Page 55 of Shattered Secrets

The man frowned. “Is Whidbey the same size as this island?”

“Lord no!” Martha chortled. “Whidbey’s easily three, maybe four times the size of little ole Hudson. Like I said, they have dozens of diners. Your best bets on the south end would be in Clinton and Langley, then Coupeville in the middle of the island. If you head north, there are a bunch in Oak Harbor by the naval station.” She pointed at the photo. “You’ll probably have better luck over there, though it will probably take a while since Whidbey’s so big.”

Rising from his table, the man grumbled something Matt couldn’t hear but had Martha nodding. He stuffed some bills in the guest check holder and handed it to her. “Thanks. Keep the change.”

“Safe travels,” she called out after him.

The instant the front door closed behind the man, Martha returned to their booth. Concern strained her features.

“Where is she?” Matt demanded.

Martha motioned with her head. “In the back. The guy sat in her section, but she was on break in the office, talking with the bank. Paula was covering the table and said the guy showed her the photo and started asking a bunch of questions. She said he made her twitchy. And that the photo kind of resembled Scarlet, so she came and got me. I told Scarlet to stay in the back and took over her table just in case. Then I saw the two of you walking down the street, so I called Hudson Security’s main number, and they patched me through.” She patted Gavin’s shoulder.

“What exactly was the photo of?” Matt asked.

Martha pressed her lips into a tight line, and her eyes filled. “My little teenage Scarlet all gussied up. Sitting and carrying on with a bunch of older biker men. She was bleached blond, heavy makeup, and all leather and denim, like a mini biker hussy.” Her sigh was sad. “If that man was right and that photo was takenwhen he said it was, she couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen.”

Matt’s stomach soured at the thought. Bikers and teenage girls were a dangerous combination. And always to the detriment of the girls. Shaking his head, he tried to picture Scarlet in that situation, that kind of life. It was difficult to fathom. The woman he knew was too kindhearted for that lifestyle. Then again, she’d told him nothing about her past.

Matt took Martha’s fidgeting hand in his and squeezed. “Thank you, Martha.” He glanced at Gavin. “I need to check on Scar.”

“Hang on,” Martha said, looking around. She let go of his hand and slid into the booth next to Gavin, forcing the man to scoot farther in. Lowering her voice, she said, “We have security cameras. I don’t think they’re anything fancy because you know Ray doesn’t like to spend money on that kind of thing, but if you need to take a look at them to do all that... stuff your group does, just let me know. I don’t know how to work any of it, but Paula can show you.”

“Thank you. I’ll take a look.” Gavin nodded to Matt. “Go. I’ll call Quinn and?—”

Matt didn’t wait to hear the rest of what Gavin said. He assumed his friend would take care of shit because that’s what the man did. His priority was Scarlet. Making sure she was okay.

Knocking twice on the closed office door, he opened it and stepped inside.

Scarlet, who’d been seated at the desk, shot to her feet. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know, Scar,” he said, shutting the door behind him.

“Why did Martha want me to stay back here? Did something happen out there?” Her brown eyes were terrified, and she was trembling.

He crossed the room in three strides and pulled her into his arms. She melted against him. The feel of her quaking limbs hurt his heart.

“What’s going on, Matt? Please tell me.”

Guiding Scarlet to the office’s small couch, he sat and pulled her to sit beside him, wrapping an arm over her slim shoulders. “Someone was looking for you.”

She went utterly still, and the blood drained from her face. Her sudden gray pallor told Matt what he’d already known: something was terribly wrong.

He ran a hand up and down her spine. “A guy was showing an old photo around, asking if anyone recognized the girl in it. Paula told Martha it resembled you, and Martha was certain it was you when she saw it.”

Scarlet gasped and moved to stand, but he placed both hands on her shoulders, stopping her. He pulled her against his chest, holding her in place. “Sweetheart, they both told him the girl in the photo didn’t look familiar. They said they didn’t recognize her at all. Breathe, Scar.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “You gotta breathe, sweetheart.”

She sucked in a breath and pulled slightly away to look at him. The fear and uncertainty in her dark-brown gaze shredded him. Before his very eyes, her trembling intensified. He vowed to put a stop to whoever it was that made her this scared. No matter what it took.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” she whispered.

He ran a hand along her back again. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

She covered her face and shook her head. “No, you don’t understand...”

Dread curled in his belly. “Then tell me, sweetheart. I can help you. Gavin and our entire crew at Hudson Security have your back. But what is it that I don’t understand?”

Dropping her hands, she locked her gaze on her lap.

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