Whitney spun around and left Kel in the coffee shop. He didn't follow and that made her glad. For as little as she knew him, she already had a soft spot in her heart for Kel. He could probably have come close to talking her out of this. She strode away in case he changed his mind. Pulling her phone out, she made a decision. She would pursue this as far as she could. Billy would not fall through the cracks. "Mags.""Beth, I need your help. You up for an adventure?""Where are we going?""I don't know exactly yet."Maggie found a bench and flopped onto it, suddenly realizing that Kel hadn't told her much at all. Beth laughed. "I'm up for an adventure, but not if you don't know where it's going to happen."Maggie filled in her best friend on what she knew. "That's where I stand.""You've been talking about Billy Malone a lot. I know that you're concerned, but maybe this guy is right. This sounds huge and dangerous."Since when did Beth turn down an interesting time? Often in between act
Maggie put her phone up to her ear, hoping that her call would go to voicemail. She didn't know what she would feel when she heard Brandon's voice. She hadn't spoken to him in six months. She hadn't even heard from him or about him.He couldn't get away from her fast enough. He hadn't been supportive of much of what she'd done and in that last case, it had seemed as if he'd put obstacles in her way. She didn't know for sure. "Maggie?"That would mean that he had her number in his contacts. Still. Even after six months. "Hi.""Hey, what's up?"He seemed glad to hear from her. "Well, I need your help with something."He sighed. "I'm not sure I can help you, Maggie. I got a lot of heat from the higher ups about the last time."She chewed on her lip. "I don't need you to do anything other than give me some information.""About what?""Where do homeless teens hang out?"A chuckle came through the phone. "Is this another one of your crusades?""Of course, but I just need to know then you c
Maggie stared at her phone for a few moments after Kel hung up. Kel? What was that short for? Kellen? Kelly? She didn't see him as a Kelly. That was a much more feminine name than he was. Why had her brain taken that detour?She wouldn't have waited for him if he'd given her the location. Now she would have to stay here until he showed up. Parking would be a pain. Maybe she could sweet talk him out of the information and leave him in the traffic. Who was she kidding? She was looking forward to seeing Kel. He'd been on her mind since she left him at the coffee shop. Her phone rang again. "Get lost?" she asked."Lost?" Beth answered. "Oh I thought you were someone else."Maggie shifted on the bench. "Who, Brandon?""No, I already talked to him.""And?""He didn't give me the information I wanted.""He still has feelings for you," Beth said.There was so much wrong about her and Brandon. He was a nice guy, but not her nice guy. "Doesn't matter. He wasn't on my side. He wasn't my perso
Maggie was moving her legs as fast as she could, but was only just keeping up with Kel. "Sorry."He slowed his pace. He stopped in front of a truck that was big enough to impress her that he parallel parked it. She eyed the vehicle. "Yours?""Yes.""Okay."He opened the door and helped her in. It wasn't a new truck, but she saw it as a true reflection of Kel. A little battered, but probably managed to get him from point a to point b. He climbed in the other side as she clicked in her seatbelt. "Are you really taking me there?"He started the truck. The dash lights illuminated part of his face. "Yes. Against my better judgment.""I don't need your protection, Kel. I don't need a guy with a hero complex. I've had enough of those."He turned his head to her. "Maggie, you need protection from yourself as well as from the people who will be where we are going."She bristled at the idea. "I don't."A chuckle rumbled from deep inside of him. "You do."He pulled out onto the street. Full dark
Maggie didn't want to be smug, but that's how she was feeling. These were tough kids, but kids at heart. She knew how to deal with them. Better than Kel. It might have turned into a pissing contest if she hadn't stepped in. They followed the tall boy through a side door of what was probably once a warehouse. New ones had been built elsewhere and these hadn't gone through what would eventually be gentrification. They would be turned into trendy loft apartments the size of a closet, but those right out of college would clamor to rent. These kids would be ousted out of here. She wanted to find them all homes. Why had the system failed them? Inside, boys and girls lay around in sleeping bags, both real and makeshift ones. The place stunk of body odor and weed. It all wrinkled Maggie's nose. She'd never seen such squalor. Phones lit up the place where rigged up twinkle lights didn't reach. "Someone's got some talent," Kel said. "They've connected to the grid without anyone else's help."
"You can't save all of them."Maggie put up her hand. "I've been hearing that my whole career. I will never stop trying."Kel rested his head onto the headrest. This wasn't a one and done. She was going to go off onto a crusade. "You think there is something we can do?""Yes," Maggie said, no trace of the sobbing she had done in her voice. She'd recovered quickly. He had to admire that. "What do you have in mind?""Well, first we'll go to the authorities? We'll try to work within the system.""Then what?"Her gaze turned to him as he lifted his head. "If that doesn't work, we'll go around the authorities."***Maggie left Kel in his truck while she trudged up the steps to her office. The sun had risen. They'd eaten breakfast and now she was ready to do battle. Well, not really. She was exhausted, but this had to be done. No time like the present. With or without Kel, she had to fight for the kids, but he didn't seem to be deserting her at the moment. Surprisingly, Chelsea was in her
Hours later as Kel loaded boxes of liquor onto the freight elevator, he couldn't stop thinking about Maggie. Not just her, but what they'd seen last night and that she'd smelled like goblin after her meeting with her boss. This was worse than he expected. "You are a million miles away," Deke said, riding up to the roof with him.Deke, Kel and several others owned a popup nightclub called Grotesque. They were all former military and all gargoyles so of course they would set up on roofs. To them that was the safest place, since their ancestors lived on the tops of buildings. Tonight was the first time they'd set up this month. Having been doing this for several years, they all knew their roles. Tonight Kel would be the bartender. Sometimes he worked the door. All of them were large men so they could all be bouncers. Kel didn't think he had the attention to do the door tonight. Messing up a drink wasn't deadly."I am.""Is this that woman?"The doors opened to the roof. It was a rare
Not before Billy Malone went missing and she met Kel. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?Not that she considered herself naïve. She couldn't be, having moved ten times before the age of fourteen, with three more moves before she aged out of the system. You came to adulthood with a certain wariness when you hadn't been raised by adults you could trust. In fact, you raised yourself. She ordered a beer and it was half empty when Kel walked in the front door. He did have a presence about him and how did he get here so fast? Then again, she didn't know where he was. Maybe he had a friend in the neighborhood. Or a girlfriend? A tinge of jealousy reared its head. She had no claims on Kel, but she had to admit she liked him. As he strode through the bar, people moved out of his way. He didn't push them, but he clearly knew they would move. He was too nice a guy to get upset if they didn't, but even those not looking at him, shifted to get out of his way. She couldn't help watching him as