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A Perfect Storm(6)

By:Lori Foster


"No."

Which meant Miller was an alias.

Figures. With a nod, because he really didn't care, Spencer said, "I have a problem."

With a half smile, Trace asked, "Is her name Arizona?"

Not funny. Or rather, it would be funny if it didn't involve him. "Bingo."

"What'd she do now?" Trace sat back in the booth. "And why aren't you going to Jackson? She's like a sister to him."

Was she? He knew Jackson felt that way-but Arizona? Sometimes he  wondered. They had a very complicated relationship, but Spencer said  only, "Arizona made me promise I wouldn't tell Jackson."

"Ah. Didn't mention keeping it from me or Dare, huh?"

"No. I guess she didn't think you two were an option." Dare was the  third element in the team. The day Spencer had met them all, Dare had  been on surveillance-meaning crouched on a hillside with high-powered  rifles ready to pick off anyone planning an ambush. "I doubt Arizona  even realizes we've stayed in touch since that cluster-fuck happened."

He shrugged. "It went as planned."

"She was in the middle of it all." It still made Spencer furious to  think about it. Arizona had used herself to lure in the human  traffickers. But she hadn't realized they were the same people she'd  previously escaped-the same people who had once tossed her, bound and  abused, over the side of a bridge and into a churning river to kill her.

If Jackson hadn't come upon them that night, if he hadn't been skilled enough and fast enough, Arizona would have drowned.

Sadly, few would have noticed her passing. Even fewer would have cared.                       
       
           



       

Spencer's guts cramped. So far in her young life, Arizona had been dealt a miserable hand. And still she was so … spirited.

"Since they wanted her dead, I'd say you were right." Trace studied him. "You seeing her much?"

"Not really." He didn't want to betray Arizona's trust, so he couldn't  explain that he'd been trying to avoid her-and forget her-only to find  her sitting in his bedroom, watching him sleep. "She stopped by."

Trace's expression didn't change. "To engage you in one of her stunts?"

Now he felt defensive on her behalf. "What she doesn't have in size and strength, she makes up for with brains and bravery."

"Bravery?" Eyebrow raised, Trace reached for his Coke. "I'd call it recklessness."

"Maybe." He didn't want to argue the point. "It bothers me that she  doesn't show enough caution, and she puts no value on her own hide."

"I know." Almost as a warning, Trace said, "Whoever hooks up with the  girl better have a lot of fortitude, because I don't see her easing off  anytime soon."

Yeah … he didn't want to think about Arizona with anyone else. And the way  she'd reacted to the idea of a kiss, he knew she still had a lot of  hurt to overcome. People now cared for her, but she trusted only the  ugly side of life.

Because that was all she knew.

With the Coke gone, Trace got serious. "I thought Jackson had her busy doing computer work."

Not busy enough, obviously. "She does that-and then some."

On a sigh, Trace asked, "So what's she into now?"

Spencer explained about the bar and grill, and Arizona's suspicions.  "She told me she's been there a few times already and she's been  noticed."

"That girl would get noticed anywhere."

An irrefutable fact. He'd never seen a woman as breathtakingly gorgeous  as Arizona. "So at this point, for the sake of her safety, I have to  assume there are some shady deals going on. Which means someone might  have already followed her."

"They could know where she lives, the places she frequents. She could  get grabbed right off the street." Trace gave him a long look.  "Unfortunately, it happens all the time."

Which was why he wanted to protect her. "I have no choice but to get involved."

"No choice at all." Trace considered things. "Give me the name of the place and the location."

"The Green Goose, in downtown Middleville."

Expression arrested, Trace said, "Shit."

"What? You're aware of something going on in there?"

It took him a second, and then Trace laughed. "She's got great instincts, I'll give her that."

It hit Spencer like a ton of bricks. "She's right about the place, isn't she?"

"Afraid so. Luckily for your peace of mind, we were already on it. Early  stages, though. Dare was running background checks on the owners, and I  was planning a visit so I could scope out things from within."

"Arizona's already done that." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, but  Trace had to know it all. "She says she sat at a table, and when a kid  came to take her order, she noticed some bruises, what looked like a  broken finger that hadn't been set right, and the boy wouldn't look her  in the eyes. Probably not more than sixteen, though of course his age  would be fudged."

Anger gathered in Trace's expression, but he sounded calm enough when he said, "I wish we'd moved on this sooner, damn it."

But they couldn't be everywhere at once, and cruelty existed far and  wide, all the time. "When the boy brought her food, Arizona asked if it  was a good place to work. She told him she was looking for a job."

"The boy's reaction?"

"He couldn't or wouldn't tell her what they made per hour."

Grim, Trace said, "Because he's not getting paid."

"That's Arizona's assumption. Around a lot of stammering and  nervousness, the boy pointed out the man to talk to if she wanted to  work there. Arizona said he's a tall, skinny guy, mid-forties, thinning  brown hair, brown eyes, goatee, earring, some sort of colorful tribal  tattoo on his left arm. From what she could find out, he's the owner of  the place."

"Terry Janes." Trace crossed his arms. "Did some time when he was  younger for peddling drugs, been in more trouble a handful of times for  robbery, breaking and entering, suspected rape. He had a charge for  beating a guy half to death, but that fell through the cracks. No way is  he the owner."                       
       
           



       

God, it sounded worse than Spencer had suspected. "Later that night,  Arizona kept watch on the place and only a few of the employees left.  Janes, his bartender, his bouncer-just key people, I guess. He locked  the door behind him. It's a shitty part of town, so bars on the windows  make sense, but in this case-"

"They're there to keep the workers in." After a moment of thought, Trace  leaned forward, arms resting on the table. "Please tell me that Arizona  hasn't talked to him."

That was the only good news in the whole screwed scenario. "She says  not, but she told the boy she'd be back tomorrow night-and she's pretty  sure the guy overheard it all."

"Which was probably intentional on her part?"

"I assume so."

Trace shook his head. "So now they'll be watching for her."

"You met Arizona. That's her plan." Disgust rolled through him; he hated  her plan. "She wants them to know, to make a move, so she can expose  them."

"At least she had the good sense to come to you for backup." Trace pulled out his cell phone. "Where's Arizona now?"

"At this precise moment? No idea." And that was a problem, because it  would take Arizona no more than a minute to get in over her head. When  he couldn't see her, he worried about what she was doing, if she was  safe.

He wondered if she thought about him even half as much as he thought about her.

It'd be nice to claim that altruistic motives drove him. But that wouldn't be the whole truth, and he knew it.

He glanced at his wristwatch. "She's coming by my place in a few hours so we can coordinate plans for tomorrow."

"Coordinating plans was the best you could come up with?"

Spencer shrugged. That had been the only excuse he could think of to  gain himself time enough to talk to Trace-and to get a cake for her  birthday.

Trace said, "Whatever you call it, get her to stay overnight with you,  and keep her under wraps until she heads to the Green Goose."

No and no again. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?" And not touch her?

"I don't know. Find a way. Tell her you need to go over the rules with her."

Or just go over her. Spencer shook his head. "You think that'll take the whole night?"

"Guess that depends on how you drag it out, doesn't it?"

Spencer didn't miss the suggestion. But Trace had to be kidding. With a  hand to the back of his neck, Spencer tried to rub away the growing  tension. "The thing is, Arizona's … skittish."

What an understatement. Arizona was all brass and bravado, until someone  showed intimate interest. Then her survival reaction of fight, flight  or freeze kicked in.