A Covert Affair (Deadly Ops #5)(15)
Maria let out a quiet gasp. “Did you call the police?”
Amelia shook her head. “Not going to waste my time. I’ll make a report tomorrow for insurance, but seriously, it’ll be a big hassle tonight going down to the station.” Not that she didn’t respect the cops; she definitely did. She was friends with some uniforms and a couple of detectives who came into her restaurants with regularity, but it didn’t negate the fact that calling them or going to the station—on a busy Friday night—would be pointless without any information to give them.
Maria’s expression was worried. “Are you sure you’re okay? We can call someone now. Do you think maybe you need X-rays or something?”
Amelia was touched by the concern in her friend’s voice. “I’m okay, but thank you. . . . Where’s Cade?” she asked suddenly. No way would Maria’s hulking, slightly overprotective husband have let her come down here alone at night.
Maria actually blushed. “Uh, I told him to wait inside. I know he’s kind of intimidating and I also know that my request to meet me here so late at night is pretty weird, so I didn’t want you to feel ambushed.”
A smile teased her lips. “So he’s probably watching us from one of doors right now?”
“Oh yeah. Look, I’m sorry for being so cryptic before. I just wanted privacy and the space to show you . . . something.” Maria motioned that they should head toward the nearest set of double doors.
Amelia fell in step with her. “And showing me ‘something’ isn’t cryptic at all.”
Maria’s lips pulled up at the corners, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “A couple weeks ago Leah and I noticed that some women we’ve helped here have sort of just gone missing. Not legally, but moved and cut all contact with everyone.” One of the doors opened as they reached it, with Cade standing on the other side next to the silver button that worked this set of doors.
He nodded politely at Amelia and murmured a greeting. She did the same and stepped inside with Maria.
“Cade, someone hit Amelia’s Jeep,” Maria said immediately.
His entire body went rigid. “Are you hurt?”
Feeling her face flush, Amelia shook her head. She didn’t want to make a big deal of this. “No, it’s fine,” she muttered, shooting Maria an annoyed look.
Her friend just pursed her lips. “It’s not fine. That’s scary.”
“Did you get a good look at the driver, the vehicle, the—”
Amelia shook her head again, cutting off Cade. “I don’t even know if it was a man or woman driving. The driver blinded me with the brights the first time they hit me. The second time they hit me I drove through an IHOP and hurried out a side exit. They didn’t follow through the parking lot and I’m guessing it was impossible for them to turn around and figure out which way I’d gone. I wasn’t followed, so if you’re worried about a security issue here, don’t. I wouldn’t have come here if someone had been following me. I’d have just gone straight to the police station. And”—she held up a hand when it was clear Cade was going to pepper her with more questions—“I’m not calling the police right now, so leave it alone. I’ll make a report tomorrow.”
He blinked once, maybe at her forceful tone. Then he simply nodded stiffly. He wasn’t happy about it, though, that much was clear. Well, too bad. She’d been taking care of herself a long time.
Cade stayed behind them, and even though he was intimidating as Maria had said, it was a relief to have a huge guy like that at their backs. Despite what Amelia had said, she was still out of sorts because of what had happened.
“So, all the women you mentioned have done what Danita did?” she asked, wanting to get the focus back on why she’d come down here. When Maria nodded, she continued. “Did you know she turned off her phone too?”
Maria nodded again. “Yeah.” Now her voice was resigned.
The click of their heels echoed along the dimly lit hallway. Luckily they didn’t have to go far to Maria’s office. The light was already on inside, showing a comfortable, welcoming space. Hand-drawn pictures, sketches, and even oil paintings from various kids Maria had helped over the years covered her walls. A leather chair was behind her desk, and two worn but comfortable-looking seats were in front of it.
“I’ll let you guys talk,” Cade murmured, before disappearing down another hall in the direction of the gym.
“He doesn’t have to leave,” Amelia said. Yeah, he was a big guy, but it wasn’t as if she was scared of him. Especially not after he’d been all concerned about her “fender bender.”
“Oh, I know, I just wanted to talk to you in private.” Maria slipped off her high heels as she entered the room. Her dress was an eggplant color, the deep purple stunning against her bronzed skin.
Amelia was tempted to take off her heels as well, but she knew once they came off, they weren’t going back on.
Maria moved to her desk and flipped open a blue binder. “You can sit,” she said, not looking up as she thumbed through some of the pages.
Amelia did, wondering what the heck was going on.
Less than thirty seconds later, Maria sat in the chair next to her and handed Amelia the binder. “There’s a lot of information in there, but if you start on this page, it’s the list of women who have gone missing in the last year.”