After winding their way through a series of hallways, they entered a large room where two well-dressed men in business suits sat perched on the edge of a red velvet sofa, their bodies relaxed as they watched her being brought in, eyes gleaming with malicious interest. One of the men licked his lips as he inspected her from her highlighted hair to her painted toenails.

Both men rose to their feet. ‘She’ll do nicely.’ They each pulled out a wad of bills which they thrust out towards Tall Guy. He grabbed the money and handed it to his partner behind him who slowly counted it. When he stuffed it into his pocket and nodded, Tall Guy shoved her forward.

Right into the waiting arms of the two businessmen who latched onto her upper arms. Ignoring her pleas and the tears that fell in torrents down her face, they marched her down yet another hallway, this time ending at a closed door labeled ‘The Toybox.’

When they led her through the doorway, and Rachel saw what was inside, her knees buckled, and only the force of their grip kept her on her feet.

Chapter Ten

Monday, May 20

The fingers gripping Cord’s thighs turned white, and after he inhaled slowly through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, he began. ‘There’s something…’

He shook his head the way Alyssa did when she was trying to dislodge a memory she didn’t want, then tried again. ‘There’s something I’ve never told you. It’s not because I don’t trust you; it’s because I don’t talk about it with anyone. Not even Sara – well, not anymore anyway.’ He sucked in an audible breath and expelled it in a rush. This time when he spoke, his words were quieter, not quite a whisper, but uttered almost reverently, and Alyssa found herself straining to hear.

‘My little sister was seventeen, on the dance team, happy, kind – really, I’m not just saying that because I’m the big brother. Everybody loved her. And she was smart.’ The way he gnashed his teeth made it sound like he was angry about it.

At a stoplight, Alyssa angled her body toward him in time to witness the tortured look on his face, the way his mouth trembled just enough for her to notice. It made her want to reach over and remind him where he was. Instead, she made a right turn and drove a block until she reached a park where she pulled in but left the car idling. It was quiet here with only a handful of mothers and their toddlers running around in the sand. She kept her focus on them while Cord composed himself.

‘She was sharp as a whip. Except when it came to boys.’ He reached out and cranked the air conditioner to high, and Alyssa got the impression it had more to do with the fact that he needed to do something with his shaking hands than it did with the temperature inside the vehicle. Careful not to distract him, she pointed her vent away from her face.