Wanting (18 page)

They gave her milk and
cookies like she was a little kid, but Ashleigh didn’t mind. These
people were nice and listened to her and they were normal. She’d
thought she’d never get to be around normal people
again.

The blonde lady was
beautiful and looked kind of like a Barbie doll. Her brothers were
tall and muscled and really good looking. Ashleigh knew her mom
would think so, too. Her mom liked cops, especially good looking
ones.

She didn’t think Agent
Paige liked the one brother, though. They kept sending each other
dirty looks when they thought no one was looking. Ashleigh watched
him for a little while. He was very big, and taller than his
brother. He made Agent Paige look short, and Ashleigh thought the
cool Goth woman had to be at least six feet tall.

All of them—Agent Paige,
the blonde woman named Al, and Al’s two brothers—wore guns in
holsters just like Elliot wore. And the bigger brother, Mick, kept
watch at the window while Al played cards with Ashleigh. Agent
Paige jittered around the room, never staying in one spot. Her
moving around was making Mick angry and Ashleigh was just waiting
for him to yell at Paige or something. He didn’t. Just glared and
glared.

It made Ashleigh really
nervous.

“
If you’re ready for bed,
Ashleigh, I have a day bed in my room that you can use. It used to
be my bed when I was a little girl and I’ve kept it through the
years. Paige has crashed there a time or two,” Al said, patting
Ashleigh’s shoulder. She was in charge, and Ashleigh knew it. Both
the brothers, Mal and Mick, listened when their sister told them to
do something. Ashleigh thought that was kind of cool. She’d wanted
a brother or sister, but her parents never had another kid.
Probably were fighting too much to even consider it.

A good thing, she guessed.
If she’d had a younger brother or sister, would she have been able
to run away as easily as she had? What would have happened to her
or her sibling then? “I’m ready, I think. I...need a bath. Or
something. I stink.”

“
There’s a bathroom
connected to my room. And I think I can find you something to wear
tonight. We can wash your clothes for you in the morning. Or have
Agent Lorcan or Carrie bring you something tomorrow.”

Ashleigh wanted to take a
long bath but settled for a shower. She didn’t want to be rude to
these people who had already been really nice to her. When she came
out of the shower she could hear people fighting. Al waited on the
full bed next to the smaller day bed. She saw Ashleigh and she
nodded. “Don’t worry. It’s just Paige and Mick. They fight every
time they see each other for some reason.”

“
What do you know about
it?”

It was Mick and Ashleigh
felt her eyes widen at how mad he sounded. “He sounds really mad.
He’s not going to hurt her, is he? He’s awfully big.”

“
No! Mick likes to fight
and yell, but never with women. Paige is the only woman he fights
with. He’d never hurt her.” Al handed her a thick pink blanket and
a soft pillow. “Here. The bed is kind of short, but I think you’ll
fit.”

“
It’s better than anything.
Better than concrete.” Ashleigh shuddered remembering the storm
drain she’d slept in for a night or two until the rains started.
“Or a drain pipe. Paige said she’d slept in one before,
too.”

Al stopped moving for a
moment. “Paige did?”

Something in the older
woman’s tone had Ashleigh looking up. “Uh-oh. Was I not supposed to
tell? They didn’t say it was a secret.”

“
Who are they?”

“
Agent Paige and Agent
Carrie. They said they lived on the streets. For years.” Ashleigh’s
throat tightened. Had they lied to her?

Al sank to her bed. “I see.
They did, did they?”

Ashleigh nodded. “Paige
said she was eleven. Or twelve. She didn’t remember how old she
was.”

“
And Carrie?” Al’s voice
sounded funny.

“
She didn’t say why but she
said she was fifteen when she ran away. I guess they lived
together.” Ashleigh started to feel really bad. Maybe she shouldn’t
have told? But hadn’t they told her they’d run away when they were
sitting right there in the middle of the FBI? It wasn’t as if
they’d kept it a secret, or anything. Agent Lorcan had seemed to
know. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you.”

