Page 94 of Petty's Crime

Giving him an incredulous side-eye, Red presses for more. “And why was a police officer using police databases to help anyone at all?”

Elton looks frantic, his eyes wild. “I love Thorne. He said Rose was a missing part of him and he wanted to find her.”

If Thorne is indeed looking for his missing sister, then maybe I’m wrong to be worried about her. But in that case, why take her at all? Why not just introduce himself to her? Why wait months and allow Saul to torture her?

“What’s the link between Thorne and Saul Ranger?” My voice is so weak and croaky, for a moment I’m worried no one will hear.

But Red turns, raises his chin toward me, then turns back to Elton. “Well?” He doesn’t repeat the question so maybe I was louder than I thought.

“Fucking Saul,” Elton rasps. “That bastard had Thorne twisted up in knots. Thorne wanted him, but Saul is as straight as they come.”

Unrequited love. But it seems instead of making Thorne angry, perhaps he thought the way to Saul’s heart was to help him. That means RoseLyn is being used as a pawn, he probably doesn’t care for her at all.What if he finds out Saul’s dead? Would RoseLyn mean anything to him?My hands tremble and it’s not from physical weakness.

“Where would Thorne take RoseLyn?” Twister asks, moving that evil-looking knife from hand to hand.

The action’s not lost on Elton. He pales. “I don’t know. And that’s the God’s honest truth.” He visibly fumbles for words to offer us. “Perhaps to dinner or something to get acquainted?”

I don’t think he knows much about the man he’s supposed to love. If it wasn’t for Saul’s involvement, I’d wonder whether Elton was right, but what Thorne and Saul have done to RoseLyn screams she’s in danger now.

I can see Red’s tension in his body and it’s obvious he’s quickly losing patience. He jerks his chin toward the enforcer, and I realise it’s at that moment all bets are off.

As Twister approaches Elton, his screaming and pleading before having a finger placed on him makes me wonder what selection criteria is used by the cops. A man like him wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in my Army unit. I can spot a coward from a mile off.

As it is, Twister barely has to touch him before he starts running his mouth. Apparently Thorne had shown a particular interest in a disused hotel that he’d told Elton he’d like to buy as a project and do up. Elton said he’d thought he was crazy, but humoured him and turned a blind eye when he broke in to explore it.

When pressed, he describes where it is, and the words are hardly out of his mouth before Red’s organising brothers to go check it out. He assigns Crash, Hammer, Cobra, Rope, Cuff and Sarge. When he sees me struggling to get out of my chair, he instructs Owl to follow the bikes in the truck, and take me along for the ride.

“Might be nothing,” he warns me, with a flick of his eyes toward Elton. “I don’t think he’s lying, but he might not be right.”

But doing something is better than doing nothing, and I can’t hurt more sitting in the passenger seat than I do here in the basement.

Actually, I hurt less. Adrenaline starts to course through my body as my brothers quickly wheel their bikes into formation. The traffic is heavy in Vegas, and while the bikes can split lanes and get through it, the truck has to wait its turn in the queue. It seems every set of lights is against us, and by the time we turn up close to the desert location, my brothers have already arrived, parked discreetly a few hundred yards down the road.

When I ease myself down from the truck, Hammer appears to update Crash.

“There’s nothing here. Not even a car. I listened but heard nothing.”

Dead people don’t make any sound.While the VP shoots me a look of sympathy, I plant my feet firmly. “I ain’t leaving until we check it all out.”

“We’re going in,” he says firmly. “But you wait here.”

“I’m coming.”

“You’ll slow us the fuck down, Brother.”

“Don’t wait for me. Just go ahead.” I wave them forward.

“Alright, Brothers. Sooner we can cross this place off the list, the quicker we can look in some more productive places.”

It’s my turn to look to the heavens for inspiration. There’s no fucking list, or if there is, this is the only place on it. If this turns out to be a bust, we’ll have no clue where to start looking for her unless Twister’s got more out of Elton.

Unwilling to give up on any optimism, I push myself forward after the others. For a moment or two my steps falter, but as I get into my pace, I begin to speed up. Bruises and sore muscles start to feel the benefit of being exercised, and while my ribs mean I can take no deep breaths, I’ve almost caught up to my brothers by the time they reach the entrance.

“Sarge?” Crash beckons him forward.

Sarge gets a tool out of his pocket and approaches the door. Within seconds, he’s opened the lock and is gesturing us inside. We’re standing in a reception area that looks as old-fashioned as fuck.

I draw Crash’s attention to the footsteps in the dust. “Someone’s been here recently.”

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