We all follow without having to be directed to do so. Shadow and Aro hold Grinch back, but the man seems calmer when Grace walks in and presses her tear-stained face into his chest.
Sure enough, a little girl no older than ten or eleven is curled up asleep in the backseat of Angel’s car, a halo of tangled, blond hair spread out on what looks like a rolled-up jacket.
Her eyes snap open the second the car door is pulled open, and my heart cracks at the terror in her eyes as she tries to scoot away.
Kincaid steps aside, Slick taking his place as she crouches down in front of the open doorway.
“Hi. My name is Brynn. What’s your name?”
The little girl shakes her head, refusing to answer.
“Has this man hurt you?”
Slick points to Angel, and I watch as the little girl looks over at him before looking back to my teammate before shaking her head.
“Do you feel safe with him?” Slick asks, and the little girl shakes her head again.
Angel doesn’t seem bothered by her response. I’m a grown-ass man, and I can admit I don’t feel safe around the big bastard either. That doesn’t necessarily make him a bad guy. It just makes this child really smart.
“I’d like you to come inside with me,” Slick says.
The little girl looks around at all of us guys standing there, and without us having to be asked, we disappear, walking toward the garage so we aren’t a menacing presence while Slick tries to coax the girl out of the car.
I can no longer hear what’s being said from my vantage point, but it takes about five more minutes before Slick stands with the little girl cradled to her chest.
Angel doesn’t hesitate to climb back behind the wheel, but before he can leave, Lauren comes out of the clubhouse and doesn’t say a word before climbing in the passenger seat with him.
Together, they drive away from the clubhouse.
We file back toward the clubhouse, but Kincaid stops me before I can enter.
We spend a long moment just staring in the direction Angel drove as the women not connected to Cerberus filter out of the clubhouse.
“If Max wasn’t able to find anything on Will Varon, maybe Sylvie knows something,” he says.
“She doesn’t,” I argue. “She wouldn’t let something like that happen and not speak up.”
Kincaid drops a hand to my shoulder. “I’m not accusing her of anything, but she was in his house, right? She may have noticed something and didn’t realize it. We’re going to need to speak with her. We need to identify that little girl and get her back to her family.”
I nod, knowing the night isn’t even close to being over, and I want nothing more than to crawl in a fucking hole.
I’m not struggling with the fact that Sylvie was so fucking wrong when she argued that Will Varon was a good guy. It’s that I was right and terrible shit happened because I didn’t listen to my gut. I don’t think I’ll ever make the same mistake again.
Chapter 23
Sylvie
Even with a head full of alcohol, I tremble in disbelief as I watch Slick pull a familiar looking little girl from the back of that big guy’s back seat.
“What’s going on?” I ask my best friend as Slick disappears around the side of the clubhouse.
“No clue,” Faith whispers. “It’s not like something like this happens all the time.”
I want to believe her because I don’t think she’d intentionally lie to me, but the guys moved out of the clubhouse and surrounded the car before moving away from it in such a tactical way, I’m finding it hard to believe that this isn’t something experienced often.
Nearly all the Cerberus members reenter the clubhouse, but the party doesn’t continue. The countdown happened silently while the guys were in the conference room and no one even acknowledged it when the radio shouted Happy New Year.
Aro gathers up the small group of women who showed up last and escorts them outside, refusing to answer any questions when they voice them.