Page 80 of Bronco

“Oh, he’s such a good baby! I tell Riot he gets that from me,” she giggles.

“Oh, totally, I can see that. He’s a handsome little devil. That teeny tiny outfit he had on was so adorable.” He was dressed in a gorgeous sailor suit, including the little hat.

She laughs. “Riot wanted a mini motorcycle jacket, but we couldn’t get one to fit.”

I laugh, too. “Starting them young, huh?”

“Something like that.” She asks me to take a seat while Star finishes up on the phone. “So, how are things with you?”

“Mainly good,” I say, knowing that I’m going to have to fess up sooner rather than later. “I’m here because I need help locating my sister-in-law, Erica. She left her niece with me almost a month ago, and I haven’t seen her since. I’m running out of options, other than calling the police.”

Worry lines form on Halo’s forehead. “I’m taking it that’s not her usual behavior?”

I shake my head. “She’d never leave Olive unless she was in some really big trouble.” I take a breath. “And I’m just hoping it isn’t our past catching up with either of us.”

Halo squeezes my arm gently. “Well, that’s why we’re here, and don’t worry, everything you say in this office is strictly private and confidential.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Star won’t be long, but I do have some paperwork if you’d like to fill it in.” She hands me a clipboard, and I already feel nervous about this whole thing. But paperwork is unavoidable, so I take it and smile.

By the time I’m done filling it in, Star greets me and we head into her office.

“How are the twins?” I ask.

A smile curls across her lips. “They keep us both on our toes, but motherhood is amazing. It’s not something that we really planned, but I love it.”

“I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you.” Star smiles warmly.

Halo joins us, taking notes as I fill them in on the whole story. When I’m done, they both stare at me with slightly different expressions. Halo looks sad; her eyes watery. Star, sympathetic with a soft smile. I have to stop a few times, dabbing my eyes with a tissue. I also gave Star the handwritten note Erica left me.

“I have nowhere else to go, other than the police, but I’ll be honest, I’m scared. The police aren’t always helpful, and I know Erica would be really mad at me, but what choice do I have?”

“If you think she’s in grave danger, then I’m not opposed to that,” Star says. “From what you’ve told me, it sounds like she’s trying to deal with a problem herself. Is there any way you think the church is involved?”

“I don’t see how,” I say. “They would have no way of finding us. We both changed our names, moved states, heck, I moved acouple of times. I know Steven and Vince wouldn’t leave Illinois for anything, so I find it hard to believe it’s anything to do with them.”

“But there’s a child involved, essentially, Steven could have filed a missing children’s report, which I’ll be checking. If that’s the case, it could explain why she’s being so secretive, and also keeping her daughter safe,” Star says.

“I still don’t know if Steven would do that. He doesn’t like drawing big attention to the church, or his own actions. It isn’t how they operate. They work better behind closed doors,” I say. “Where nobody can see what they’re doing.”

“I’m sorry,” Star says. “For what you went through, that can’t have been easy.”

I nod slowly. “It was tough, but we always believed we would escape. It took teamwork and a whole lotta luck. Erica is like a sister to me — the sister I never had. This just isn’t like her.”

“And you don’t know about any boyfriends, or anything different with her at work?”

“No,” I say. “I’ve called her workplace and they said she’d put in a leave of absence but didn’t know when she’d be back.”

“Okay, well, I think I’ve got enough to go on. I’ll need a recent picture of Erica, cell number, email address, and her date of birth, anything you think that would be helpful.”

“Okay, thanks ladies. I really appreciate this.”

Halo puts her pen down, walks over and folds me into her arms. “It was very brave telling your story,” she says. “We’ll do everything we can to find Erica. Star knows people in all kinds of places that can help, with your consent, of course.”

My eyes meet Star’s as she says, “Sometimes I ask Rock and Jett for help with security footage and hacking. Is that going to be an issue?”

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