Page 88 of Pretty Threats

My throat constricts, and my chest feels like a gorilla is standing on it. What if she’s already dead? He’s had hours to use her and dispose of her body. Stomach acid churns until I’m ready to puke.

I fight the feeling, typing a text to my brother instead.

Killian: Pretty sure she was taken from that city block.

Aiden: Ill look around. If there’s something to find, Ill find it.

When I got into trouble drag-racing, some of the case hinged on CCTV footage of the race and the crash. Liam paid a cop to make the evidence disappear from lockup. And I hacked the other systems to erase the original footage that had been downloaded. So, this is not my first rodeo. I know all the CCTV system weaknesses.

After I find the local network for the best target camera, I hack in through an open port and go into storage. The capture rate is one per second, so I have to scroll through pages to get back to the time of Raine’s last connection with the local network in the building.

I start watching footage from three minutes before the last connection and two minutes in, I spot a lone girl entering the frame. It’s not Raine, but she’s carrying a tote bag that looks like Raine’s. I lean forward. I’ve only got part of the girl’s profile until she turns her head to look over her shoulder.

Alicia Zenker.

My mind skids to a stop momentarily as I process several thoughts at once and settle on the most important one.

I’ve got her phone number.

I open another browser window and put in Alicia’s mobile. While the tracking software searches, I watch the rest of the footage. Alicia passes the building, stops and reaches in the bag. I can’t see what she’s doing, but I bet I know. She’s gotta be powering Raine’s phone down.

When I return to my mobile search, it’s narrowed down the location of Alicia’s phone to three houses.

I take a screenshot and text it to Aiden. As I’m starting to type a message, my phone rings because Aiden’s calling me.

“Hey,” I say.

“What are these addresses?” he asks.

“A girl named Alicia is in one of those houses. She knows what happened to Raine.”

“Got a burn phone?” Aiden asks.

“Yeah.”

“Give me five minutes, and I’ll call you back to give you a number. Use the burner to call it.”

“Okay.” I rise from the couch with my laptop and jog upstairs. “Have you guys got anything?”

Jamie’s sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop, and War’s standing in front of the couch where he has a row of assault rifles laid out with boxes of ammunition next to each one. On the opposite couch, he’s got the white suits we use for wet works. He’s prepping for war. Hence the nickname.

“Our ghost has a credit rating that started three years ago,” Jamie says. “I’m looking through city records to see if I can find out who he was before he was Josh Jones.”

“I think he has a connection to a girl named Alicia Zenker. Maybe wherever he’s living is in her name. He could be her pimp or boyfriend. Alicia went to high school with Raine and me for about a year. I’m?—”

My phone rings.

“Hang on, Jamie.” I swipe to answer. “Yeah, I’m here, A.”

Aiden reads me a phone number. “You got it?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you right back.” I end the call and look at War. “I need a burner.”

War takes out his keys and walks to a closet with a padlock. He opens it, grabs a phone and tosses it to me.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Jamie says.

War and I turn.

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