Meeting Danger (Danger #1)

by Allyson Simonian

  The man frowned. “Why are you asking?”

  Camden clenched his teeth, well aware he wasn’t even thinking straight. He fished his credentials from his pocket and held them up. “Have you seen her?”

  The man’s gaze went back to Autumn’s picture. “Yeah, I helped her a few hours ago. She bought a ticket to Saint Louis, just like you said.”

  “I need to know everywhere that bus stops.”

  Turning, the attendant retrieved a paper from a shelf and pushed it through the opening at the bottom of the window. “That’ll show you the stops. It’s got a decent lead on you, though.”

  Camden thought of asking the man for a dispatcher and then dismissed the idea. He had the exact address where Autumn was headed; there was no need to have the bus stopped.

  CHAPTER 35

  Saint Louis, Missouri

  Autumn sat up as the bus pulled into the station in Saint Louis twenty-four hours later. Despite only having one quick meal during one of the bus’s stops, she wasn’t hungry.

  The driver braked and she was sent forward. She grabbed hold of the seat in front of her as the woman beside her smiled in sympathy. The bus’s brake released with a loud burst of air, and its thirty passengers rose from their seats, some chattering loudly as they gathered their belongings.

  For the entire trip, Autumn’s mind had been on Camden. She shouldn’t have left the way she had. She and Camden had grown close; at least, they had been until she’d accused him of being like Butch. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard. There was no turning back now. Even though things with Camden had been left in an awful place, she couldn’t regret her decision to leave.

  For years, she’d longed to reconnect with her brother. She’d do that, and then focus on Camden. Maybe they’d somehow be able to get past what had happened.

  Fishing out the scrap of paper where she’d written Wade’s address, she turned to the woman beside her. “Excuse me?”

  The woman was rummaging through her purse. She stopped and met Autumn’s gaze. “Yes?”

  “Do you know where Stone Street is?” Autumn tilted the scrap of paper toward her.

  The woman nodded. “It’s just a few blocks down. I can show you once we get outside.”

  “Thank you.”

  After they’d collected their luggage and exited the building, the woman pointed out the way. “You’ll see Pine about five blocks down. Make a right, and it’ll take you to Stone.”

  Autumn thanked her again before walking briskly into the early morning sunlight. There were a number of large brick houses on the block. Many had been converted into apartment buildings.

  A group of teens was sitting on the front stoop of one. When they began making catcalls in her direction, Autumn picked up her pace.

  By the time she reached Stone Street, she was breathing heavily. Shifting her duffel bag’s strap to her other shoulder, she stopped in front of a three-story building. Her heart raced as she took in the facade. Trim that had once been white was now a dingy gray and peeling from the eaves. A chain-link fence surrounded the property. Like the house, it had seen better days.

  She pushed open the gate and walked up a broken concrete walkway choked with weeds. The building’s concrete steps were cracked as well, and the lock on the foyer door was broken. Inside the building, the smell of mildew was strong. Autumn rubbed a finger against her nose as she looked at the building’s directory.

  Apartment 3E was on the third floor, down a long hallway. When she reached the door, she took several deep breaths and knocked.

  She held her breath while she waited. As the seconds ticked by, her disappointment rose, and after knocking again with no answer, she realized Wade wasn’t home. With no other choice but to wait, she glanced up and down the hallway before taking a seat on the worn carpeting.

  She’d been sitting for fifteen minutes when her stomach began growling. The 7-Eleven she’d passed came to mind.

  Twenty minutes later she was back, holding a bag of trail mix and a Diet Coke as she resumed her place by Wade’s door. She’d eaten a handful of the trail mix when the elevator dinged.

  An elderly man stepped off. He shuffled to an apartment two doors down from Wade’s and gave her a smile. Autumn smiled back.

  Another ten minutes passed before the elevator dinged again. She quickly stood when a young man got off. He was the right age, and had light hair and a build similar to Wade’s. But he wasn’t her brother.

