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.We call him Iss, he said, flipping my business card over on its edge.Onehand still crossed his chest almost protectively.His t-shirt read FCUK.Yeah.I d agree with that exclamation. Anyhow, I m not in that life anymore.I haven tbeen in four years. His use of anyhow reminded me of his accent. Where are you from, PeterRabbit? I asked softly.It took a few seconds but then he smiled, the same one that took my breathearlier.And I was no less affected. Mamma used to call me that. Part of my intuition was knowing when not to talk.So far I d proven unreliablein that arena when it came to Peter, but I knew that if I asked about his mother,his walls would shoot back up.So I sat there in silence, watching his long fingerstumble the card end over end, tap it a few times and then stop.Instead of answering that question, he went for the original one. We used tohook up.Nothing serious.He was the first guy that didn t pay me.I was sixteen, 58 Dani AlexanderIss was twenty-nine and Joe threatened him with jail time if we kept fucking.Sowe stopped.It wasn t a big deal for either of us.I mean he wasn t taking advantageof me.It just& was what it was. He pursed his lips and shrugged. And today? Another shrug as he met my eyes. He was searching for a friend of ours.Ididn t know where he was so I told him that. That made him kiss you? That was not jealousy in my voice.It wasn t.I didneed to release the death grip on my badge, though.Peter noticed and cockedhis head, but didn t say anything about it. Iss, he began and twisted his lips a few times. Iss still remembers thesixteen-year-old that told him everything.I m not that boy anymore. Not that naïve, you mean? I was hoping he d grin and remember when hecalled me that.I was right about the first part. Been a long time since I was wet behind the ears, Detective.If I ever was. He smirked, but it appeared more sad than anything else. Anyhow, no, I didn tmean it that way.You re naïve.Me? I was just taken with Iss.We talked abouteverything. He jerked his chin up at me. What s he supposed to have done? That was my cue to throw a question back, because it was never a good idea toanswer that question.Lawyers filed lawsuits for maligning a person s character.So naturally, I did it anyway. He s been charged with human trafficking involvingforty-seven Mexican nationals ranging in age from eight to thirty.The feds mightadd charges when they take over the case.Who was he after? Iss? You ve got the wrong guy, Detective, he replied.It was deliberateavoidance of my question. Sounds like someone still taken with him. No.I told you I wasn t that boy anymore.I m just telling you that Iss isn tambitious enough to do anything like that. The indifference in his voice was what convinced me he wasn t a lover tryingto defend his boyfriend. What makes you say that? The thing that had meintrigued was that there was almost a puzzle piece clicking into place with Peter sstatement.Based on Alvarado s previous petty arrest history, he didn t seemcapable of running such a complex scheme as human trafficking on his own. Shattered Glass 59 He didn t even deal anything stronger than weed or party favors when wewere together.And Joe let him hang around after we stopped hooking up.No wayhe d even let him in the door here if he was that shady.They were together justa few days before Joe died. I locked that tidbit of information away.Somethingabout the way Peter looked out the window again almost made me doubt hisveracity.Almost. What about Terrelle Gaines? Peter began laughing.I think that was myanswer.I would have been blown away by the way he brightened, but I was toobusy computing how our case was going to hell. Terrelle? Terrelle shakes down the older trannies because he has zero game.Even the younger boys have kicked his ass.Janine once beat him over the headwith her shoe.Chased him down the street hobbling on one high heel and tryingto hold her wig on with the other hand.No way would Iss deal with Terrelle otherthan to beat his ass. The problem with this statement was that Terrelle had given us seven strongleads in the past few months.He d developed a trust with Luis and me.And hehad given us Alvarado.But I trusted Peter.Probably because I was so fucked inthe head right now. Why was Joe meeting with Iss? Iss was like me, way back when Joe started on vice.Joe took him in, triedto set him on the right path. He tapped my card a few times, read it, and thenflipped it again.I waited as he fell silent, trying not to push.Yet. Joe doesn t giveup.Didn t.Joe didn t give up.Even after eighteen years, he still tried with Iss. But you don t think Iss wouldn t be into anything big. Iss deals some E, sometimes the new stuff at the clubs, nothing hard.Notever.Not even meth. He opened his mouth to add something, but then his lipsdisappeared behind his teeth. There s something else, I nudged.He nearly broke my mind again when his fingers dragged through his hair.My physical response was so intense, my lips parted to expel a harsh breath.Christ, I wanted him. I told him some of what I heard you say on the phoneSaturday. 60 Dani AlexanderOh, fucking shit hell
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