she?” Her compassion surprised him. Agents were
typically trained to not let the people they encountered in the
course of the job weigh on their minds. They had to remain
objective, or the job would eventually consume them.
“ She was forgotten. And has
no one else to help her. Shouldn’t we?” Carrie looked at him, her
expression serious and a little sad.
Sebastian dropped a hand to
her elbow and squeezed it in comfort. “How can we? Get her into
programs with housing? Reconnect her with the grandparent who
apparently didn’t bother looking for her? There’s only so much we
can do.”
“ I have some people back in
St. Louis. I’ve worked with them before. They’ll provide a bed and
food. Work with her on her education. Get her clean. It’s not a
halfway house, more of an assisted living facility for these kids.
I work there a few days each month. They could take her, if someone
provided some funds. I can swing it, I think. If she even wants to
go. Many of these kids are resistant to any kind of change.” She
leaned closer to him as she spoke.
“ You surprise me.” He
wanted to slip an arm around her back, but refrained. She wasn’t
ready for that kind of casual touching yet. He knew it, and didn’t
want to risk upsetting her even more.
“ Ok. Is that a good or bad
thing?” She pulled away slightly, confusion in her eyes.
“ Definitely good. I like
puzzles and surprises. You’re both.” One that he wouldn’t mind
figuring out. That had him pausing in his thinking. Was that what
he wanted? A chance to figure out just exactly how he felt about
Carrie Sparks? Maybe. He didn’t know yet.
“ I don’t try to
be.”
It confused her, his words.
That was clear for him to see. Sebastian squeezed her arm before
releasing her. “Well, you are. And I like it.”
***
They couldn’t be one
hundred percent certain the kid disappearing off the bus was even
Ashleigh. Security videos of the kid entering the vehicle were
grainy, poor quality at best. It looked like an average middle
school kid wearing tee shirt, jeans, carrying a hoodie, and wearing
a ball cap. Even the facial features were hard to determine. But
odds were good that it was, which meant they were headed back to
the St. Louis area. They’d eat first, visit with Sophie, and then
head home.
“ Do you want to go in with
me?” Carrie looked at the man beside her. He’d not protested when
she’d explained that Sophie was important to her, had actually
looked at her with admiration in his strange green eyes.
“ Yes.”
“ Let’s go then. When we’re
finished we can keep looking for Ashleigh.”
Chapter 16
*****
She hadn’t wanted to do it,
but she’d seen that man. The one her mom had had a crush on for so
long. He’d been looking for someone, and Ashleigh knew it was her.
Had her mom called him? Wasn’t he a cop? An FBI or Secret Service
guy?
If he found her, it was all
over.
She huddled in the vinyl
bus seat, praying the rest of the people on the bus wouldn’t
realize she wasn’t one of them.
How would she explain that
she’d locked some kid in the restroom? Told him some jerk was going
to kick her ass if she didn’t run right now. She’d slid her
favorite MP3 player under the door to make up for what she’d done;
she’d told him she was sorry. That would have to be
enough.
She pulled her zip-up
hoodie, thinner than the one she’d given to that girl Sophie, up
around her face and laid her head against the cool glass of the
window. She kept her hood up, hoping she wouldn’t stand out. With
forty other kids on the bus, surely she’d be overlooked?
Once she got away from the
city, she’d think about what to do next. Right now, she was just so
tired, all she wanted to do was sleep.
But she couldn’t. Not if it
meant she might get caught and sent back to him.
She watched the people
around her, waiting for one to notice she didn’t belong.
Chapter 17
*****
Kevin knew it was Rush.
That
typically trained to not let the people they encountered in the
course of the job weigh on their minds. They had to remain
objective, or the job would eventually consume them.
“ She was forgotten. And has
no one else to help her. Shouldn’t we?” Carrie looked at him, her
expression serious and a little sad.
Sebastian dropped a hand to
her elbow and squeezed it in comfort. “How can we? Get her into
programs with housing? Reconnect her with the grandparent who
apparently didn’t bother looking for her? There’s only so much we
can do.”
“ I have some people back in
St. Louis. I’ve worked with them before. They’ll provide a bed and
food. Work with her on her education. Get her clean. It’s not a
halfway house, more of an assisted living facility for these kids.
I work there a few days each month. They could take her, if someone
provided some funds. I can swing it, I think. If she even wants to
go. Many of these kids are resistant to any kind of change.” She
leaned closer to him as she spoke.
“ You surprise me.” He
wanted to slip an arm around her back, but refrained. She wasn’t
ready for that kind of casual touching yet. He knew it, and didn’t
want to risk upsetting her even more.
“ Ok. Is that a good or bad
thing?” She pulled away slightly, confusion in her eyes.
“ Definitely good. I like
puzzles and surprises. You’re both.” One that he wouldn’t mind
figuring out. That had him pausing in his thinking. Was that what
he wanted? A chance to figure out just exactly how he felt about
Carrie Sparks? Maybe. He didn’t know yet.
“ I don’t try to
be.”
It confused her, his words.
That was clear for him to see. Sebastian squeezed her arm before
releasing her. “Well, you are. And I like it.”
***
They couldn’t be one
hundred percent certain the kid disappearing off the bus was even
Ashleigh. Security videos of the kid entering the vehicle were
grainy, poor quality at best. It looked like an average middle
school kid wearing tee shirt, jeans, carrying a hoodie, and wearing
a ball cap. Even the facial features were hard to determine. But
odds were good that it was, which meant they were headed back to
the St. Louis area. They’d eat first, visit with Sophie, and then
head home.
“ Do you want to go in with
me?” Carrie looked at the man beside her. He’d not protested when
she’d explained that Sophie was important to her, had actually
looked at her with admiration in his strange green eyes.
“ Yes.”
“ Let’s go then. When we’re
finished we can keep looking for Ashleigh.”
Chapter 16
*****
She hadn’t wanted to do it,
but she’d seen that man. The one her mom had had a crush on for so
long. He’d been looking for someone, and Ashleigh knew it was her.
Had her mom called him? Wasn’t he a cop? An FBI or Secret Service
guy?
If he found her, it was all
over.
She huddled in the vinyl
bus seat, praying the rest of the people on the bus wouldn’t
realize she wasn’t one of them.
How would she explain that
she’d locked some kid in the restroom? Told him some jerk was going
to kick her ass if she didn’t run right now. She’d slid her
favorite MP3 player under the door to make up for what she’d done;
she’d told him she was sorry. That would have to be
enough.
She pulled her zip-up
hoodie, thinner than the one she’d given to that girl Sophie, up
around her face and laid her head against the cool glass of the
window. She kept her hood up, hoping she wouldn’t stand out. With
forty other kids on the bus, surely she’d be overlooked?
Once she got away from the
city, she’d think about what to do next. Right now, she was just so
tired, all she wanted to do was sleep.
But she couldn’t. Not if it
meant she might get caught and sent back to him.
She watched the people
around her, waiting for one to notice she didn’t belong.
Chapter 17
*****
Kevin knew it was Rush.
That
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