Vigilant (19 page)

“Did he follow us?”

Pushing her hair out of her face he said, “I’m never alone, Ari. That’s how serious this is.” He kissed her so hard she felt it in her toes. “I’ll be gone for a couple days. Oscar’s funeral and everything. I’ll be in touch, okay?”

“Okay.”

She watched as he and Boyd both easily climbed the fence.

“Good grief,” Ari mumbled, latching the window and walking out of her room for the kitchen. Leftover Thai sounded perfect after a night of dancing and sex.

Three microwaved minutes later, Ari banged her hip into the dining room table almost losing the bowl of rice and massaman she carried over a glass of milk. “Don’t fall, don’t fall,” she whispered. It didn’t matter, though. She saw the faint glow of the television from the living room and stopped in her tracks. “Oliver?”

“It’s me.”

Ari spotted Veronica curled up on the love seat, her face lit from the blue screen. “Oh, hey,” she said. “What are you doing up?”

“Light sleeper.” She smirked at Ari.

“Oh, geez.” Ari sank into the armchair. “Really?”

Veronica nodded and covered her laugh with her hand. “Sounded fun, though.”

Ari glanced at the TV and saw an apocalypse survival show. Oliver’s girlfriend was certainly an enigma. With her long, dark hair and a perfect nose, she had that beauty-queen thing going on, but she kept seeing Oliver and she was into the apocalypse. She couldn’t be that bad.

“Do I look like a whore? Dumping Nick and then bringing home another guy?”

“Well,” Veronica said, looking away from the TV. “When you put it that way, yes. But, I’m not judging. I think you had to make a choice—and you did.”

“I guess.” Guilt pressed down on her for the first time that night. Was it wrong? And what did she choose? Certainly not a relationship. Was it just sex? Davis had only said things would get complicated. They already were. “Have you ever been with a guy that makes you just feel…alive? Like when you aren’t with him you kind of crave him? Like you just can’t wait to get another…hit?”

“Sure.”

“Yeah?” Ari asked. “I haven’t. Not until now. Not until this guy. I mean, he just left and I want more.”

Veronica raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you made the right choice then—over Nick.”

“Yeah, but sometimes, it feels like it may consume me. At least what I felt for Nick was controllable. This? I feel like chasing him down the street.” Ari blushed after saying it. Why was she telling Veronica about this?

“Does he want to chase you back?”

Ari thought about Davis’s public kiss and the way he moved against her. She thought about how his hands parted her legs, pushing her knees to the side. The way he counted her stars, lingering over the new one, in the center of her chest. Like he knew. Like he knew she got the ink because of him. “Kind of. Yes. He’s always there. Like he needs it, too.”

Veronica yawned and stood up, stretching her arms wide. “I guess you’ll have to ride this out then. See where it goes. If the burn fades or if it turns into something else.”

She stepped over Ari’s legs and handed her the remote control. “What else would it turn into?” Ari asked.

Veronica gave her that same smirky grin. “Love.”

NINETEEN

Standing at the heavy, metal door, Ari waited for a guard to open it with a key. She’d gotten a call from Ms. Cox on her way into work. She turned her car around, stopped at the coffee shop, and headed to the detention center. Sometime last night, Devon had been arrested. After a ten-minute wait, someone finally came to unlock the door.

“Ms. Grant, awful early for you to be here.”

“Tell me about it. I figured I should just get it over with,” she said to the guard whose name she’d forgotten. Tall and thin. He had a weary look about him just like everyone else in this building.

They parted when they passed through the next locked door. Ari knocked on the open door of Ms. Cox’s windowless, basement office. “Morning.” She offered her one of the cups of coffee. “Thanks for the call. What’s going on?”

Ms. Cox accepted the coffee and placed it on her desk next to a large, looming pile of files. “I get emails at home when the kids are processed. I shouldn’t bother, but it makes me feel better knowing what’s coming at me during the day. I saw Devon’s name pop up and the associated charges. I knew you’d want to know.”

“Thanks. I’ve got a ton of work to do today and a staff meeting at ten. What were the charges? I’m assuming she’s not listed as a runaway. I just saw her and her mother hasn’t called.”

Ms. Cox thumbed through the files and slid one out near the top. “Says here disorderly contact and resisting arrest, but the notes mention her talking about witnessing an abduction.”

