Page 40 of How to Hack a Hellhound
I didn’t know what shape those men would be in, but I didn’t mention that to Quinton. I also didn’t think we’d have that many victims from this area. The nearby city wasn’t huge, and an extensive operation wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by the humans. I had confidence that with my skills and connections, we could find out what happened to those people who were taken.
Quinton looked at me. “It could’ve been me, Liam. It could be someone I danced with or even hooked up with out there going through god knows what. I don’t want to leave them out there if we can save them.”
“We won’t,” I promised, leaning down to kiss his forehead.
He breathed out. “Alright. You and Corbin go get this guy. Get names if you can. Let me know what happens. I don’t need to watch the ‘wet work,’ because that’s just gross, but I wantto know everything he says. Ok? And I’m helping you do the computer shit.”
I kissed his lips lightly. “Of course, my little hellcat.”
I think he actually hissed at me (so adorable), and then he was turning and heading out the door.
I walked to a window and watched as he made his way to the other property, and when I heard the door slam shut I turned around to face Corbin.
He was smiling, and the crow was hopping excitedly along his shoulder. “Time to hunt.”
“Best bagels in town,” Corbin stated, taking a bite of his bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.
I rumbled in agreement. There was nothing like a good breakfast sandwich after a night of torture. This shopwasthe best—the bagel was fresh, the egg perfectly fried, the cheese melty, and the bacon not too crispy but not fatty. Still, nothing beat Cass’s shop for coffee and Aiden’s pastries.
Corbin hadn’t wanted to venture over there, though, and possibly get a million questions. Cassius was a nosy oracle, and he was still probably bitter that we’d rehomed Aiden and Quinton. So instead, we had come here, and we were sitting on a picnic table outside the bagel shop, eating breakfast and watching the sun rise. The only thing that could make the morning more perfect would be if Quinton were by my side.
“You think your mate will be happy with what we got?” Corbin asked.
Rather than answer him, I looked over. “Mate?” I asked.
“Probably,” Corbin shrugged.
Well, that was about as helpful as a pop-up ad on a website. I sighed and thought about the info we had. Our hellbound soul had quite a few names for us, and I was able to track down a decent amount of information through his computers while Corbin did some wet work.
Corbin was right that most of the victims went off the grid to a third-party seller. Apparently only one guy had the information for the third-party seller. That guy also happened to be one of the ones who gave them the victim types, and sometimes even chose the victims—probably based on what sellers were looking for.
Unfortunately for us, this contact knew enough to stay anonymous. So we had a list of seven guys to hunt down who were involved in the ring, and that appeared to be our current layer. It probably wouldn’t be too hard, especially if everyone pitched in. We could finish that in a night or two.
The problem was finding out exactly who the contact was so we could trace them to the third-party seller. Our guy from last night was sure that no one in the circle knew. Those guys did all the messy work, drugging people and delivering them to locations, but they were all puppets being told what to do. They handed over people and got cash for it.
“I think Quinton will want to find the contact person,” I finally answered.
“Especially if he wants to find the victims,” Corbin commented.
“Yeah. They are the key to tracing the victims and finding the next layer of the ring. Taking down this layer will be easy, but the contact can just set up shop elsewhere. All the guys we’re getting so far are just expendable muscle,” I mused.
Corbin finished his last bite and hopped up. I followed suit, heading to the car. I was suddenly itchy to get back to Quinton. I hoped to catch him before his shift at the coffee shop.
We drove back in silence, enjoying the dawning morning and the peace of town. Corbin offered to fill in the other guys, and I agreed. He knew where I was heading when we stopped the car.
It wasn’t until I got to the door that I hesitated. I didn’t want to startle Aiden, and I could hear footsteps inside, so I guessed he was up. Was I supposed to knock? Usually I just walked in, but they were expecting me, or Aiden was in his room and I was coming to see Quinton.
I didn’t have long to ponder before the door was pulled open.
“Hey Creepy Stalker, you can come in,” Aiden said, turning and walking back towards the kitchen. He kept talking as he walked. “I got up early to head into the shop and get some baking done, and Cass is picking me up. Q has off today, so he’s still sleeping.”
“Ah, ok,” I answered. Then, because I couldn’t help myself, I added, “I was upgraded to Sexy Stalker days ago.”
Aiden just laughed. “Yes, you were. But I’m not calling you that. And you were creeping outside the door, so it seemed to fit.”
“I didn’t want to startle you,” I admitted.
Aiden’s face softened. “I appreciate that. I appreciate all you guys, just so you know. You’re looking out for us, and you don’t expect anything in return. And I know Q has all sorts of walls up, but he really appreciates you all too. Especially you.”
