Page 65 of The Secret's Out

“We’re protecting her,” Eli snapped.

“How?” Memphis demanded.

Eli looked to me and I nodded, he explained, “We already told you we dealt with the fuckheads hassling Josie. What we didn’t tell you was how. The father of the main guy givin’ shit to Jose was a man of Pick’s past.”

“What past?” Dive asked.

“Caden?” Eli uttered and fuck it to hell, it touched my heart. I nodded again as I kept my gaze on the box.

“His mother used to sell his body to men and women. She also used to get him to do illegal shit so she could stay high or drunk. One of the guys who bought time with Caden is this Cameron’s father. We approached them, told Cameron to leave Josie alone or else his father’s past would surface and everyone would know.”

“Did you have proof?” Memphis asked.

“Yeah,” I said. Because I did. I had proof on them all. It was in the final week I’d decided enough was enough and I took footage of them all. Their faces were caught on camera when they...did things to me. I had that printed out into pictures, which was what Cameron had seen of his father.

“The dad’s name, was it Nigel?” Dive asked.

My head snapped to him when he held out a note. “It was attached to the parcel.”

“Jesus,” I hissed before opening it to read.

Caden, or as your biker people call you, Pick.

You may have grown up to be a fine young man, but you will never be as cunning as I.

I have someone you may want alive. In the box is a piece of that someone and if you don’t do as I SAY, then you will find more pieces of her turning up each day until you listen.

I want the whore.

You have forty-eight hours to say goodbye to the slut and hand her over to Cameron where she works at 10 A.M. on Friday.

Nigel.

“Pick?” Memphis said. Tearing my eyes from the paper, I looked to him. He gestured with his head to the box. Fury, deep, unsettled fury burned inside of me. That fucker thought he could play with me again.

“No,” I snarled. “I won’t let the fucker have the satisfaction.”

Whoever was in the box was gonna have to stay there. I had no one worth worrying about except for Josie, Eli and my brothers. Fuck.

Jesus motherfuckin’ Christ.

Had he taken a brother?

How?

No, it couldn’t be. We would have heard.

“You need to know,” Eli said gently. He picked up the box with a gloved hand and opened it.

Hell. Fuckin’ hell.

“Do you know who...?”

Yeah, I fuckin’ did.

I knew whose finger lay inside the small box.

My mother’s. The ring her dealer gave her was still sitting on her dead finger.

Turning my back to them all, my hands ran again and again over my shaved head as I lifted my head and bellowed to the roof, “Fuck!”

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