“An abduction? Does it say anything else?”

“Not really. I doubt the police believed her, and since she already had a record they just brought her in. I’ll call her up.”

Devon arrived with a guard fifteen minutes later. She wore the standard blue jumpsuit and paper slippers. Ari saw a thin cut down the side of her cheek, partially covered by a bandage. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ari. “Ms. Grant, you come to get me out?”

“No, not yet. You’ve got a hearing sometime later today or tomorrow. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

The girl eyed Ari and Ms. Cox suspiciously. “You won’t get mad?”

Ms. Cox rolled her eyes. “Girl, you’re in lockup. This is beyond mad. You better tell us what happened so we can try to help you. The uncensored version, too.”

“Okay, last night I went out with some friends, looking to score some weed.” Her eyes lowered when she admitted that but kept talking. “So we went down to the park, you know, where everyone hangs out. There was a pretty big crowd. Everyone was passing around forties and my friend Big Sauce said he had some weed to sell us.”

“Big Sauce?” Ari asked.

“Yeah, I don’t know his real name. He’s huge, though.”

“Okay, keep going.”

“Well, everything was okay and then I saw Shanna. I hadn’t heard from her since that last group.”

Ari was mildly surprised. And more than a little annoyed. “So she was down there?”

“Yeah, dressed to the nines. Heels and short shorts—even in this cold. I asked her if she was freezing and she said no, that she felt great. Then she got all giggly. I think she was high.” Devon took a deep breath. “She flashed her nails, sparkly and painted with leopard spots. Then she told me she could help me make some money. That Reggie, her sugar daddy, was looking for some new girls.”

“Reggie?” Ari felt like she’d heard that name before. “Who’s that?”

Devon shrugged. “You know, her boyfriend or whatever. A guy who pays her to have sex with him, but not a pimp. He buys her all that stuff.”

“So he has more than one girl, though? She’s okay with that?” Ms. Cox asked, glancing over at me.

“I thought it was weird, too. Anyway, I sure as hell don’t want no sugar daddy. I mean, gross. Screwing some old guy for nice nails? I’d rather have my chipped nasty ones.” She held up her hand in proof. “Plus, even though she looked good, she had some nasty bruises on her arms. I don’t know, maybe she likes it like that.”

“Like what?” Ms. Cox pushed.

“Rough.”

That information settled in Ari’s stomach like a brick. “So, what happened? How did all that end up with you getting arrested?”

“I told her ‘no thanks’. That I wasn’t interested. Which was fine with her, or at least she seemed fine. Then this black car rolls up. It’s nice and flashy. Too nice for the park. Shanna got this big smile on her face and said, ‘That’s my man. Don’t be jealous of my ride.’

“So, he rolls down the window and waves her over. He doesn’t get out, but I can see part of his hand and face. He’s a white dude. Which again, isn’t real typical down at that park late at night, bus Shanna’s part white, too, I guess. He sees me looking and waves me over, too. I shake my head no. I’m not about to get caught up in this craziness.”

“Did Shanna leave with him?” Ari asked, trying to keep Devon focused. She suspected the girl was just happy to be out of her cell and would’ve talked for hours.

“Not then. Shanna came back over and flashed me a Benjamin. She said it would be mine if I came with them.”

Ms. Cox interrupted. “Did you take it?”

“Didn’t get the chance. I wasn’t going to, but I wondered what else he may have up in that car.” She looked to the side. “Didn’t matter. The po-po came and everything got crazy. He whistled at Shanna and she ran over to the car like a dog and they took off. I was so confused and distracted that I didn’t even think to run ’til it was too late.” She touched her face. “That’s how I got this cut. I tried to climb over a stupid fence. The cops thought I was carrying or selling. I was just in the wrong place.”

“Right. Not at home. In bed, like your contract says.”

“I know, Ms. Grant. I was just looking for some fun. I ain’t no old lady,” she argued. “You gonna help me out in court?”

“Maybe. I’ll see what Judge Hatcher says, but the charges seem fairly minor.” Ari looked Ms. Cox. “I think we’re done here. She can go back up.”

Devon stood up when the guard came in to escort her back to her room. She stopped and said, “You need to find Shanna. That guy seemed weird. What’s he doing sniffing around ghetto girls? I don’t like it.”

