Sins (Vance Davis Dossier #2) (6 page)

They had sat in the truck long enough for Jessie to be waiting for them at the door. Her warmth in greeting him was tempered by curiosity. Or maybe it was something else—Jessie’s shelter was full to the brim, and there was historically only one reason for Vance to show up on her doorstep with a girl in tow.

He’d ignored her tepid greeting, choosing to scoop her into a bear hug that lifted her off her feet, despite her protests.

She swatted him and squirmed. “Stop it, you big brute. I’ll have my husband thump you.”

“You know you love me, Jessie-girl.”

Valentine soaked in the exchange with a curious smile.

“What has gotten in to you?” Jessie laughed and tried to set herself straight once she’d regained contact with the floor.

“I’m buttering you up,” he admitted freely.

“Ah, I see.” Her gaze flitted from him to Valentine and back again. “I’m Jessie.”

“This is Valentine,” Vance supplied.

Jessie nodded once. “Nice to meet you, Valentine. Have the two of you had lunch?”

“Vance bought me a breakfast sandwich on the way down.”

“Don’t feed that girl that junk. Come on, let’s get you some real food.” Jessie would have hooked an arm through Valentine’s, but she instinctively drew nearer to Vance. Instead, Jessie motioned for the girl to follow her to the kitchen.

“Where are the kids?” Vance asked.

“With Gabe at the hardware store. They should be back in about a couple of hours.”

“I’m sorry I’m going to miss them. Not sure I can stay that long.”

Jessie arched an eyebrow at him.

“He’s in trouble with a woman who wants to be his girlfriend,” Valentine explained.

“Well, at least you can catch me up on Vance’s life if you’re staying here,” Jessie observed.

“How did you know that’s why Vance was buttering you up?” Valentine asked.

“Because it’s usually why he butters me up.”

“I’m sorry.” Valentine ducked her head, embarrassed.

“Don’t be. I’m glad to see him showing signs of life again.” Jessie stopped rooting through cupboards to smile over her shoulder at Valentine.

Vance folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter. “I’m still here.”

“We’ll wait until you’re gone, then,” Jessie teased.

“Comforting.”

Jessie and Vance kept the light teasing going throughout lunch, doing their best to set Valentine at ease. After lunch, Jessie rounded up supplies and an extra set of comfy clothes for Valentine to get a shower. Once she and Vance were alone, she rounded on him.

“You couldn’t even call first?”

He looked down at his shoes like a guilty little boy then cast his eyes up at Jessie. “I figured it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

“Because you know I’m full.” She leaned across the table and placed a hand on his arm. “I told you when you called about Nicole.”

“That’s precisely why I didn’t ask,” he admitted.

“Do you understand the meaning of the word full?”

“Room for one more in desperate times?”

Jessie chewed her bottom lip, a sure sign she was relenting. “Are they desperate times?”

“I bought her for the night, for a cover. I planned to let her sleep on my couch, find out what I could…”

“But you can’t stand to see her go back.”

“I physically couldn’t do it. Jessie, there’s something about this girl, like I need to protect her.”

“You protect a lot of girls.”

“I don’t know.” Vance shook his head. “I probably could have called around and found somewhere for her to go, but I wanted her to be here, with you.”

“It really matters to you this much?”

“Yeah, it really does.”

“I’ll see if I can put a rollaway bed in one of the dorm rooms. I’d let her stay in the house, but we don’t know this girl—whatever your gut is telling you, I still have little ones running around.”

“I get it. I completely understand.”

“How bad was it for her? You know we don’t have rehab services here—we’re not a trafficking shelter.”

“I know. She seems okay. I think she was a pet of sorts. I mean, it was bad, but I think it could have been worse.”

“At some point, you’ve got to stop bringing me wayward girls. You know that, right?”

Vance made a face at her before growing serious. “Do you think I’ll ever be normal?”

“There’s no fun in normal.”

“But do you think I’ll ever settle down, have a dog and kids and stuff, like you and Gabe do? I know that’s what Allie wants me to do, but even thinking about it gives me hives.”

“It won’t give you hives when it’s the right one,” Jessie assured him. “Hey, Vance?”

“Yes?”

“Is there more to this girl than you’re telling me?”

