Free Beautiful Innocence by Kelly Mooney

son and possibly another guy. Her mama’s been gone for almost two months and Ava hasn’t heard one word from her since. Ava didn’t go to college and held one job at a retail store for six months. Roger, her mama’s boyfriend, hurt her mama and took all her money after each paycheck, not allowing for her to have any to escape with. He has a criminal record, but barely served any time. And he’s been collecting disability from being injured on the job for over four years. My heart grows heavy thinking about the possibilities of what happened to her mama. And I would hate to be the one to look into those eyes and tell her she might never see that woman again.
    After two hours of revisiting all the details it’s not making sense. Something is off. She’s either being deceitful to us or we’re missing something big from the puzzle. Why would she still be so scared? And why would her mama just disappear without one damn word?
    Dane and Jason come in with their beautiful brides right next to them just after nine. “Hey, Josh, I heard you have the hots for our new babysitter?” Ashton shouts, peeking her head in from the hallway.
    I look up fleetingly as she passes by, then back to the papers in front of me and continue the staring game I’ve been having with them for the last two hours.
    Dane saunters in and flops down on one of the chairs in front of my desk. “What’s up?”
    “I got to get this girl to talk is what’s up.” I glance at him momentarily before taking a swig of my now cold coffee.
    “What did you find out?”
    “Nothing, that’s the problem. I have Annapolis police looking into those scumbags she lived with, but nothing is coming up on her mama’s whereabouts. Don’t you think that’s weird? I mean, she just takes off and leaves someone like Ava alone in that house with those men. It doesn’t add the fuck up and it’s pissing me off. And I still don’t have a last name for the one kid missing.”
    He sighs and crosses his ankle over his thigh. “What’re ya thinking?”
    I peer up. “I’m thinking I don’t like what I’m thinking.”
    “Murder?”
    I shrug uneasily.
    “Angie tells me that’s all she talks about, her mama coming back down here to get her and start a new life. She’s gonna be devastated if what you think turns out to be true.”
    “Fuck!” I slam my fist down onto the desk.
    “Whoa! Calm down. We know shit right now. Call them boys back up north and do some more digging into that nameless prick and then we could keep our eye out for him.” He stops and leans on my desk. “I know you like her, so stop being stubborn and just do what you gotta do. Just be careful with her.” He starts to walk out, but turns like an afterthought. “Oh, and by the way, she’s sittin’ for the kids on Sunday at three. Maybe you should pop on by.”
    The rest of the day is spent making calls that lead nowhere but to my own restlessness. The cops can offer me nothing but the information I know. No one would want his or her daughter or any female living in that house with those sons of bitches. That’s two damn years she endured and walks around acting like she hasn’t been fazed by it. As much as I want her, I’m starting to rethink that whole scenario. Not because I don’t want her, because I do—real bad, but because heaven knows what she’s been through, and with my past I’ll just do her more harm than good.
    After I head out from the office that night, I know I shouldn’t be here, but I am. In the one hour that I’ve been sitting at the bar waiting for her to acknowledge me, I convince myself I’m here and only here to protect her. Regardless of Sam and his ever-present pissed off grunts and moans he shoots my way, I stay put.
    It’s just after eleven on Friday night and those little angel eyes have only found mine once tonight. She seems very aware of Sam and most likely is doing her damnedest to avoid me. I have no idea what’s going on between them, but it’s