With his free hand, Jake pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit.”
That about summed it up. “I’m sorry. I never dreamed something like this would happen.”
“How did you get the cut on your arm?”
“There was a water glass on the coffee table, and when we were fighting it got broken. At one point he had me down on the floor and my arm got cut. That’s when I kneed him.”
Jake’s eyes grew hard and as cold as the glaciers in Antarctica. He probably didn’t know who he was more angry with, her or her attacker. Not that she blamed him. And he really wasn’t going to like what she was going to say next.
“After we go to the police, I want to find the girl.”
“Excuse me?”
If she hadn’t already been used to Logan’s intense scowls, she might have confessed her worst sins then and there. Was that look something they learned in SEAL school?
Jake gave her his fiercest glare, not sure which part of her statement to address first. Innocent brown eyes stared back at him—too innocent.
She arched a brow. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
The staccato sound of his fingers as they rapidly tapped on the steering wheel drew his attention. He stilled them and gave a shake of his head. “I’m almost afraid to know what’s going through your mind right now when you say you want to find the girl, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Are you telling me you haven’t called the police?”
“No, I was waiting for you.”
That didn’t make sense. “I don’t understand. You should’ve called them the minute you got a chance.” Something flickered in her eyes. What was he missing? “Maria?”
“I can’t breathe in here.” She opened her door and got out.
At the front of his car, she leaned back against the grille. Her body folded in on itself—shoulders bent over—and a shudder passed through her.
“Why didn’t you call the cops?” he asked, coming to stand in front of her.
Her answer was directed at the hands she held tightly clasped in front of her. “Because I’m afraid of them.”
More senseless words. He waited for her to explain, but she remained silent. Everything he knew about her and the boss passed through his mind. If she was afraid of the police, it had to go back to their mother. Didn’t everything?
“What did Lovey Dovey do?” Her eyes shot up to his. He’d hit his target. It didn’t please him.
“I can’t tell you,” she whispered.
“You can and you will.”
“Let it go, Jake.”
He’d be damned if he would. “Why are you afraid of the police? I can be as stubborn as you, so you might as well tell me or we’ll be here forever.” It was hard to know if her sigh was one of surrender or annoyance.
“If I tell you, you can’t tell Logan. If you do, he’ll hunt the man down and kill him, then I’ll be visiting my brother in prison.” She half smiled. “And then Dani will hate me for it.”
He matched her half smile with a full one. “I would never do anything to make Dani unhappy. Your secret’s safe with me.” He was digging his own grave by keeping Maria’s confidences, but she seemed satisfied by his answer. She lifted her chin, and her eyes were as dark as the black clouds of a thunderstorm.
“When I was fifteen, Lovey Dovey was arrested for prostitution. Again.” Her chuckle grated in his ears. “The cop who busted her turned out to be not such an honorable guy. She got him to agree to a trade. Her favors for him looking the other way.”
Maria lowered her head again as though she could no longer meet Jake’s eyes. “My mistake was to stop by at the wrong time. I was living with Mrs. Jankowski by then, but whenever Logan sent me money, I’d buy a few bags of groceries for my mother.” She shrugged. “Any money Lovey Dovey got her hands on went to booze and cigarettes.”
Jake didn’t like where this seemed to be headed, but the door had been opened and as much as he wanted to slam it closed, she needed to tell her secret. “Go on.”
Her fingers were laced together, and her thumbs spun furiously around each other. “He took one look at me and changed his mind about what would get Lovey Dovey out of trouble. Thankfully, Logan had taught me how to fight off a man.”
“So, he didn’t—”
“No, but not from lack of trying. My loving mother sat in a corner and watched. I think she might’ve even been turned on by it.” She leaned her body forward and stared down at her feet. “So, that’s why I don’t like cops. I know most of them are good men, I really do, but what if there’s another one like him?”