  The man’s gaze raked over Autumn as he walked down the hallway and stopped in front of Wade’s door. “Hello there.”

  Confused, she scrambled to her feet as he unlocked the door to 3E. “Do you live here?”

  “Yeah.”

  Wade’s roommate, maybe?

  “I’m looking for my brother, Wade Mason.”

  “Never heard of him.”

  Autumn swallowed her disappointment. “Have you lived here long?”

  “Why? You lookin’ for a place?” He grinned. “Maybe I can help you out, beautiful.”

  Just a few seconds with this man and her skin was already crawling. She took a step backward.

  “No. I’m fine.”

  Not sure what to do, she glanced toward the elevator. It was before business hours, not even nine a.m. yet. Would she even be able to find a building manager?

  When the man made a second offer to come inside, Autumn declined again and started down the hallway. She paused as she reached the elderly neighbor’s apartment and glanced over her shoulder to find the guy from Wade’s old apartment still watching.

  With a shiver, Autumn turned back to the door and knocked hard.

  Thankfully the old man answered quickly. Through strong bifocals, he peered at her. “May I help you?”

  “I think my brother used to live down the hall from you. Wade Mason? I’m trying to find him.”

  “You’re Wade’s sister?”

  Relief pooled inside her. “Yes. Do you know him?”

  “I do, indeed. Please come in.”

  The man shuffled backward, allowing Autumn to enter a dimly lit apartment. At least the air was clean in here, with no trace of the mildew smell that hung heavy in the hallway.

  One wall was lined with bookshelves, but there weren’t enough to hold the man’s vast book collection. Stacks of books lined the other walls as well.

  A confused expression crossed the man’s face. Did he need a reminder of why she was here?

  “My brother, Wade . . .”

  The old man’s eyes lit up again. “Ah, yes. Wade was evicted about two months back. I let him know about a place on Juniper. Used to live there myself.”

  “Juniper. Is it here in Saint Louis?”

  The old man nodded. “On the other side of the city.”

  Autumn committed to memory the address he provided.

  “Was Wade evicted because he wasn’t able to pay his rent?”

  Pity flickered over the man’s face. “That was it.”

  “Do you know him well?”

  “No. We’ve spoken only a few times.”

  “Do you happen to know where he works?” Autumn’s gut twisted as she thought of her brother’s criminal record. Did he have a legitimate job now, or was he working outside the law?

  “I don’t. I’m sorry.”

  “Please don’t be. You’ve helped me so much. Thank you, Mister . . .”

  “Porter.” The old man offered her a smile. “It’s been my pleasure.”

  As she walked out of the building, Autumn took stock of her finances. She had about ninety dollars in cash, the remains of the hundred-dollar cash advance she’d gotten on the credit card at the Wilkes-Barre bus station ATM so she’d have some spending money. The snacks she’d bought had been her only cash expenses so far; the cost of the bus ticket had gone directly on the credit card. While she didn’t want to use the money, it would be stupid to walk all the way across a city the size of Saint Louis, and potentially dangerous as well.

  Her mind made up, she hail
ed a cab at the corner. “I’m going to Juniper Street.”

  As the driver navigated through the city, Autumn kept a nervous eye on the meter. It read just over thirty dollars when he finally pulled to a stop. She handed over thirty-five dollars before gathering her bag and getting out.

  The building in front of her was even more rundown than the last. She let out a sigh as she walked inside. With the help of a tenant, she found the unit Wade lived in. But her knocks once again went unanswered.

  For the second time that day, she took a seat on worn carpeting. Although this building didn’t smell of mildew, a strong chemical odor tinged the air. Maybe it had recently been fumigated.

  A couple of hours passed before a man came walking down the hallway. Autumn’s pulse spiked. He looked older than she remembered, but it was definitely her brother.

  She quickly stood.

