“What?”
“It’s not my normal section.” She hung her head for a moment before kneeling to pick up her purse. “Thank you for letting me come over.”
Mark searched for something to say, to bring the sparkle back into her eyes. “Will you come tomorrow?”
She glanced at her left hand and wiggled her fingers. “I should let my fingers rest for a few days.”
“I’m going out of town next week, so you can have the house whenever you want and not worry about bothering me.”
“You are?” She looked up with an expression he couldn’t quite read. “How long?”
“I’ll be back Friday afternoon.” He grimaced. “I’d ask you out for dinner but you probably have to work, huh?”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t ask me out for dinner.”
“Why not?”
She sighed. “You know what I am.”
She meant where she worked. He could see the shame in her eyes. He put his hands on her upper arms. “What if you didn’t work there anymore? What if you could... escape?”
She snorted. “That would never happen. Geoffrey owns me.”
“America is a free country, Emily. No one owns anyone.”
“You don’t know Geoffrey.”
“You could stay here. With me. Find a job... do something else...”
Her eyes widened. “No, I can’t. I—”
“I’d help you out ‘til you got settled, Emily. I know people. I can ask around and—”
“No, you don’t understand. No one leaves the Café unless Geoffrey lets them.” She shook her head. “And he never—” She swallowed hard as she stepped back and turned away. “I have to go.”
He grabbed her arm and she looked back, eyes filled with fear. He released her. “I’d never hurt you, Emily.”
She blew out a breath. “I know.” She gave a tight smile.
Well, that was something, coming from her. “I will do everything I can to help you leave that place. You have my word.”
Her brows knit together. “Why?”
He stepped closer and smoothed his hand over her hair. “Because...” He sighed. “Because no one should be in the situation you’re in.”
She closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were full of sadness. “I don’t want you to get hurt. You’re too important.”
“So are you.”
She shook her head. “I have to go. I’m going to be late as it is.”
“Can I call you a cab?”
“I’ll be okay.”
He released her when she tugged again and he watched her disappear down the stairs. A moment later the front door opened and closed, and he walked to the window to watch her hurry down the sidewalk along the canal. He yanked his phone from his pocket and shot a text off to Alex, asking if he’d heard anything from Chase. After five agonizing minutes, his phone beeped. Chase was out of town and out of reach, but his wife would make sure he called Alex the moment he got back into town. In the meantime, Alex was reaching out to his American contacts to see what he could find out.
Mark grimaced and stared out the window for a long moment. He had to help Emily, dammit. If it was the last thing he did, he would get her out of that place.