Chapter 1

I've always trusted my gut instincts. They have never really led me wrong before. Which is why now, as I sit at my desk staring at the phone willing it to ring, I have the worst feeling about this. One of my girls is MIA. Kiah. She was supposed to check in yesterday. When she didn't, I figured she'd forgotten, even though I know she wouldn't have done that. She's never missed a check-in before.

I've been calling everywhere I can think of, right down to the corner store that's near her house. My mind whirls with all the possibilities of what could be wrong, with all the likely reasons for her not checking in with me.

I became a youth counsellor to help girls just like Kiah. To give them someone who actually gives a shit about them. And I do. My coworkers tell me I care too much, that I get too involved and that it's not healthy. They don't get it, though. They haven't lived the way these young girls are living. I have. I escaped my hell, and I'll do everything I can to help them get out of theirs too.

I pick up the phone and call the school again.

"Good morning. Richmond High, how can I help you?" the receptionist asks. I recognise the voice because I've already spoken to the woman three times in the last hour.

"Glenda, it's Daisy Blake from Connected Hearts. Has Kiah turned up yet?" I ask.

She sighs loudly into the phone. I can tell she's getting frustrated with me, but I'm not going to stop. "No, Miss Blake, she has not. If she does, you'll be the first person I call," she says and then the line goes dead.

"Where the hell are you, Kiah?" I murmur aloud. She's a fourteen-year-old kid, a child who was unfortunately born into a shitty situation.

My leg bounces higher under my desk with every minute that passes. I'm talking myself out of just getting in my car and driving to her house. That would be breaking protocol, but what good is protocol if my girls are hurt and need my help?

The trill of my office phone makes me jump out of my seat, my knee hitting the edge of the desk. "Ow, motherfucker," I curse as I reach for the handle. "Hello, this is Daisy Blake."

"Miss Blake, it's Kiah."

My entire body relaxes as the sound of her voice comes through the other end of the line. I quickly clear my throat because now is not the time to be emotional. "Kiah, how are you?" I ask her.

"I'm good. Miss Glenda at school said you were looking for me," she says.

"You missed your check-in yesterday," I tell her.

"I'm really sorry. I… ah… fell asleep studying."

I don't believe her. "How are things?" I don't wait for a response before slipping in my next question. "I'd like to meet up. How's today? After school?"

"Today? Oh, I can't today. I have another study thing. How about next week?" she offers instead.

"Sure, next week," I agree.

"Thanks, Miss Blake. I gotta go to class." I hear some shuffling; then the call cuts off.

My head falls against the back of the chair. My eyes close. I'm doing my best to think about anything other than the reasons Kiah is avoiding me. The obvious one being she doesn't want me to see the fresh bruises on her.

When the alarm on my phone goes off, reminding me I have a meeting with the boss, I groan and snatch up my pen and notepad. There are some things I love about my job, like being able to make a difference in the lives of young girls at risk. And then there are things I can't stand, my boss being one of them.

Walking into the conference room, I remind myself that it's Friday. I get two whole days without having to see my coworkers. Weekends are my friend. Throughout the whole meeting, I tune everyone out and try to come up with a plan to see Kiah before next week. I know she's hiding something, and I can't help her if she isn't honest with me.

"Okay, spill. I want to know everything that's happening with hot boss," Eloise says, picking up her champagne flute while Dani does her best to deflect the topic.

"I actually would love to hear about all the fancy-pants houses you've sold this week."

"I'm voting hot boss first," I add, and Claire quickly agrees.

"Me too."

"Looks like hot boss wins again." Eloise smiles while pointing a long, red, manicured nail at Dani.

"Again? When did he win the first time?" Dani asks.

I look around at my three best friends. This is why I love weekends so damn much. These women are my family. Even if they don't truly know everything about me. About my past. Something I'll never tell them, because it won't change how much Eloise and Dani helped me get through the toughest times of my life. Meeting them was a blessing, and it's a gift I'll never take for granted.

"Ah, the night he scored you, obviously." Eloise grins at Dani, who forces out a long sigh.

"Right, well, there really isn't anything to say. He's hot, he's my boss, and he's an asshole… He's also really freaking good at sex, like the best I've ever had and I think I might have a slight addiction to his dick." She tries to race through that last part, but we don't miss it.

"I'm failing to see the problem." Eloise raises a brow.

"Argh, I hate being single. I want to find someone who can give me addictive sex," I sulk.

Damn, I really need to get laid. How long has it been?

"I went home with a guy last weekend, and let's just say the dude couldn't find the clit if he had a map with verbal directions. Which wasn't far from the truth. Because I literally stopped him, drew a diagram on a piece of paper, and then tried to direct him while he hunted around like he was looking for buried treasure," Claire huffs.

"Maybe we should just go back to Fire Ice and find our own hot bosses with addictive dicks," I suggest.

"You two go ahead. I'll pass." Eloise shakes her head.

I stare at my best friend, my jaw almost dropping to the table. Has she been abducted by aliens?

