Page 108 of Roses and Skulls

The drugs.

Maybe they won’t be able to tell anything else happened.

I’m good at keeping secrets. What’s one more?

Chapter Thirty

Dan

Islide the shop cell out of my pocket, wondering who’s calling it at this time of night.

“Hello.”

A man’s voice greets me, it’s familiar but…

As Samuel reminds me who he is, my heart drops to my stomach. I can tell by his voice something bad has gone down. He has Billie Rose. She’s in Trap County.

On one hand, I’m relieved that we know where she is. On the other, well, my other hand wants to punch something because I know nothing good happens in Trap.

I get off the phone and turn to Raffe. “She’s in Trap.”

He doesn’t say a word, just backs out and flies down the street. His knuckles are turning white from gripping the wheel so hard. When we get to the highway, he looks over at me.

I raise my hands. “All I know is she’s at the hardware store with Samuel. He said he found her in the parking lot and that he would keep her safe till we got there.”

He hits the steering wheel.

My phone vibrates. It’s the kid again. He’s going out of his fucking mind. I pick up.

“Jackson and I didn’t have any luck up at the cabin. I know he has her. He fucking has her,” he yells.

I didn’t think she would be at the cabin, but I sent them up there to keep them out of the way, hoping one of my contacts came through with some info.

“I’m going to get her right now. You and Jackson head back to the warehouse. If Dirk shows up before I get back, you don’t fucking say a word to him. I need to figure out what’s going on and then I’ll call him. You got that?”

“Fuck no. Tell me where she’s at. I’m going to kill that fucking son of a bitch,” he roars.

I know the kid is worried and hurting and I know that he loves my niece, but he needs to calm the fuck down.

“She is safe with a friend of mine.”

He gets quiet. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know, son. Just prepare for the worst and hope for the best. That’s all we can do. The important thing is she’s safe. The rest we can deal with when we get her home.” Raffe looks from me to the road, shaking his head.

“Yeah, okay. Just tell her I love her and I’m sorry I left her there alone.”

“We’ve been through that. It’s not your fault. The blame lies in one place and one place only. Now get your asses back to the warehouse.”

“Yes, sir,” he says sullenly. He knows there is nothing he can do. I’m not a man that budges. I’m a man of my word.

I hang up and Raffe curses under his breath.

When I went to pick up Billie Rose from the bar and found it dark and quiet, my heart sunk, I knew something was terribly wrong. I broke in, finding her phone lying on the desk.

I drove to the warehouse, hoping that she had found another ride and just forgot her phone at the bar. Elijah walked in minutes after me, telling me that the truck he went to look at was a simple fix. Just a loose battery cable he had said. When he looked around, expecting Rosie to be with me, I saw the look of panic in his eyes. We’ve all spent the last few hours looking for her. Thank god Samuel thought to call the shop phone.

“This is all too familiar, Dan,” Raffe says. “I can’t bear it. If he hurt her…”

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