottom line, he was a techno wizard when it came to computers and locating missing persons. If anyone could help her find Jane, Nick could.
“I work for a black ops team formed by a division of the FBI. It’s called Belladonna.”
“How did they recruit you?”
“A special agent named Peter Lancaster approached me. Said he needed human women to help him go places where he and his teammates couldn’t.”
Nick had suddenly stiffened. “And you just decided to trust him?”
She scowled. “No. I checked him out. He was
Barrett stopped. The room swam. She glanced into Nick’s eyes and looked away. His dark gaze held a deep kindness she remembered only too well. Thank God he refrained from touching her. He got it. Sometimes being comforted was too fucking much to bear.
“But there was enough time to say good-bye to Sarah. Make sure that everything was in order. She appointed her sister and her husband guardians for Jane. I barely knew them but I trusted her choice—why wouldn’t I? And I promised Sarah that I would always look after Jane. She didn’t want to impose but I said yes—she wasn’t specific about the details.”
Then what? He hadn’t asked the question. There was no need to. He just listened.
“Sarah died a few months before I met you. I periodically checked in on Jane but …” Barrett shrugged.
“You were dealing with your own stuff.”
She nodded. “It’s no excuse. I should have been more diligent. Called more, at the very least. I—I assumed if she needed me, she’d reach out. Or her relatives would.”
“But?”
“But they didn’t. She didn’t.” She paused, composing herself. “She started dating darker guys. Got mixed up with one who was into the vampire life. About a week ago, they both disappeared and the boy was found dead. Two nights ago, a mark we were investigating related to sex trafficking finally showed me his site of choice, SexFlash. I’d told him I was interested in a girl, a virgin, that matched Jane’s description. He either already knew about her or found her for me. Suddenly there’s Jane on live video. The caption said Runaway Virgin. She recognized me. Called me Miley, her nickname for me. But then she was gone.”
He didn’t bother asking her if she was sure. If she said it, he’d know she was sure of her ID. Nick sat back, visibly affected. “Hell. She could be anywhere.”
“That’s not all. Whoever shoved her in front of that camera saw me, too.” Barrett’s voice was drained of emotion. “If they figured out that I was someone Jane knew, they probably got my name out of her. The hard way. For all I know, she could be—she could be—”
Nick shook his head. “No. Don’t go there. A seventeen-year-old virgin is a valuable commodity,” he said flatly. “She’s still alive.”
“Probably.” Barrett stared at him. “But for how long?”
He didn’t look away. “We’re going to find her, Barrett. You and me.”
“Don’t you have work to do? Whatever that is?” She wasn’t trying to be snotty.
“Yeah. I mean, realistically, I can’t drop everything to help you, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Okay. I can’t ask for more than that.”
“But …” He hesitated. “You know about vampires. You said you contract for the FBI. And you said ‘we’ were looking into sex trafficking, not you. So here’s the million-dollar question. Who, exactly, is we?”
That was the million-dollar question. One she knew she didn’t have any choice but to answer. She’d struggled with that decision. Belladonna was designated black ops for a reason, but with or without a green light from Carly and Mahone, she would have to reveal a little about what was going on. It helped, of course, that Nick was also working with the FBI, and knew about vampires and the Turning Program. It also seemed he knew more than she did. He’d asked her if she had level Six-Vee security clearance. And bottom line, he was a techno wizard when it came to computers and locating missing persons. If anyone could help her find Jane, Nick could.
“I work for a black ops team formed by a division of the FBI. It’s called Belladonna.”
“How did they recruit you?”
“A special agent named Peter Lancaster approached me. Said he needed human women to help him go places where he and his teammates couldn’t.”
Nick had suddenly stiffened. “And you just decided to trust him?”
She scowled. “No. I checked him out. He was
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