7 | Addison
I couldn’t help myself.
I messaged the woman named Celeste who commented on Darth’s post.
I need to know. I can’t get it out of my mind.
She might know what happened to Clara and Darth, and she might be able to help me find them.
She responded and agreed to meet, so I gave her the name of a local café and told her a time. Sitting nervously at the table, I scan the crowd waiting for her to arrive. She eventually shows, her blond hair tucked into a neat ponytail as her eyes fall on me. I’m guessing she studied my picture as much as I studied hers.
I stand when she reaches the table and extend a hand. “Celeste? I’m Addison. Thanks so much for coming.”
She offers a warm smile. “I was surprised by your message, but I’m glad you reached out.”
Sitting down, we order a coffee, and I get straight into it.
There is no point in pulling punches, I need to get right to it.
“Darth is your brother?” I ask, leaning over the table a little so I can hear her better in the busy café.
I could have picked a better location.
“He is, but I haven’t seen him for a long time. He got tangled up in some messy stuff, and we tried to help him, but he pushed us away.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. My partner is Clara’s brother, and I only just found out about her so I guess I’m trying to work out what went down.”
“You didn’t ask him?”
I laugh, but it’s not filled with joy. “Let’s just say he doesn’t like talking about it. He wiped his hands of it. All I know is that he gave her a choice when she got tangled up in some big mess, and she didn’t choose him, so he left and didn’t look back.”
Celeste nods, as if understanding. “I only met her a few times, but Darth was obsessed with her. The two of them had a relationship that was borderline toxic. We knew he was involved with some bad people, but when he met her, the two of them just seemed to fuel each other and it only got worse.”
“What kind of bad stuff?” I ask, sipping my coffee when it is placed in front of me.
“Selling people, as far as I know. It started off small, he was selling drugs and guns, just to try and make some money, then it got out of hand. They got mixed up with a very bad crowd and started selling people, and that’s when it all went south.”
“At some point, Cade must have been helping them because he did mention he thought they were shipping drugs but when he found out it was people he stepped away.”
Celeste frowns. “I can’t say I blame him; I would have too. They went missing a while back, or they disappeared on their own. The heat was on and they were in some big trouble. I don’t know what happened, but I overheard Darth saying that they had stolen something. What, I don’t know. Then, they were gone. We put out missing persons reports, looked, but there was no trace.”
That’s terrifying.
“Do you think they’re still alive?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I honestly don’t know. Part of me wonders if they just started again somewhere else, but another part wonders if they got murdered. It’s the not knowing that keeps me awake at night. No matter what I do, I just can’t get peace. He was a good kid, growing up we were so close, it’s so hard to accept that he went down that path.”
I feel for her, I can see just how much she loves him written all over her face.
“I’m so sorry, it sounds like the two of you were close.”
“He’s my little brother, we were just ... I don’t know, there was a bond.”
I reach over the table, taking her hand. It’s hard not to, she looks so broken.
“I’m trying to find out what happened, I know it won’t be easy, but I have a few resources on my side that I’m hoping will help. If you can tell me anything at all you know, I’ll do my best.”
“All I know is they were working for a guy named Marshall. I don’t have a last name, but I know he was the big guy around here. They were all working for someone bigger, maybe from overseas, and they were being paid so much money ... until they weren’t.”
My stomach twists.
I hope Clara hasn’t gotten herself killed.
“I’ll do what I can, and I’ll keep you updated. I’m so sorry you have had to deal with this for so long.”
Celeste smiles. “I’m just glad to have someone to talk about it with. I’m certain everyone thought I was crazy when I wouldn’t let it go.”
I know how that feels.
The more I dig, the harder I’m finding it to let go, too.
~*~*~*~*~
LAUGHING, I TAKE A sip of my soda as I sit across from Charlie. Being around him again takes me back to a place I long forgot about. A past that I would have much rather keep buried. He brings out a part of me I thought I had lost, the strong determined part. The one who would fight for anything. I enjoy his company and, mostly, his sense of humor.
“Come on, Charlie, surely you’ve been on a date after that?”
Chuckling, he sips his beer. “Nope, that was the last one and I’m fairly certain she never looked back when she got the hell out of there.”
Poor Charlie told me a rather embarrassing story about getting sick on a date and being in the toilet too long. When he got out, she was gone, thinking he stood her up. He tried to tell her what happened, but she had him blocked on everything before he got the chance. I can only imagine how horrifying that would have been.
“Well, you should get back out there. There are plenty of good women left.”
“I don’t know,” he murmurs, smiling, his eyes light. “I think they’re all taken.”
I wave a hand. “Nonsense.”
“I’m glad you made contact again,” he tells me. “I spent so long wondering where you were.”
“I didn’t have the best time when I was younger, but I’m glad I made peace with my past.”
