Page 57 of The Devil's Redemption

With a slight eye-roll, Royce allows the door to close, then we begin our search.

“K and I will take the basement.”

“I’ll check upstairs,” I add.

Halfway up the steps, I notice the padlock on a hall closet at the top. That’s odd. I’ve never known anyone who wanted to keep their towels and washcloths under lock and key. My heart starts racing, thinking that I’ve found Jasper already. It can’t be this easy… Can it?

I pull on the lock to see if it has any give. It’s locked tight, however. I hold my gun out and shoot it open. The wood splinters into a hundred different pieces, and the door falls open slowly. If Jasper is on the other side of this door, I wouldn’t be upset if my bullet struck him in the heart. Or the head.

Or his motherfucking dick.

Even though I promised Sasha she would get to be the one to finish him. I’m sure she’d be happy enough to know he’s gone.

The roar of three sets of boots gets closer as I kick the door open the rest of the way with my gun at the ready, just in case. What’s behind this door is not what I expected to find. I let the light from the hallway shine in so I can see. It’s not a hall closet at all. It’s more like the smallest storage space I’ve ever seen in my entire life. All that’s in here are a bunch of old framed pictures that look like they date back to the civil war. There’s barely any room for a person.

Fuck.

I should have known. There’s no way we’re going to find him this easily.

“It’s nothing,” I inform the rest of the guys.

They stomp back down the stairs to continue their own searches. Next to this closet is a bathroom. There are two bedrooms, one to the left and another to the right. I take the one on the right first. There’s nothing of note in here. Just an unmade bed and an empty closet.

I check behind the shower curtain on my way into the other bedroom. This room is a little more lived in. There are sheets on the bed and a minimal amount of clothing hanging in the closet. There is also a dresser that I go through. It reminds me of the first time I stepped foot in Sasha’s room. My chest aches thinking about it.

I miss her.

After a thorough search of the dresser, I come up with nothing more than a hidden Glock and a box of bullets. He’s not fucking here. We’re wasting our time. I join Stone back downstairs who also came up with nothing.

“I’m going to wait outside,” I inform him, pissed as shit.

A few minutes later, the three men exit the house empty-handed.

God damn it.

Royce nods to his men to release Doobs.

“If Jasper reaches out to you or shows up here, it would be in your best interest to let us know about it. Is that clear?” Royce hands Doobs a business card.

“Crystal,” Doobs answers, snatching the card from Royce’s hand before walking back into his house and slamming the door behind him.

I’m furious as we walk back to our bikes in silence. Thoughts of what Sasha told me yesterday pop into my head uninvited, and it hits a nerve.

I need to fucking punch something.

“I don’t believe that Jasper hasn’t been here or won’t try to come here. I’m going to leave one of my guys behind to stake it out,” Royce declares.

“We’ll do the same,” Stone adds. “SoCo, you got first watch.”

As Royce talks to his men, I watch SoCo, waiting for him to give Stone a hard time. He usually hatesbitch worklike this, but he doesn’t protest this time. He looks from Stone to me and nods, and I can see the fire in his eyes. He wants to get Jasper as much as I do.

“Thanks, brother,” I offer my appreciation.

“Twenty-four hour shifts. Atticus will take first shift with you. We’ll send your relief this time tomorrow,” Royce explains.

Mounting our bikes, we head out. In less than two hours, I’ll have Sasha in my arms again. I picture it, and that image stays in the forefront of my mind the entire drive home.

Chapter Twenty-One

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