Page 74 of Sam's Salvation
Poppy’s expression closed, and she shrank in on herself, looking even more like a scared child. “I try not to listen. He thinks I don’t understand but—” She stopped, shaking her head. “It’s hard not to when you yourself were forced to do things you didn’t want to do.” She picked up her fork and toyed with her food. “I try not to think about that.”
Max muttered something under his breath Sam couldn’t understand. By the dark look on his face, though, he agreed with whatever it was.
“That’s okay.” Audra laid her hand over Poppy’s again. “We won’t ask you about any of that. We need to know what Simon and Geoffrey are up to. We know they traffic drugs. Is there more than that?”
Poppy speared a piece of ham, then pushed it around in the sauce on her plate. “Yeah. They get girls. About once a month. Simon doesn’t like to leave me at home. I go pretty much everywhere with him. Even if I just stay in the car.” Her face crumpled. “I was one of those girls. He—he decided to keep me.” She burst into tears.
Audra looked at Sam, anger simmering in her eyes as she got up and moved around to Poppy’s side. She draped an arm around the girl. “I’m so sorry, love. I know it doesn’t make up for the past, but you’re safe now. We won’t take you back there.”
“We should probably get out of here.” Dean glanced around.
Sam concurred. They hadn’t drawn much attention, but that could change. The creperie wasn’t all that busy. A woman sobbing, even in Las Vegas, would make people concerned.
“Come on, Poppy. Let us take you somewhere you can get cleaned up and get a good night’s rest, okay?” Audra stood, tugging on the girl to bring her to her feet.
Poppy nodded against Audra’s chest. “Okay.”
They walked toward the main corridor, Dean and Max at the lead. Sam trailed behind Audra and Poppy.
“I need you to lift your chin up and try to act as normal as possible, love. We don’t want to attract unwanted attention. Can you do that for me?”
Poppy sniffed. “I’ll try.”
“Good. We’ll get you safe and warm and you can have a good cryfest in the shower, okay?”
Poppy cracked a smile. “Okay.”
The group traipsed back through the casino. Sam fished out the card the cab driver gave him. “Guys, let’s find a secluded corner for a minute. I need to make a call.”
Audra frowned, but didn’t question him.
He dialed the driver.
“This is Denton.”
“Denton, this is the guy you just dropped off at the Paris. Can you come back? And with a bigger car?”
“Yes, sir. Give me twenty minutes.”
“Make it fifteen and you’ll get a bigger tip.”
“I’ll see you in twelve.”
The line clicked in Sam’s ear, and he chuckled. Someone needed to put that guy on the racing circuit.
Thirty-Four
Asoft tap sounded on Audra’s hotel room door. She shot a quick glance at the bed by the window, where Poppy slept soundly. They’d come back to the hotel and quickly decided that Sam would move in with Dean and Max for the night. Poppy didn’t need the worry about whether the strange man in the room would use her the way Simon did.
After a shower—and the long cry Audra promised her—the girl had fallen into a deep sleep. She didn’t want to disturb that.
Tiptoeing across the room, she checked the peephole and saw Sam. She figured he’d show up sooner or later. She’d jumped royally off-script tonight. Unlocking the door, she cracked it open. “Hi.”
“Hey. How’s she doing?”
“Sleeping soundly.”
“Can I come in? I won’t stay long.”