“How so?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head, clearing away whatever had been nibbling at her. “She just reminds me of you somehow.”

“She’s tiny, with black hair and blue eyes. How does that remind you of me?”

“Not that, dork. Her mannerisms, her smile. She reminds me of you. Is there something you want to tell me?”

“She’s 15—that would have made me, like, 14 when she was born.”

“It’s possible.”

“No, it’s not. I was a bad boy, but not quite that bad.”

“Whatever.” Jessie let it drop, clearly unconvinced.

“But you’ll take care of her?” Vance redirected.

“Yes, I’ll take care of her. Lobo and I will walk her over to the dorms after you leave. I’ll fill her in on the rules and find a girl to show her the ropes. If she goes into withdrawal or something, we’ll have to take her to the hospital. We don’t have the facilities for that here.”

“I know.” He nodded. “And I’ll leave a credit card so you can order her some clothes. Do you mind doing that?”

“It’s cool. But you don’t have to leave your card. I wrote down the number last time you did this to me.”

“You kept my card number?”

Jessie painted on her best angelic expression. “Thanks for the new furniture.”

“Nice try. I know you better than that.” He went to ruffle her hair and she ducked away from his hand.

“Is there anything else I need to know about her before you take off on me?”

“Sorry. I really do need to get back.” He felt guilty for dropping Valentine on Jessie’s doorstep and running away.

“I know, I know. Allie.”

“And the mission. But to answer your question, no. There’s nothing else. If she happens to tell you how she ended up where she was, let me know.”

“You going to track them down, too?” Jessie knew the answer before she asked the question.

“Maybe. Just let me know if she says anything.”

It was harder to say goodbye to Valentine than Vance thought it would be. When he would have parted with a casual wave, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. She’d whispered a muffled “thank you” into his chest before tearing herself away from him and running back inside.

Jessie had given him a look packed with meaning before turning to follow the girl inside. That look followed Vance all the way back to St. Louis. He wondered why he felt so drawn to Valentine. If he was honest, he could see that Jessie was right. There was something in her that was familiar, that reminded him of himself. He told himself it was a passing of the baton—Jessie had shown him great kindness when he’d needed it most, and now he was doing the same for Valentine and that made him feel good.

But those warm fuzzies flew right out the window when he got back to the hotel and found himself face-to-face with a very unhappy Allie Walker.

His first approach was feigned obtuseness. “Hey, Allie-girl. Where would you like me to take you to dinner? Or do you want me to pick?”

“Nice try.” She turned from him to zip the suitcase sitting on the bed. “You’re going to take me to see Emmett and Susie, and then you’re taking me home.”

“Tonight?” He almost groaned at the prospect of getting back in the truck.

“Tonight, before you run off again.”

“I’m not going to run off again.” He scowled. Vance had been prepared to apologize, but now he was just irritated.

“Sure. Unless something comes up: a lead, a clue, a girl, whatever.” Allie held her ground. “I’m not going to fight about it. I found an apartment for you to rent your friends. Now I miss my kids, and I want to go home.”

“Okay. Fine. Thank you. Can we run by and check out the place you found on our way?”

“Whatever.”

This time it was Vance who wanted to roll his eyes. Instead he sighed and grabbed Allie’s suitcase before making a U-turn back out the door.

VANCE RAN HIS HANDS
through his hair, stifling the growl of frustration he could feel rising in his throat. He looked to Otis for help, but the man just shrugged and held his hands out in a gesture of helplessness. Allie had buried her disdain for Vance under a cool exterior for their visit, but he could still feel it there, bubbling just under the surface. So he was already struggling to curb his temper when Emmett flat-out rejected his offer of a place to stay. He knew Emmett and Susie were adults; he couldn’t force them to take help if they didn’t want it. He didn’t understand it, but he had no choice but to accept it.

“I wouldn’t be so worried about us, if I were you,” Susie informed him around a bit of the spaghetti he’d brought her for dinner. “I think you’ll have your hands full keeping yourself alive this week.”

Of course I will
, Vance mentally sighed. “What have you heard?”

“That you took off with one of Little Z’s pets. Seems like he loaned her out to work a poker game, and she never came back. Anthony’s telling everybody you bailed the game to leave with the girl.”