  Wade stopped short, his eyes widening in recognition and then surprise. Autumn worked to tamp down her shock as she took a better look at him. His hair had thinned some, and deep grooves she didn’t remember bracketed his mouth.

  Stumbling forward, she threw her arms around him, hugging him hard. Uncomfortable seconds passed before he lifted his hands to awkwardly pat at her back. Then he stepped away.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Autumn wet her lips. “It’s a long story. Can I come in?”

  Wade studied her before finally nodding. “Yeah. Sure.” He turned to his door and unlocked it.

  As she followed him inside, Autumn blinked rapidly. Aside from a dirty mattress, there was no furniture in the room. Her stomach sank as she took in the trash littering the floor, empty beer bottles and discarded takeout containers. Her stomach turned at the sight of a half-eaten slice of pizza on the floor near the doorway, covered in ants. Clothing was tossed into two piles near the mattress—dirty and clean, she supposed—but she couldn’t tell the difference. She and Wade had barely had any money when they’d lived in Chicago, but they’d never lived in squalor like this.

  She had so many questions for her brother that she didn’t know where to begin. But she knew better than to start by asking him about finances, so she asked a more basic question instead.

  “Are you married?”

  Wade snorted. “Does it look like it?”

  She followed his gaze around the room. No. It definitely didn’t. Which brought her to her next question. “What have you been doing all these years?”

  He shrugged. “This and that.”

  “Do you still work as a mechanic?”

  “Not really.”

  Because he seemed so uncomfortable, she held off on asking more questions. Instead, she changed tack.

  “I’ve thought of you every day.”

  He gave her a curt nod, filling her with disappointment that he didn’t respond in kind. His next words made her stomach clench.

  “So, where’s Butch?”

  How could you leave me with him? The words were right on the tip of her tongue, but she was too afraid to ask the very question that had plagued her for the past five years.

  Glancing away, she said, “I left him.”

  “Why?” Wade folded his arms across his chest. “What happened?”

  Autumn gave him a quick overview of her years with Butch—the abuse, the misery. When she mentioned Camden and how he’d been working undercover, Wade’s expression morphed from impassive to angry.

  “You’ve been staying with a cop?” he exclaimed.

  “Cam was helping me.”

  She was about to share more when Wade scrubbed a hand over his face and muttered, “Jesus.”

  Autumn frowned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “We need to get out of here.”

  “What?”

  “We need to take off.”

  Shocked, she stood frozen as he snatched a bag from the floor and began stuffing his meager belongings inside.

  “I don’t get it. Why do we need to leave?”

  “Because I don’t need a fucking cop on my back!” he shouted, his face reddening.

  She took a step backward. What in the world? Was Wade in trouble with the law? Was that why he was reacting like this?

  “Let’s go.” His voice was a little calmer as he straightened.

  She swallowed hard. “To where?”

  “Not sure yet.”

  “Wade, I still don’t understand.”

  His eyes darkened. “How did you find me?”

  “Cam helped me. I’ve wanted to find you since the day you left me with Butch.”

  Shaking his head, Wade strode toward the door. “You coming or not?”

  “Cam doesn’t have this address. All he has is—”

  “The last one?” He turned to her and smirked. “You found me, didn’t you?”

  As disgust spread over his face, she stared. But if she wanted answers, then it was clear she’d need to follow him.

  And she did want answers. Still unable to believe he was willing to leave here like this, Autumn hefted her bag over her shoulder and followed him.

  CHAPTER 36

  Camden had made it to Indiana on Sunday before a flat tire forced him to stop for the night. Monday morning he’d found a tire shop and had been back on the road before ten.

  Now he was in Saint Louis, turning onto Stone Street. An ambulance was parked in front of number 763 with its lights flashing. Camden found a spot on the street and walked up weeded cement to the apartment building’s door.

  Two EMTs were wheeling out an older man with white hair. Camden held the door for them. As they eased the gurney out, they nodded their thanks.