“I will, Devon. Thanks for telling me about it.”

“She’s my girl. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

Ari put on her most assuring smile and said, “Me, either.”

“What do you think of this Reggie guy?” Ms. Cox asked after she left.

Ari shook her head. “I think he’s trouble.”

* * *

Oscar’s funeral took place that afternoon. Ari didn’t go. Making out in a smoky, dingy club was one thing, but attending the funeral for a boy she didn’t know because she was mixed up with his mentor seemed to push the boundaries of their teetering relationship. She wasn’t really in the mood to see him, anyway. Well, she was, if only to feel some heat on her skin, but not emotionally. Everything had become so confusing.

She’d worked out a plan for the night. Devon gave her just enough information to finally do something for her girls. Ari found Oliver sitting by himself in the living room. For once, Veronica wasn’t over.

Ari blocked Nick’s view of the television and said, “So, no work tonight? Or Veronica?

“No,” he said. “I thought I’d chill a little.” He craned his neck to see the screen. “Umm…I can’t watch crappy reality TV though your ass, Ari. Could you move a little?”

She stood her ground and took a deep breath. “I’m about to do something reckless and possibly stupid. Do you want to come with me?”

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows for a moment. “Scale of one to ten, ten being the highest, how reckless and stupid?

“Seven.”

After a moment of consideration he smiled. “I’m in. Let me get my coat.”

Ari drove since she had a vague idea of their destination. Oliver sat in the passenger seat dressed in full black. He fiddled with the heat and buttons on the front panel, trying to warm up the car. The car’s windshield wipers scraped against the barely wet window. It wasn’t exactly raining. More like an obnoxious spitting from the sky.

“You picked a great night to go out and...what are we doing? Something risky?”

“I’m spying on my clients.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“It means I’m going to spy on them and see what they’re doing. Or if I notice anything strange. My girls keep going missing and I want to know why.”

“So you’re going to confront a pimp? Yeah, that does sound risky.”

“Ugh, I keep telling you. S-p-y-i-n-g. Just spying. It’s just the park we’re going to is kind of in a dangerous part of town.”

“Well, whatever. Just let me know what to look out for.” Oliver reached under his jacket. “I came prepared.”

“What are those?”

“Binoculars. I figured we may need them.”

“You didn’t even know what we were doing, but you brought binoculars anyway?”

He shrugged and began cleaning the glass with a small, white cloth. “I had a hunch. Mostly because you’re so freaking nosy.”

Ari ignored him and drove across town toward Glory Park. The park itself sprawled over several miles. Biking and running trails crisscrossed the area, and a popular dog park used a large fenced-in section. Ari drove past the well-lit areas toward the section with the basketball courts. This was the only part of the park that was used after dark.

“Do you think they’ll be out tonight? The weather is miserable,” Oliver asked when he realized where they were headed

“The courts are covered. Half the people out here are doing business. They don’t care about the rain.”

Sure enough, the basketball courts were hopping. “So we just sit here?” Oliver asked. He double-checked the door lock.

“For now. I just want to get an idea of what’s going on. And to see if my girls are telling me the truth.”

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Oliver broke the quiet. “See anything?”

“Honestly? Not much. I think a couple of those boys actually playing basketball come to my office but they’re not on my caseload. There aren’t many girls out tonight, though, and I haven’t seen Shanna or Hope. But that car has been idling over there for a while.” Two or three guys had walked over to the car’s window since they’d been here.

Oliver nodded. “I noticed that, too. Drug dealer?”

“Possibly. Devon said Shanna’s sugar daddy drove a black car.”

“That one looks gray to me.”

“Me, too,” she admitted.

Ari searched the park again and frowned. “Do you see that guy over there? Behind the goalpost, in the blue sweatshirt? What is he doing?”

“No idea. But I noticed another guy up in the bleachers sitting by himself.” Oliver lifted his binoculars and adjusted the view. “Okay, so there’s a guy behind the goalpost, one on the bleachers and two others lurking around the edges. Who are these guys?”

Ari squinted, trying to see better. “Hand me those binoculars,” she said, holding out her hand. Ari held them to her eyes and searched for the men Oliver had seen. She spotted them all, including one more perched on top of a playground set. “Hold on,” she said. “How do you make this bigger? More magnified?”