Light of Day by Allison van Diepen

huh? Be my guest. But you’d better tell me the details if I’m going to be coconspirator.”
    â€œI will, but you have to promise not to tell my parents.”
    â€œI’m like a therapist. Total confidentiality is guaranteedunless someone’s life is in imminent danger.” She held up a paint-stained pinky. “Pinky swear.”
    I laughed. We’d been doing that since I was a kid, when I’d come to her with the things I didn’t want to tell my parents. Sarita knew about every disappointment, every schoolyard bully, every crush. She knew about the roofies incident several weeks ago, and all about my relationship with JC—the good, the bad, and the ugly. She’d been the only one who’d coached me to listen to my own heart rather than the noise around me.
    Mom was probably jealous of our relationship, but I figured that, deep down, she was glad I had an adult I could talk to.
    â€œYou know that missing girl from my school, Bree O’Connor? I’ve been helping an undercover cop look for her.”
    Not a lot shocked Aunt Sarita, but her mouth dropped open. “Really? How’d this come about?”
    â€œRemember when that jerk slipped Maria and me roofies? The guy who warned me is the undercover cop. Goes by the name of X, and his cover’s a street artist. He’s trying to bust pimps who are targeting underage girls. He thinks Bree’s in one of those prostitution rings.”
    â€œOh, God. That’s terrible.” Sarita gave her head a quick shake, as if she couldn’t bear to think about it. “How are you supposed to help him find her?”
    â€œIt’s not so much that I can help him find her. X knows thestreets and the club scene better than I ever will. It’s that if we do spot her, I can talk to her, hopefully convince her to make a break for it.”
    She sipped her tea, quiet for too long. “It’s admirable that you’re trying to help.”
    I was waiting for the but .
    â€œBut if anything were to happen to you . . .” A shadow passed over her face. “I don’t know about all of this, Gabby. It makes me nervous.”
    â€œI’ll be with a cop. He can protect me. If anyone got near me, he’d totally flatten them.”
    She caught the look in my eye. “You’re into this cop, huh? I can’t blame you. I spent a whole decade dating men in uniform.”
    â€œOh yeah? You never told me that.”
    â€œMilitary guys, cops, firefighters . . . at heart, those guys are pretty traditional. They’re looking for a conventional life and a conventional wife. That was never me.”
    â€œMe neither.” I was tempted to tell her about the kiss, but I stopped myself. She might not approve—not just because he was an undercover cop, but because she was always cautioning me about older guys. I figured she’d gotten involved with an older guy when she was my age and had lived to regret it.
    Instead I told her about Miss Lisa’s prediction at the psychic fair. “She said the person I was supposed to help was in aplace of darkness, but I could help them break free. That was the same night Bree went missing. It can’t be a coincidence.”
    â€œMy thoughts exactly.” Unlike my mom, Sarita wouldn’t automatically dismiss the words of a psychic. “All right, Gabby. I’ll give you a key.”
    I smiled. Tonight was a go.
    Ten o’clock. The Phoenix.
    Posh and exclusive, the Phoenix was a go-to for celebs coming to Miami. Although the club was notorious for brawls between hip-hop artists, the violence only made the place more popular.
    Turns out the club was a favorite among high-rollin’ pimps too.
    I’d left the car at Sarita’s and taken a short bus ride downtown. Parking was almost impossible to find around here, and anyway, I hoped X would drive me home. With any luck, we’d be bringing Bree home too.
    I met him outside the