His felt his heart break as he watched something inside her die.
“She’s dead, isn’t she? They killed her. Those fucking bastards killed her. She ran so they didn’t catch me, and they killed her. I couldn’t run, and now she’s dead.”
“I’m sorry, more than I can say. None of this is your fault.”
“I fell and couldn’t run.” Life came back to her face, but it was hard, and it was bitter. “She helped me, and nobody ever did. Now she’s dead.”
“She was brave and thought of you. You have to honor her, and the first way is to put the blame where it belongs. On the people who hurt her, and you, and all the others.”
“I want to kill them.”
“I find it hard to blame you for it. Do you trust me?”
“Will you help me kill them?”
Looking into those young, bitter eyes, he sat back. “I can’t do that. As much as I understand, I can’t take a life, even a vile one. I have others here who trust me, who need this safe place because they’ve been hurt or betrayed or abandoned. But I have another way, another way you can honor Mina, and make them pay for what they’ve done, what they’re doing.”
“Pay how?”
“By losing everything but their lives. And that’s a deeper punishment. Losing everything and having to live with the nothing. You can help take it from them, take their freedom like they took yours.”
He took her hand again, leaned toward her. “I know someone who can help do that.”
“You.”
“In my way, but someone else.” He tried a little smile. “Do you know who Mavis Freestone is?”
“Yeah, who doesn’t? She’s pretty mag, I guess. I couldn’t listen to music at home, but I stole some buds so she wouldn’t hear, and I listened to her sometimes.”
“She’s a friend of mine.”
Some of the young girl eked back. “Step out. She’s like a total celeb, and way rich and all of it.”
“She wasn’t always. Once she was like you, like the family here. A girl who needed a safe place.”
“Serious? No bull? She stayed here?”
“Not in this place. I didn’t have it then, but in another.”
“But she’s … somebody.”
“So are we all.”
“Even if, how’s she going to help make them all pay? She’s a singer.”
“She has a friend, a very good friend, who’s police.”
Dorian snatched her hand away. “Cops. Fuck that, fuck them. They’ll ship me back to Freehell, or toss me in juvie again, and I’m not ever—”
“Hear me out. We listen to each other here, Dorian, so listen to me now. I’m going to promise you not to do anything, talk to anyone unless you agree. That’s first. I promise you.”
“I’m not going to agree, so forget it. I’ll leave first and take my chances.”
“They’re looking for you, Dorian, these evil people, and the police.”
“Because of Mina? They don’t think I—”
“I said you’re safe here. And if you choose, I’ll get you money and find a way to get you out of New York. But if you choose that, they will never pay, and never stop. Never pay for Mina, never stop hurting all the other girls.”
He put a hand on her cheek, gently, and felt relief when she didn’t jerk away.
“It’s too much, too terribly much to put on your shoulders, but that’s the reality of it. Before you choose, I’m asking you to hear me out.”
“I’m not going to the cops.” She folded her arms. “But whatever.”
“I’m going to tell you how I met this cop. Lieutenant Eve Dallas. And why her friend and mine, Mavis, brought us together. There were girls,” he began, “like you and Mina, years ago. Someone hurt them, killed them, and hid their bodies behind a wall. One day, not very many months ago, a man broke down that wall because he wanted to build something new, something good, and those young girls, what remained of them, were found.”
* * *
At Central, Eve paced the conference room.
She’d put most of the morning into looking for ways to cut down the number of properties on Roarke’s list. The problem remained he’d done too damn good a job doing that already.
It left her with far too many that could fit what she envisioned. And worse, her vision might be off.
Frustrated, she’d switched to potential victims, and began scouring files looking for that one tiny, overlooked mistake.