“Gone.”
There was no drama in the word.
Only fact.
Ethan nodded slowly.
“Why did you come here?”
Ava lifted the crumpled money a little.
“My friend Tommy said bikers help when it matters.”
Mason’s mouth twitched, not with humor, but pain.
Ethan asked, “Who’s Tommy?”
“He’s at school. His uncle rides a He said people think bikers are scary, but sometimes scary is good if the bad person is worse.”
Ethan looked at the money again.
“How long have you been waiting here?”
Ava shrugged.
“Since breakfast.”
It was nearly two in the afternoon.
The heat pressed down harder.
Ethan looked toward the diner.
Through the window, he saw a woman behind the counter watching with one hand over her mouth. Maybe Maggie. Maybe a waitress. She looked terrified and relieved at the same time.
Ethan stood slowly.
“Big Joe.”
“Yeah.”
“Take Mason and go inside. Ask the lady for water. Quietly. Find out what she knows.”
Big Joe nodded.
Mason looked like he wanted to object to being sent away from the girl, but one glance from Ethan stopped him.
“Luis,” Ethan said.
“On it.”
Luis pulled out his phone and stepped back toward the bikes.
Ava stiffened.
“No police,” she whispered. “Please. He said—”
Ethan crouched again.
“Ava, bad people say a lot of things so good people stay scared. But calling for help is not wrong.”
“He’ll hurt Mom before they get there.”
The certainty in her voice made the hair on Ethan’s arms rise.
“What happened this morning?”
Ava looked toward the road again.
“He took her phone. And her keys. He said she wasn’t going nowhere until she learned to be grateful.”
Ethan kept his face calm through sheer force.
“Was she awake when you left?”
Ava nodded.
“She was in the bedroom. She told me to go to school, but it’s Saturday.” A tiny confused crease formed between her brows, as if that detail had hurt in a different way. “She forgot.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
“What is your mom’s name?”
“Claire.”
“Claire Miller?”
Ava nodded, surprised.
“Miller. That’s me too.”
Ethan looked toward the diner again.Big Joe was inside now, leaning over the counter. The woman behind it had begun crying.
Ethan turned back to Ava.
“Can you tell me where your house is?”