  His heart thrummed his chest as he walked up to the third floor. Would Autumn open the door herself? He knocked hard on the door of 3E, but no one answered. His anticipation deflated.

  Minutes later, he stood in the building manager’s office. “My friend was supposed to be visiting her brother. Apartment 3E, Wade Mason.”

  “Mason was evicted.”

  “Evicted,” Camden repeated. “Why?”

  The man snorted. “Because he didn’t pay up.”

  “When was this?”

  “’Bout two months ago.”

  Panic stole Camden’s breath. Had he missed Autumn? Forcing himself to focus on finding her, he pressed on.

  “Has anyone else been looking for him?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  Camden swiped the screen of his phone and showed the man her picture. “Have you seen her? It would have been in the past day or so.”

  The man studied the picture before shaking his head. “Haven’t seen her.”

  Camden tamped down his disappointment. “Do you know where Mr. Mason went?”

  “Wish I did. He still owes me back rent. If you find him, I’d appreciate you letting me know where he is.”

  “What about a job? Do you know where he worked?”

  The manager rolled his eyes. “If the guy ever worked a day in his life, I’d be surprised.”

  Camden slipped his phone into his pocket. “What was he driving?”

  “A motorcycle.”

  “A Harley?”

  “Think so.”

  It was what the report on Wade had shown he had registered last. Assuming the plate was up-to-date, Camden could ask for an all-points bulletin to be put out. It was something, at least.

  Thanking the manager, he exited the building and walked back to his car. He looked up the address for the Rim, Wade’s last known employer, then drove across the city to David Street.

  A middle-aged man stood behind the counter of the repair shop when Camden walked inside.

  “Help you?”

  “I’m wondering if Wade Mason still works here.”

  “Haven’t heard of him, but then I’m new.” The man stepped into the garage. “Vin!”

  A man in grease-stained coveralls rolled out from under a car.

  “Vin’s the owner,” the man explained as he took his place behind the counter.

&
nbsp; The owner approached, a heavyset man in his fifties, eyeing Camden curiously as he rubbed his dirty hands on a towel. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m trying to track down a friend of mine, Autumn Mason. Her brother, Wade, used to work here.”

  “Wade? Haven’t seen him in almost two years.”

  Two years. Frustrated, Camden stifled a curse. “Why did he stop working here?”

  The man shrugged. “Because I fired him.”

  “He was fired because of his work?”

  “He was fired because he wasn’t reliable. Didn’t show up half the time.”

  “Did he ever speak about friends in the area?”

  “Not that I can recall.”

  “Girlfriends?”

  The man shook his head.

  “Do you know where he spent time outside of work?”

  Vin studied the ceiling as he thought about the question. “You can try Taps, a bar two blocks down. The guys here like that place. Wade used to go with them sometimes.”

  Camden nodded. “If he’s working again, can you think of where it might be?”

  “There’s a bunch of garages down on Hayes, but he’s already worked at a couple. If the owners feel at all like I do, they wouldn’t have hired him back.”

  Resisting a sigh, Camden thanked both men. Back inside his SUV, he brought up the website for his credit card company on his phone and logged in. Autumn hadn’t used the card since she’d purchased her bus ticket and gotten a cash advance for a hundred dollars.

  Camden forced his worry aside as he looked down the street. What had Autumn done when she’d learned Wade no longer lived on Stone Street? She hadn’t spoken to the building manager, but she might have spoken with other tenants. Whoever currently lived in Wade’s old place might have directed her somewhere.

  Encouraged, he started up the SUV and returned to the apartment building on Stone Street. This time when he knocked on 3E, the door was answered by a man near his own age.

  “I’m looking for a friend.” Camden showed the man Autumn’s picture. “Have you seen her?”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen her.”

  At the man’s leer, Camden tightened his grip on his phone. “You told her Wade Mason doesn’t live here anymore?”

  “That’s right.”