Page 10 of Stay With Me (Griffin’s Den #2)

TEN

Noah

Pulling open the door to the sheriff’s department, I’m hit with the smell of stale coffee.

I don’t know anyone who drinks the coffee here, but there’s always some in the pot in the break room.

Walking to my little office, I smile and nod at Eden.

She’s a nice lady who moved to town several years ago.

I think she’s the same age as Carter and me.

She’s so much better than the previous desk worker we had, and I don’t think this place could run efficiently without her.

I step into my office and sit down, and Mike strolls in.

“Morning, Mike. How’s it going?”

“It’s going well. How did dropping off Jess for her half day of testing go?” he asks as he sits in the chair on the other side of my desk.

“It was okay. Jess was nervous, but Cassidy is amazing and got her excited quickly, and soon I was forgotten about.”

“She seems like a smart girl. She’ll be caught up in no time. Everything is still going well, though?”

“Yeah, she’s shy, and you can tell she’s often overwhelmed, but that’s to be expected. She starts therapy this weekend, and I’m hoping they can get her to open up more.”

“Yeah, she’s been through a lot. You’re right, though, a therapist might be able to get her to open up without feeling overly pressured or causing her to shut down more.”

I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. “I agree. Luna and I have been giving her space to decompress before either of us asks any kind of questions.”

“And Luna, has she told you anything else about her story?” he asks.

I shake my head and sigh. “We haven’t had a ton of time to ourselves.”

“You’re a good man, Noah. I know you’ll do right by both of those girls, and you have the town’s support. I do have a contact for you, though. I think that the identification issue, as well as the fact that they ran away from a cult, is beyond our scope of work.”

“Yeah, I was going to talk to you about using outside resources.”

“Great minds think alike. Which is why once this is settled, I want to talk to you about running for sheriff when I retire.”

I just blink at him, at a loss for words.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re more than qualified, and you love this town as much as I do. Plus, this won’t happen tomorrow. I just want you to know that I’ll endorse you.”

“I?.?.?. Thank you, sir. I’m honored you think I could fill your shoes.”

“You’re the best one for the job.” Mike reaches into his pocket and, after pulling out a paper, extends his hand across my desk.

“Here’s the contact I have from the FBI.

He’s the head of a task force for the organized crime section but focuses on cults and clans.

Give him a call and see if you can set up a time to chat with him.

I don’t know if The Family is on his radar. ”

I look down at the piece of paper with a name, phone number, and email on it. Supervisory Special Agent Elijah Hunt.

“I’m going to get out of your hair. I’m doing the first round of patrols. I believe Eden put you on the rotation right before your shift ends. Keep me posted.”

“Yes, sir.”

After knocking his knuckles on my desk twice, he gets up and walks out the door.

Setting the paper aside, I power up my computer and start to search for The Family. I haven’t had time to do it before now because we’ve been so busy. I meant to sit down and ask Luna about it, but she’s so tired at the end of the day that I haven’t had the heart to bring it up.

Just thinking about her makes my cock swell. A picture of her walking toward me wearing my clothes from the other night comes to the front of my mind, and I have to distract myself with my work to-do list.

As much as I want to take her out, I don’t want her to feel pressured or obligated like she owes me because I stepped in and became the emergency foster for Jess.

We also have to think about a babysitter for Jess, and I’m not sure Luna is ready for that. Hopefully soon, though.

Opening Google, I do a quick search, because why not start with the basics. I type The Family and Utah into the search bar.

The oldest articles I find talk about how the local religious group is helping the community. They helped build a new park for kids and opened a soup kitchen. The first couple of searches talk about the good they did for the area when it first started.

But more recent articles have headlines like The Family, a local cult that is suspected in a string of kidnappings of young women.

Were my girls kidnapped? That might make sense for Luna since she doesn’t have any identification, or they just don’t have the babies at the hospital.

I tap my fingers as I read through some of the information on the internet. The articles also say that they are the main suspects in a string of burglaries and vandalism of buildings in a few towns surrounding their land.

When I check my phone for the time, I shoot Luna a text.

Me: Do you think Jess will like tacos or quesadillas for dinner?

Lunabella: Um I don’t know? I think as long as we make it, she might eat it. I think it would be good for her to try.

Me: We can make her something else if she doesn’t like it. Work going okay?

I know she’s nervous with Jess being in school for a half day, and nothing that I say will really make the fear that she might just disappear go away.

Lunabella: Yeah, Joe and Ann are talking about ways to work learning into things that she knows how to do over the summer. Do you think she’s okay?

Me: I think she’s as good as she can be in a new environment.

School is scary the first couple of days even when you know what’s going on.

I have to make some calls before patrol, but I’ll check in later, okay?

I’m also going to swing by the school soon just to check in on Jess, and I’ll report back.

Lunabella: Thank you, Noah. I don’t know what I would do without you. Stay safe okay?

Me: I always do my best. Talk soon

Grabbing the piece of paper, I dial the number Mike left with me. Unlike most local police, I have no issues working with the feds. Are they cocky? Yeah, but they’re just better equipped for some things, and if making this call will keep my girls safe, I don’t care.

The phone rings a couple of times before I hear “Special Agent Hunt. How can I help you?”

What happened to people saying hi when they answer the phone?

“Hi, this is Deputy Noah Andrews down in Griffin’s Den, New Mexico. I have a couple of questions about The Family, and I’m hoping you can help me with them.”

Silence meets me on the other end of the line, and I pull my phone from my ear to confirm we’re still connected.

“Hello?”

“Sorry, where did that name come up for you? Is there a local branch?” he asks, and I can hear papers shuffling on the other end.

“Not that I’m aware of. My girl ran away from them when she was sixteen, so about ten years ago, and now her ten-year-old sister showed up out of nowhere. I just want to make sure they’re safe.”

“The younger sister just showed up? Did she mention anything about running away as well?”

“No. To be honest, she hasn’t talked about it much, which I’m not shocked by because the little she does talk, you can tell how confused she is by the outside world.”

“I imagine. Can you tell me everything you do know?”

“Other than what I already said, Luna doesn’t have any identification, but her younger sister, Jess, presented her birth certificate. I don’t know anything else yet.” I also mention that Luna was confused as to how Jess even found her.

“Hmmm. I’ve never seen them leave the state of Utah. However, anything is possible. I would love to talk to both of them, but I have to be in court for the next couple of weeks, so I can’t come down there. Is it okay if I call you once I confirm my schedule, and we can set something up?”

“I have to make sure they’re okay with it. She’s nervous that someone will take Jess away from her.”

“I promise that I’ll only do what I can to help. I’ve been trying to take these people down for years. The head guy and his sons are assholes to the highest degree, and if they can help me, I’ll make sure they have everything they need to stay safe and together.”

“Thanks. I’ll ask, but I’ll also see if I can get any further information and keep you posted.”

“Thanks. I have to head to a meeting with a prosecutor. I’ll reach out soon.”

“No problem. Bye.”

Hanging up, I make a note that I need to talk to Luna.

If this guy can help, I think it’s a good idea.

Checking the time, I notice I have a couple hours before I have to pick Jess up.

I go through a list of the office crap I need to take care of so I can head to the school to have lunch with Jess before I take her to the bed-and-breakfast after her half day.