“
No. It’s ok. I won’t
repeat what you’ve said. It does answer a few questions I’ve had
for a long time. Paige and Carrie, they are my best friends and I
care about them a lot. Why don’t you go on to sleep, and I’ll go
get those two to shut up? Otherwise they’ll fight all
night.”

Ashleigh thought about it
for a moment. “Maybe they secretly like each other.”

Al laughed. “Somehow I
don’t see that happening. Go to sleep. I’ll wake you in the
morning.”

Ashleigh lay in the pretty
bed for a long time before falling asleep. The yelling stopped but
she couldn’t hear what Al said. Then Al slipped into the room and
into her own bed. Ashleigh could hear her breathing and it
reassured her.

She was safe, with people
who were helping her. Safe, for the first time in forever. She
finally closed her eyes and slept. She was safe...

Chapter 44

*****

It was close to four a.m.
before Sebastian unlocked the door to his apartment. Carrie was at
his side, quiet and pliant. She carried the computer she’d been
working on, opened. It hummed quietly. He could have sworn he heard
it speaking as it worked. “Carrie, is your laptop talking or am I
more tired than I thought?”

“
Oh? Yes, it says a few
things. Mostly path traced, connection terminated, those kinds of
things. I designed the program as a joke about a year ago. But it
works, so I adapted it for PAVAD use,” she said around a
yawn.

“
Why the FBI and not some
other wildly get-rich computer company?” She was certainly one of
the best in her field.

“
Why did we go to the
Bureau? Because the recruiter at the college we went to suggested
it. Said we’d be part of a team, that we would help those people
who needed it. And once we got to Quantico we found out we were
good at it. I had trouble, though, with parts of it.”

“
The social
parts?”

“
The learning how to read
people. But I was told my computer skills more than made up for any
deficiencies I had.” The sting of that was still quite evident in
her words.

“
Whoever told you that was
an idiot. I hope you realize that. There’s not a damned thing
deficient about you. Far from it.” Sebastian took the computer
gently from her hands and pulled her into the living room. “Sit
down. It’s late and you’ve had one hell of a day.”

“
I need to check on Linny.
He’s had a rough day, too. But you’re right. I am so tired. And I
still need to decide what to do about my apartment.”

“
We have the crime scene
cleanup crew go in and straighten the major part of it. We’ll
handle your bedroom and your intimate things. But the glass and
paper and trash can be done by the cleanup crew. You don’t have to
deal with it if you don’t want to. I can promise you
that.”

“
No. It’s mine and I’ll do
it. But after we arrest Elliot Courtney.”

“
That’s happening as we
speak. I called in Hellbrook and Reynolds. Reynolds came by and got
Paige’s dog and took him to the Brickman’s’ first. Hellbrook is
overseeing the arrest and the interrogation.”

“
They are? Why? It’s your
case.”

“
Because of my friendship
with Sherry, I needed Hellbrook as an impartial interviewer. And
you and I needed a damned break. You’re so tired you’re trembling,
and I’m not much better.” He wrapped his fingers around her arms
and lifted her off her feet. They were chest to chest. He kissed
her once, ignoring her tiny squeak of surprise. “We’ll go to bed.
Separately, unfortunately. And in a few hours, we’ll pick up where
Hell leaves off—”

The computer speaking
stopped him. “Correlation complete. Report generating.”

Carrie wiggled in his hold
and he reluctantly let her slide down him slightly until her feet
touched the floor again. She bent over the computer that rested on
his end table. “Here. Look at this, Sebastian. Elliot Courtney’s
memory card had data on fifty-three missing persons. Every one of
them first to third generation South American. And here are
purchase prices for each of these people.”

“
What? Let me see that.”
Sebastian leaned over her shoulder, trying to ignore the way her
hair smelled like vanilla and rain and Carrie. He read the report a
few times to make certain of what they had found. “I’ll call
Hellbrook. Can you deliver the information to him?”

