Chapter Twelve
The two slept late the next morning. Zuri hadn’t slept so well in a very long time. Her body was intertwined with Chaz’s all night. Her limbs jumbled with his. Her hands had reached out for him all night, finding the solidity of his body beneath her arms.
As she woke close to noon she smelled coffee. She got up and pulled one of Chaz’s undershirts over her head, she padded out into the kitchen.
Chaz handed her a cup of fresh coffee and Zuri smelled it before taking her first sip. Did she feel different now that she was mated to this man? No, she was just as overcome by him as she was before. She’d known forever before it had a label and an action.
She smiled at Chaz as he went back to the stove where eggs seemed to be in progress.
“How did you sleep?” Chaz’s eyes were clear and open to her.
“Turns out I didn’t need any Sleepy Time tea…I just needed you.”
Chaz laughed loudly and Zuri bathed in the sound of it. It was the first time she’d heard his belly laugh and she decided on the spot that it was her new favorite thing in all the world.
Zuri walked over to her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She had three new missed calls from Kevin. She pursed her lips and tried to think of reasons for his call as she dialed her voicemail.
Maybe Sandy had been found? She pegged in her password.
“Zuri, it’s me. I have some information about the stuff we were talking about. When are you back in town? Call me.”
Zuri felt her heart start beating faster.
“Kevin, the other bartender he has some information about Ava or the Ukrainians,” Zuri said as she walked her phone over to the kitchen. Chaz moved the pan of eggs off the stove and looked at her.
She hit the call back button and waited.
“Hey, I’ve been trying to reach you,” Kevin’s voice was hoarse.
“I just got your message. You said you have news?” Zuri felt her face growing hot. There was always the possibility that the news he had was bad news. That Ava was gone and there was no getting her back.
“I don’t want to talk over the phone. When do you get back to town?”
“I’m back now, I’ll meet you at your place—give me a half hour.” She hung up and looked to Chaz who was already shutting down the kitchen.
Zuri got dressed in record time. She and Chaz rode into town and she pointed out turns and directions along the way. Chaz asked her some general questions about Kevin, wanting to know if he was trustworthy, if he could have connections to the Ukrainians, but Zuri reassured him that Kevin was good people. Bartenders were always privy to a lot of information that would otherwise remain locked away and Zuri felt a pulse of hope that she hadn’t felt for Ava since her visit to Devil’s Head.
When they arrived at Kevin’s house he let them in quickly and immediately closed the door. Kevin looked at Chaz then at Zuri. He turned and led them through the living room into the kitchen. A coffee cup was out on the table. Kevin was still in flannel pants and a grubby tee-shirt, probably not unusual for a bartender to be waking up close to noon, but Kevin didn’t look like he’d been to sleep yet.
“What’s going on? What did you hear?” Zuri could barely contain herself.
Kevin ran one of his hands through his salt and pepper hair and the other over his belly. He exhaled slowly.
“You didn’t hear any of this from me,” Kevin said this as he looked at Chaz. Chaz nodded and sat down in the seat across from Kevin and next to Zuri. Zuri was ready to pummel Kevin with a million questions if he didn’t start talking soon, but she held her tongue knowing whatever she might say could take longer than Kevin was taking in getting to it.
Kevin let out another sigh, “A few guys at the bar, they were talking about a shipment of goods going out to Europe. They said it was going out tonight on a container ship from Laughton.”
“Laughton?” Zuri leaned forward. The port of Laughton was basically Tiana’s neighbor and it was a busy port. Could Ava have been only a few miles from her all that time? When she’d heard Devil’s Head before she’d thought the abandoned port made sense but she supposed that Laughton made sense in its own way as well. A busy port where things might get lost in the activity. “But surely someone in Laughton would have seen girls, would have figured it out?”
“I don’t know.” Kevin put his hands flat on the table. “All I know is what I heard.”
“Tonight?” Zuri turned to Chaz. “They are leaving tonight. How will we get to them in time?”
Zuri looked at the microwave clock. It was going on 1pm. If they could leave now it would take them two hours at best.
“We need to leave now.” Zuri stood and her chair scrapped back against the floor.
“You stay here, I’ll go. I’ll get the rest of Magus.” Chaz stood too and began to move toward the door but Zuri followed him.
“I’m going with you,” Zuri said loudly behind his back.
Chaz turned on her, “You aren’t safe. It’s easier if you stay.” His voice was commanding and his body rigid but Zuri didn’t care.
“No. Someone needs to be there to help those girls. They’ll be afraid of you but they won’t be afraid of me. I won’t get involved with the Ukrainians, I promise, but I have to be there for Ava and the others.” She was firm and she sounded logical even to her own ears.
Chaz stared at her for a long moment, “You swear you will stay out of the way until we get the girls?”
Zuri raised her hand as if taking an oath in court. “I swear.”