Allie’s eyebrows shot up, her head swiveling around to level a glare at Vance. Emmett and Otis exchanged looks.

“Yeah, well, spread the word that I just meant to rough her up and things got out of hand, that you heard she was dead.” Vance’s voice was calm; inside he was beating his head against the brick wall instead of leaning on it.

Susie studied him for a minute. “You didn’t really kill that girl, did you?”

“I need him to believe I did.”

“He’ll kill you, just like he did Johnny.”

“I’m a big boy; I can handle it,” Vance promised. “Hey, who’s Johnny?”

“Some kid that had the bright idea to pretend to be a modeling agency to bring girls in to Little Z. Things got all mucked up, though; a couple of girls died. It cost Little Z a few million in profit and they had to pay a cleanup crew to make the evidence disappear.”

“I don’t suppose the modeling agency was called Beastly, was it?”

Susie’s eyes sparked at the mention. “Yeah, that was it.”

Vance took in what she’d just told him. The man who’d been directly responsible for Nicole’s disappearance was dead. Technically, his work here was done. Still, even if Johnny had been the one to lure Nicole in, it was to feed a pipeline that ran through Little Z. The same Little Z who wanted him dead; so really, his work was just getting started. He was suddenly very eager to deliver Allie safely home so he could follow this new lead.

“Allie, it’s time to say your goodbyes. I’ve got some work to do.”

The look on her face did not bode well for the trip back to the Ozarks.

“It looks like you’d better say goodbyes, too, Vance.” Otis extended his hand to Vance. “If Little Z doesn’t get you, I think Allie’s gonna.”

“The second one is the one that really scares me, sir,” Vance replied with his typical deadpan style. The two men shook hands and clapped each other on the shoulder. Then it was Emmett’s turn to wish him well, followed by Susie. He got the distinct impression they didn’t expect him to live through the night.

The drive back to Dallas County was a long one. The fact that he’d already spent 8 hours in the car would have been bad enough, but Allie’s stony silence made the trip downright miserable.

“You do know I didn’t kill that girl, right?” He finally broke the silence somewhere around the 208 mile marker.

“It bothers me that I had to debate it at first. I really don’t know you at all, do I, Vance?”

“No. I’ve been trying to tell you that.” He could see by the look on her face that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “You want me to be the boy who left here, to reclaim what we had, but I’m not him anymore. I’ve grown up and had a whole world full of experiences that I can’t undo—that I don’t want to undo.” He realized as he said it that he meant it. For the first time in his life, he embraced his past—sins and all. If it hadn’t been for the sins, he wouldn’t have been in a position to save Valentine last night. And saving her mattered.

“I don’t want you to undo your life,” Allie snapped at him.

“Yes, you do.” He was patient and gentle but firm. “You want me to be part of a life that doesn’t fit me anymore, that really never did.”

Allie blinked fiercely and turned to stare out the window. “I still can’t believe you ditched me like that. It was wrong.”

“But unavoidable. I didn’t mean to be gone all night, but when I had the chance to rescue Valentine, I had to do it.”

“Valentine. So that’s her name.”

Vance didn’t answer. There really wasn’t anything left to say. He didn’t want to leave things badly with Allie, but maybe it was best to let things simmer down for a while. Maybe, in time, she’d forgive him and move on. His mind shifted to Valentine and what he was going to do about Little Z. First and foremost, Vance had to convince the man that Valentine was dead—or kill him, but he’d promised himself that wouldn’t be Plan A anymore.

It was 10 p.m. when he pulled into Allie’s driveway. He’d carried her bag to the porch and stayed long enough to see she was inside safely before saying goodbye and climbing back in the truck. It occurred to him he hadn’t eaten since lunch, so he grabbed a bottle of water and a stick of beef jerky when he stopped for gas, figuring a light snack was better than a heavy meal if he was heading into a rumble. Oddly, he’d been itching for a fight just 24 hours prior. Now he’d much rather spend his time looking for Valentine’s family.

He wasn’t in the mood for a finesse operation. He was tired of lying low and building cases. He wanted to butt heads together and move on. To that end, he called his contact at the FBI to touch base on the off chance he could do something more productive than brawling—or dying—on this trip.