“
Give me a second. I’ll run
a second program to search this data for loopholes while you call
Hell.”

Sebastian dialed the other
man quickly and explained what they’d found. “Don’t get too
in-depth with the questioning. Just stick with Marco Galeano for
tonight. Carrie and I will be in around nine to hit Courtney with
the human trafficking angle. Yes, I realize you have a new wife at
home who would probably like to see your ugly face tonight. But
Carrie and I have been up since five yesterday and have had a
damned bad day, ending with the sight of a dead kid. So yeah, I
think you’ll be ok.” And it gave Sebastian a tiny thrill to know
he’d dragged Mommy Hellbrook out of his bed. “We’ll see you in the
morning. And no. She’s busy. You can’t speak to her right now. She
says she’ll email you the files she’s found in a few
minutes.”

He disconnected the call
and faced the woman in question. She stared at him, a confused
expression on her pretty face. “You were rude to Hell.
Why?”

“
A tiny bit of joking
around. He’d do the same to me if he could. And besides, he had the
night off last night. It’s our turn.” She wasn’t convinced; he
could see it on her face. “Carrie, I’m going to bed. You are free
to join me on the pull-out. If you want. My bed is also pretty
damned comfortable.”

“
Your bed. Your bed.
But...alone. At least...for...I don’t know.”

Sebastian backed off, both
literally and figuratively the instant she repeated herself. He’d
noticed early on that that was a sign she was struggling. “No
pressure, Carrie. Your speed, if at all. I can promise you
that.”

She nodded, but her face
was still so achingly confused. Sebastian kissed her again before
he thought it through. He forced himself to pull away from her when
she didn’t fight him. “Bed, Carrie. Before I push for more than I
should.”

She nodded. “Good
night.”

***

Carrie pulled his blankets
around her shoulders, trying to ignore the scent of him that
surrounded her. Had she done the right thing? Pulling away? She
thought she had; now wasn’t the time to get distracted by a
personal relationship with him. Not until things were back to
normal, she was in her own home, working with her own team, and
could evaluate what was happening between her and Sebastian in a
more neutral environment.

Still, with the scent of
him so strong around her and her defenses down, she couldn’t help
but question herself. When was the last time she’d felt physically
close to a man? Like she wanted to be with him?

She really couldn’t
remember.

Linux rumbled near her ear
and she stroked the cat in the pattern that he loved. He was still
disconcerted at the change in his location, but he was finally
settling down. She’d hated leaving him alone in a strange place,
but he’d seemed to make himself comfortable in Sebastian’s
bedroom.

She fell asleep with the
cat’s purring in her ears and the scent of the man in her
lungs.

***

By nine the next morning
she was up and dressed and ready to get back to work. Linux had
been fed and was snuggled under the pillow on the bed Carrie had
meticulously made. She took several deep breaths and opened the
bedroom door, uncertain what she would say to the man.

He looked good, his suit
dark charcoal, his shirt a light green. Why had she never noticed
how good-looking he was before? Was it because they’d not liked
each other until recently?

Or...was it that he’d
scared her because a part of her had known he’d looked at her a bit
differently than the rest of the men she worked with?

What did she want to do
about that?

“
You ready? I thought we
can stop by the coffee shop and get some breakfast before we head
in to interview Courtney.” He smiled at her after he spoke and
Carrie smiled back. He hadn’t touched her or pressured her in
anyway. That was good.

“
I’d like that. Let me get
my laptops, and then I’m ready.”

***

She looked damned ready.
She wore a pantsuit, one of three he’d noticed she owned. The black
material made her hair even more vibrant. Damn. He wanted to touch
her but refrained. Now wasn’t the time. And he’d reaffirmed his vow
to himself last night that he would let her take things between
them at her speed, and no one else’s. Even his.