Page 41 of Girl Lost

Ashley wrapped one arm around her middle and chewed the thumbnail of her other hand. She looked at Corbin. “Y’all still looking for Carlie?”

Corbin removed his sunglasses and slid them in his breast pocket. “Yeah, you seen her?”

Ashley shook her head and dropped her hands. “You know, she’s supposed to be, like, my best friend. I mean, we were best friends. And then she just, like, totally ghosted me. No calls. No texts. Nothing. She just, like ... vanished.”

“Did she ever talk about leaving town?” Corbin asked.

Ashley shrugged, her gaze dropping to her hands. She picked at a chipped fingernail, a sliver of black polish flaking off. “We, like, talked about moving in together one day. You know, when we’re older. Not like, anything serious.”

Kids were terrible liars. This girl was practically screaming “I’m hiding something.”

Corbin said, “Smart to make plans for your future. Where did you talk about moving to?”

“I don’t know. Like LA or New York or something. You know, someplace clutch. Not so lame like here, and not so, like, cliche, like Miami.”

Luna caught herself tapping her thigh to tick off every “like” Ashley used.

Ashley continued unprompted. “I would, like, totally move in an instant, but I’m, like, broke. Carlie too. She didn’t think itmattered. She wanted to, you know, move to a big city and earn more money, but I told her, like, girl, that’s how you end up being trafficked.”

Corbin’s eyebrows shot up. Luna had to talk to him about telegraphing his emotions. He asked, “You think that’s what happened to her?”

Ashley paled and stared at Andre as if the idea that something so awful could happen right here in her hometown had never occurred to her before. “Could ... could that ... like, happen?”

Duh, is what Luna wanted to say. What did they think would happen hanging out in a bad neighborhood where gangs fought over territory and merchandise? And they were the merchandise. Instead she said, “It’s possible, which is why we’re asking you so many questions. We want to make sure she’s safe. That’s all.” She glanced at Andre and Jordan. “What about you guys? You think she’s in trouble?”

Andre shrugged. “We thought maybe her dad sent her to that group home.”

Corbin’s chin lifted a fraction. “What group home?”

“The one with that dude who’s always tryin’ to preach at us.”

“Stryker?” Luna asked. “You guys know him?”

“Yeah,” Andre said. “Keeps sayin’ we gotta clean up our lives. Go to college, but man, we’re good right here.”

Corbin glanced at Luna then back to Andre. “Did he want you guys to join the Warrior program too?”

Andre erupted into laughter and nudged Jordan. “Us? Join a team with cops?” He shoved a hand in his pocket. “Ain’t no way, man. We hate cops.”

“Not all cops are bad,” Corbin said.

“Says the cop.” Andre cleared his throat and spit a chunk of phlegm onto the concrete beside Corbin. She watched his face redden, but he kept his cool. Andre said, “You’re all still on the same team, so the way I see it, you’re all bad.”

“A cop killed my dad,” Jordan muttered.

She looked at Jordan, and her heart ached for the pain in his eyes, but she steered them off the volatile subject. “Know where we can find Stryker?”

Jordan let out a short puff of air. “No. He’s probably off on some mission to save the world.”

“He’s always tryin’ to save someone or other,” Andre said on a laugh. “We told him to forget about it. It’s not worth it. But he don’t listen. He’s so...”

“So...” Corbin rolled his hand. “So what?”

“Righteous,” Ashley said. “He’s, like, one of those ‘born again’ freaks.”

So was Luna, but they didn’t need to know that. She let her eyes go wide and played dumb. “What do you mean?”

Andre looked away. “Never mind. It’s none of your business.”