He came to me this time, when I gave him the information I had. He told me he wanted to talk in person, so I agreed to have a drink with him. I can’t be too long, as Ciara is due any day now and I’m going to be taking care of Danny while she goes to the hospital, so I need to get things ready at home. Besides, I have to get Skye from daycare in an hour.
“You should make peace with Cade’s, too,” he points out, narrowing his eyes.
I wave a hand. “You clearly don’t know me very well if you think I’m going to do that.”
He rolls his eyes. “I know you plenty well enough.”
“Are you going to tell me what you came here to talk about or are we going to keep dodging the subject?”
He grins. “Maybe I’m just enjoying your company.”
I raise my brows. “Or maybe you don’t want to tell me.”
He exhales, keeping the grin, and takes another sip of beer. “I know who they were working for.”
My eyes widen. “And you waited this long to tell me?”
“I waited this long because I refuse to let you go and get involved. Marshall is dangerous and his connections go far outside this country. I know for certain the FBI have been trying to take him down for years but he’s so fucking high up nobody can touch him. If Clara and Darth were working for him, the chances are they are no longer alive.”
My heart skips a beat. “I can’t just assume that, Charlie. You have to understand that.”
“You can’t just get involved with Marhsall, either. Trust me, you don’t want to go looking in places that are that dark, you won’t come out alive.”
I take another sip of my drink, trying to calm my pounding heart. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“No, I’m not. It’s not because I don’t want to help you, I’m going to keep looking for Clara, but I can’t let you go chasing these people down. It’s bad enough they still run shipments out of this place, let alone the fact that nobody can touch them.”
“They’re still operating and nobody has brought them down?” I question, concerned.
“They’ve probably got half the police force working for them. They’re the kind of people who manage to get away with everything.”
“Can’t the FBI just bust them mid shipment? If they know they’re doing it, why can’t they stop it?”
“It ain’t that easy. They’re clever, nobody knows where they are stashing their goods, or how they get them out. We’ve suspected shipping containers, but every wharf in the area has been watched and nobody has found them. Which means they have half the fucking town working for them. Probably half the FBI.”
God.
How terrifying that a group of people can be so powerful.
I just need something, anything to help me get closer. Charlie isn’t willing to tell me too much, but if I can get a little something to work with, this won’t feel like nothing.
“If they’re using shipping containers, can’t you track manufacturers?”
“Not if they’re being paid enough to keep quiet and fudge the books.”
That makes sense.
“And they’re trafficking people?”
“From what we know, yeah. Mostly addicts, people off the streets or from broken homes, people who aren’t missed and most of the time, not reported missing. There is big money in selling humans for slaves.”
Slaves.
My stomach twists.
“That’s awful. If Clara got caught up in that, I can’t begin to imagine where she is.”
Charlie leans forward. “Like I said, the chances are she isn’t alive. I know you want to find her, Addi, but you could be searching a lifetime and not get answers. You have to understand that.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, and I mean it.
I know I might never get what I’m searching for, but at the same time, until I’ve followed every lead and exhausted every option, I can’t just let this go. I need to know I did everything I could. I just can’t stop until I’m sure.
“Was Darth high up?”
Charlie shakes his head. “No, he was just a worker. His record is sealed, which has me thinking there are more people on the inside than I know about.”
People are rotten.
The ones you’re meant to trust are the ones doing the worst things.
Police officers, lawyers, mayors, you name it.
Some of them are truly evil and have their hands in many pies.
“What if he sold Clara?”
Charlie shakes his head. “As far as I can see, the two of them were working together. The last time I could trace their location was from a report made in the woods just outside the city. Someone picked Clara up running from something, all messed up and bloodied. They took her to the hospital, and she bolted. Nobody has seen her since.”
Why could Clara be in the woods?
I make a mental note to look in the woods outside the city, maybe there is something there?
It’s not much, but it’s a start.
“I should get going,” I say, glancing at the time. “I’ll call you again soon.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
Charlie walks me outside of the bar and we stand on the side of the street. He goes in for a hug, and somehow, when we pull apart, our lips graze. I know he does it on purpose, and it throws me so off guard that I stand there, my arms still around him, staring up at him in complete shock. Shaking my head, I whisper, “I’m with someone, Charlie.”
He steps back. “I’m sorry. Fuck, I don’t know what I was thinking. It just happened. I just ...”
“It’s okay,” I say quickly, feeling bad for him. “I just need you to understand that I’m with a man who completes me. I love him more than I could ever explain. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”
“You didn’t,” he says, his face growing slightly red. “I just had one too many beers and being with you makes me happy. I’m sorry.”
Without letting me say another word, he turns and disappears.
Well, fuck.
Things just keep getting more complicated.