Problem Child (Jane Doe #2) - Victoria Helen Stone Page 0,60

If nothing else pans out, I can always get in touch with them.

I walk jauntily to my rental car. I didn’t really have a dinner, but I’m too sleepy for a night out, so I think I’ll pick up something delicious and take it back to my room. Dinner in my underwear with a good book. What a treat.

I’ve got my eyes peeled for decent options as I pull out, but my gaze is drawn to a figure walking through the dark toward the lounge. I roll down my window as I pass. “Bye, Derrick! Don’t worry, I won’t post those pictures online!” He slides right out of my vision when he stops dead in his tracks, remembering my phone raised to snap a few photos.

Derrick won’t pick up any strange women again, and this is going to be good for his life in the long term, especially if his career continues to take him on the road. Honestly, it was a lesson he needed to learn. I glance into the rearview mirror and wave again.

But what did I learn tonight? Well, I found out more about Roy Morris, for sure, and that would’ve made this whole excursion worth it, even without any other benefits. But I also learned something deep and important about myself, I’d say. I can never be good or honest, but maybe I can actually be faithful? As long as that definition is . . . slightly looser than normal. So the bigger question is: Does this mean I want to keep trying?

I pass a gas station with a Popeyes franchise inside and decide to go for it. It’s hard to find red beans and rice in Minneapolis. Fifteen minutes later I’m back in my room and digging into dinner. Fifteen minutes after that, I’m idly flipping through the TV channels. I should have grabbed more cookies on the way in. The last one from yesterday is hard now.

I feel strange and restless, on some sort of precipice, and I’m wondering if I should get dressed again and go out. Maybe I could go back to the truck stop, ask more questions about Kayla, and throw in a few about Roy Morris.

Kayla could be in real danger from this guy. That soccer coach was pushed into some kind of corner. It wasn’t just a friendly transaction for sex. That’s also not the kind of deal that would send a youth pastor running for another state.

If Little Dog and Kayla were shaking men down, that would’ve been a dangerous move with a man like Roy Morris. His brother’s fortune and political career would be put at risk, and girls have been killed for far less than that in this world. Hell, even I could be in danger from a guy like Morris, but I like that. Bring it on, asshole.

I’m considering getting up and putting on my shoes, but a call comes through from Luke. “Hey,” I say.

“Hey yourself, beautiful. Did you solve any mysteries today?”

I grin because he knows I like being called beautiful. “Not really, but I’m getting closer. I think Kayla is a sex worker and that may be the crux of it. I’m trying to track down her pimp.”

“Holy crap. Really? That’s so sad. The girl is just a baby.”

“Yeah,” I agree, though I doubt she’s been allowed to be a kid for years. She had to learn to survive. To protect herself. To hurt people to stop them from hurting her. We’re from the same damn family, after all.

“Be careful,” Luke says softly. “It sounds like she was mixed up with some dangerous people. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Because you love me?” I ask.

“Yes. I do love you.”

“What if I told you I flirted with another man tonight?” This strange mood is making me lash out. I want to stir the pot and force a reaction out of him.

“I’d think maybe you’re telling me that to make me jealous because you want some attention.”

Well, damn. “You shut up!” I cry, giggling now.

“Is it true?”

“Shut up,” I repeat, but then I add, “Maybe. Did it work?”

“A little. What else did you do?”

“I didn’t touch him, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No? Did you want to?”

“Eh. Only a little.”

“Did he want to touch you?”

“Very much so.”

“Yeah, I bet.” I can hear him smiling through the phone, and it makes me smile too. “Remember when I ran into you last year?” he asks. “Here in the city? You were the hottest thing I’d ever