Teased(46)

Vida shuddered at the lucky escape she’d had. Sawyer hadn’t been so fortunate. Vida prayed against all odds that whoever had her wasn’t treating her badly.

Vida crossed the street, leaving Seth at the coffee shop while she tried to decide what to do because she was afraid that, if she chose wrong, Sawyer’s life would be the price of her failure.





Chapter 15





Colton was staring out the window when she entered the tattoo shop, making no pretence that he had been watching her, or that he was angry with her.

Taking her arm, he led her into his room and then closed the door.

“What were you thinking of leaving the shop without telling me? One of Digger’s men could have grabbed you.” His hard voice left no doubt in Vida’s mind of his concern for her safety. It convinced Vida of what the best course of action she should take.

“Colton, calm down. I need to tell you something.” Quickly as possible, she told Colton about her conversation with Seth, including the part about Digger still having friends in the Predators.

Colton sat down on his stool, deep in thought. “He’s right, I know of a couple and a few more might even be in with him and are just playing it cool so that no one knows of their involvement with Digger’s activities. The Predators are not exactly law abiding, but they don’t go for selling women against their will.”

“What should I do? I don’t want to jeopardize Sawyer’s safety, but I can’t simply not help those other women, either.”

“Did Seth say my shop is bugged?” Colton asked.

“I didn’t think to ask,” Vida confessed, angry with herself.

“I don’t think it is, but I don’t want to tip the FBI off to what we’re going to do.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Talk to King.” Colton wrote the words down on his drawing pad. Vida agreed. King had offered his help before anyone else, including the police.

“Go back out front,” he said while he continued to write. “I’ll call King and set up a meeting,” he wrote.

Vida started to open the door, but Colton’s voice had her pausing and looking back towards him.

“Don’t go off alone again, Vida.” Hearing the threat in his voice, she nodded her agreement before slipping out the door and closing it behind her.

The rest of the day was slow. Tessa and Carlito left early when no other clients came in and they had finished with their scheduled appointments.

“Let’s go.” Colton was leaning against the counter. “Reverend said he would close up the shop.”

Vida rose from her chair when Tessa came back in the door. They both tensed, expecting the woman to pick up where the argument ended this morning. Instead, she walked directly to Colton and handed him a sealed envelope.

“I signed the divorce papers. I took them by your lawyer’s office. That’s a copy of them.” Her face was expressionless, but Vida could tell by the pain in her eyes how badly she was hurting.

Colton’s hand gripped the envelope. “Thanks, Tessa.”

Tessa shrugged. “It’s obvious you’re moving on with several women.” Turning around, she left them, leaving them in the silence of her sudden departure.

Vida started to say something then closed her mouth, not knowing exactly what to say. The end of a marriage was never a good thing. It was the ending of a dream that two people shared in that moment, Vida could tell that Colton had cared for Tessa at one time and had tried to save his marriage. He’d even gone to prison, still trying to hold it together and protect his child.

Vida came to the conclusion in that moment that he wasn’t like the men her mother had attached herself to. Colton, when he had decided to marry, had committed himself and given it every chance. It was Tessa who, despite her last harsh words at parting, had turned her back on their marriage.

Colton unlocked the apartment door, holding it open for Vida to enter. Vida came to a standstill when she saw King sitting on the chair in the room.

Colton’s brow rose as he came in the door, closing it behind him.

“How many keys to this apartment are floating around?” he asked King.

King gave him a smile. “I didn’t use a key.”

“Figures, you might not want to draw attention to your talent of B and E with the cops listening in to your every move.”

The smile disappeared in a flash. “What do you mean by that remark?”

Colton and Vida both sat down on the couch and went over the talk that Seth had with Vida earlier in the day.

Vida watched as King’s impassive face turned angry when he found out his club had been bugged and was under police surveillance.