"You'll pass? On addictive dicks?" I can't believe those words are coming out of her mouth, unless... "Why? Who are you sleeping with, El?" I mean, she must be sleeping with someone. There's no other explanation.

"No one. I'm too busy to worry about getting laid," she replies, though the way her eyes look at everything but us tells me that's a lie.

"I call BS," Claire says, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Come on. If El was getting laid, she'd be the first to brag about it." This comes from Dani, our designated peacekeeper.

"Okay, so what are we doing tonight?" Eloise asks, changing the subject.

"Ah, I have to… work," Dani says, and we all burst out laughing. If she calls having porn star level sex… work, then I definitely chose the wrong career path.

"Claire? Daisy?" Eloise looks to us, and I'm about to tell her we should go out drinking when a message from Kiah pops up on my phone, which is sitting on the table in front of me. I pick it up and skim the message.

Kiah:

Can we meet?

That's all it says. A simple can we meet? I know I shouldn't. I know it's against company policy. But I won't be able to sleep at night if I don't go and see her, while knowing she's out in the world alone and probably hurt.

"I have to go to my parents," I lie as I type out a reply to Kiah.

Me:

Of course. Where and when?

Kiah:

I'm at the café across from your office. I can wait.

Me:

I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't leave.

"I plan on spending the night in my pjs, eating a shit load of ice cream while watching Hallmark movies." Claire shrugs.

"Okay, so I'll just… I don't know… find some other friends who actually want to hang out with me." Eloise sighs.

I'm too focused on getting out the door as fast as I can to hear the rest of what the girls are saying. I toss my phone in my bag and hike the strap up on one shoulder.

"I have to pee. I'll be right back," Eloise announces before rushing off to the bathroom. Something is definitely going on with her.

My suspicions are confirmed when she returns to the table looking flush. Then she picks up her bag and makes an excuse to leave. I take this as my opportunity to follow her.

"I'll walk you out," I offer, then turn back to Dani and Claire. "Catch you two later."

"You really don't need to walk me out," Eloise says.

"Nonsense…" My words are cut off when my gaze connects with the eyes of a stranger.

Have you ever had that feeling like you're certain you know someone but can't for the life of you remember how? Or where you know them from?

I keep walking, refusing to turn around, even when I sense those same eyes on the back of my neck. It's ridiculous, that feeling. I don't know that man. Because if I ever met someone like him, I certainly wouldn't have forgotten it. Tall, dark, and handsome. With a hint of danger lurking around him.

"Thanks, Daisy. I'll call you." Eloise's voice snaps me out of my trance.

"Right. Let me know when you get home," I tell her.

Pulling up the Uber app on my phone, I request a ride and then wait. That feeling of being watched doesn't go away, but when I turn back, no one's there. And the stranger is gone.

Did I imagine him?Possibly. I didn't drink that much, but desperate times and all.

It's a new low for me, imagining the perfect specimen of the opposite sex. It hasn't been that long since I've had a good roll in the sack, so to speak. Okay, it's been a while. But still, am I at the point in my life where I'm now conjuring up mirages of hot guys?

When the Uber pulls up to the kerb, I check the number plate with the one on my screen, because you never can be too careful, am I right? Then I slip inside and close the back door, my gaze immediately flicking to the sidewalk. It's full of people, but none of them are him.

Stepping into the café a few minutes later, I head right for the back corner booth, where I know Kiah likes to wait for me. This isn't the first time I've met her outside a professional setting.

"Kiah, hey. Sorry it took me so long to get here." I lower myself opposite her, my eyes instantly watering at the sight of the young girl. "Oh, Kiah." My hands reach out and take hold of hers.

"It's okay. It looks worse than it is," she says.

"What happened?" My blood is boiling over. I want to go over to her house and give her piece-of-shit father a beatdown. See how much he likes having his face used as a punching bag.

Kiah shrugs. "The usual. They were drunk. They…" She drops her eyes and her words trail off.

"They what?" I try my best to encourage her.

"They were just drunk. I tried to stay out of the way, but I guess I didn't do too good of a job at it," she tells me.

"Kiah, I need to call your social worker. We need to get you out of that house."

"No, you can't. I can't leave now. I'm almost done. I just have a few more years of school." She shakes her head from side to side, her expression desperate.

"You can still go to school and live in another home. A safer home, Kiah."

"No, I can't. I just… I don't want to leave. You can't tell. You promised you wouldn't," she says.

"I also made a promise to report abuse if I saw it. I can't ignore this, Kiah," I explain while inventorying her list of visible injuries. Her right eye is swollen. There's a dried cut on her forehead, and her lip is fat and split open.

"Please, just… Mom is close to getting rid of him. Once he's gone, it'll be fine. I promise. He's moving out soon," she insists.

We both know that's not true. But I find myself nodding anyway. The last thing I want is to lose her confidence in me. That doesn't mean I'm going to ignore this though. I'll be making a call to social services as soon as I step out that door again.

"How about some burgers and milkshakes? My shout," I say as I wave the waitress over to our table.