Page 63 of Ink's Devil

“So why?” I wail. “Why did he step in? Why did he tell me to run? Why didn’t he leave me, as Mace said, to get what I deserved?”

It’s Sparky again who’s voice is calmer than the rest. “Because he knew, Beth. Because he knew it was you. Because if he guessed right what you were carrying, you’d have been taken by the cops. Because… he’s Ink.”

More feet on the stairs and Cad enters. He pauses at the bottom, and Demon gives him a nod.

“Got a location for this Connor fucker?”

They’re trying to find Connor?

Cad shakes his head. “Nah. Tried ringing the number, but it goes straight to voicemail. Tried several times now. From Beth’s phone and another.”

My head blasts with sudden pain. I don’t know who to worry about more, Ink, locked up in jail because of my stupidity, or Connor, because despite all that I’d done, he might have been killed anyway.

“They’ve killed him,” I cry out weakly, knowing he would have answered the call from my phone if he could. He’d have been waiting for me to confirm I’d done what he said. “Connor must be dead.”

As an anguished sound escapes me, Demon looks at me again. “You think your brother was telling the truth? He was being hurt? That he really was, is, in danger?” His tone suggests he has no patience for what I’m feeling. “Assuming you’ve told us the truth and had nothing to do with this before your brother called, could he have been using you to make the delivery as he got wind there might be trouble at the drop tonight? Could he have been using you?”

Tonight. It seems I’ve lived a whole lifetime, but it’s still only the early hours of the morning.

“It’s more likely that Beth was part of it all along.” I tune back in to hear Mace, who’s clearly not convinced of my innocence.

“Ask Ink,” I cry out, then realise that’s impossible. As incredulous eyes look toward me, I try to explain, “Ink was there when Connor was arguing about staying and then taking his gear. Ink saw him bring in a box and leave with it filled. He knows neither I nor Mom had a clue Connor had brought something into the house.”

Demon enters the conversation again. “You said you took two of the packages. There were more?”

“Eight,” I tell him. “There are eight packages of drugs left.” I raise my eyes to him. “I don’t care what happens to them, I want them out of our house. Please, can you help?”

The prez draws himself up and looks incredulous. “You have the fuckin’ nerve to sit there and ask for our help?”

“I care about my mother, she might be all I have left. She doesn’t know… what if someone else does? What if someone turns up for the rest?” My voice rises higher. “They’re worth money, aren’t they? You could take them, sell them—I don’t care…”

I’m forced to stop as there’s a roar from the bikers surrounding me.

“Shut up!” snarls Demon, to get them to stop.

But Beef is eyeing me carefully. “Drug dealers don’t offer up their stash, Prez. If she’s got eight bricks of whatever that fuckin’ shit is, she’s offering it freely. I’d bet she’s no clue of the value.”

“She could just be following her brother’s instructions.” Mace isn’t giving me an inch.

“You reckon he’d instruct her to simply hand over that shit? One brick, Mace, maybe, to get us onside. But fuckin’ eight? She could be telling the truth.” Beef turns to his prez. “She could be trying to save her skin, yes. But I warn you, Demon, don’t make the same mistake you made with Skull, before he was patched in and was the prospect Runt. Don’t go looking for answers when there may be none to be had. Focus on the information she does have instead.” His eyes flash something to Demon. I don’t know why they mentioned Skull, there must be some things Mel hadn’t shared, but his words seem to do some good.

Whatever, Demon seems to take what his VP has said at face value. “I asked you a question, Beth. Could your brother have been using you?”

I press my lips together, and more tears leak as I start speaking my thoughts aloud, “If you’d asked me a week, a day ago, I’d say he was on the wrong path, influenced too much by Phil, but that there was still a familial affection there. That he wouldn’t have wanted any harm to come to me,” I give a little shake of my head to show I haven’t finished, “as I wouldn’t want physical harm to come to him. All I can tell you is that he sounded hurt, it sounded like it was painful for him to breathe, so I believed he had broken ribs. But when you come right down to it, I don’t know my brother anymore. He could have been setting me up. There, that’s the truth of it.”

If anything, Demon’s eyes seem to darken until they become a solid black. “Either way we need to find him.”

He makes a slight turn, raising an eyebrow at Cad. Cad nods and gives him the answer he’s clearly seeking. “Haven’t been able to trace where the calls were made from, it was probably some type of cheap burner, but I can carry on digging using the signal from hers. Will involve triangulation, but I’ll get there.”

“I want men ready to roll as soon as you find out where we’re heading.”

“Want us to get to Denver so we’ll be waiting?” Mace asks.

Demon again raises a querying brow in Cad’s direction.

“I’m doing what I can. It may well be tomorrow,” he grimaces, clearly remembering the time and corrects, “later today, or even Monday before I know anything. And, you’re only assuming he’s in Denver as that’s his hometown. He could be here in Pueblo for all we know.”

That they’re searching for my brother should give me some satisfaction, but it doesn’t. He could already be dead, or, he could be having the time of his life, completely unharmed and laughing as he’d avoided the fate I’d so narrowly escaped and Ink’s suffering instead. Neither option is attractive. Alive or dead, Connor will be gone from my life.Ink. What must he be feeling? Does he now hate me for landing him in this mess? He probably regrets ever going with me. Oh God, Ink. Why did you step in? Why didn’t you just let me accept my fate?I realise I’d tuned out for a moment as Demon’s still talking.

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