“After I got off the phone with her I realized how fucking stupid I was. I shouldn’t have told her shit. They tapped the fucking phones and when they found out I couldn’t fucking pay they beat the fuck out of me. Finally, they told me it would be fine because my girlfriend sounded like a nice, pretty girl and—” Once again, he cut himself off, but this time, an agonized emotion passed over his face. “Fuck!” He threw an arm over his eyes, blocking out theroom.
“Tell us why, Josh,” Texas said. “Why did Erikamatter?”
“Because they can sellher.”
Time froze, and horror gripped me. My body remained stationary, but it felt as though the entire world had zoomed out so far away from me that if I reached out to touch it, I would fall into the blackest of spaces where nothing existed but fear. Sell Erika? As what? To who? What did he even mean “sell her?” My brain either couldn’t orwouldn’tcomprehend what Josh was saying. It was too appalling, too disgusting. Because even though I asked myself what he meant, I knew. I had seen those cold case television shows, documentaries on drug trade, and illegal industries. I knew what bad people could and would do to young girls. And Erika was pretty. Not just pretty, but beautiful. Oh, God. What would they do toher?
“Shit.” Marv’s low curse dragged me back to reality, but reality was a painful, terrifying existence. With eyes wide open, I watched as Texas jerked his head back inshock.
“What?” Texas’ voice was raw withdisbelief.
Josh uncovered his eyes, but still, he didn’t meet our gazes. “They could sell her to the porn industry,” hesaid.
A gruff voice sounded from the hallway. “Wow,” Grayson said, “I did not see that onecoming.”