Page 10 of Pitbull
Anke ground her teeth. “I snuck into the garage to check for her car. It’s not exactly secure but it kept her car out of view at nights. It’s not there.”
“I see.”
“And she’s never missed a day of work.” Anke pushed.
“Work?”
“Yes. We’re waitresses at this diner in Hennef.” Anke took a steadying breath. “Look, Mr. Hunt. I know this isn’t your ideal situation. I wouldn’t have come to you if I had anyone else to turn to. I definitely wouldn’t have sounded the alarm if I didn’t think something is wrong. She could be in trouble. I have this bad feeling and the more time we sit here the less of a chance…”
“I’m aware of how it works.”
“They broke into her place through the window and trashed it,” Anke said. “Everything was broken or cut open or turned over…”
He whirled to face her. “They trashed the place?”
“Da.”
“Interesting.” He dropped his arms to his side but didn’t move from the window. “If they trashed the place that means they were looking for something.”
“Then why blow up her car?”
“In all fairness,” Pitbull’s voice was calm, controlled. “We don’t know it’s her vehicle.”
“Does this mean you’ll help me?”
“I don’t really have a choice, now do I? As always, Claudia gets in too deep and I must drop everything to pull her out. We should…”
Someone knocked and they both faced the door. There were a few faces peering in through the glass and she twisted in time to see Daniel waving them in. Anke remembered the ones they called Mouth and Zero. The others she hadn’t met yet including a woman.
“You might as well meet the team,” Daniel said. “Commander Alric Gerhart.”
“Beast,” the man said with a wave.
“Lieutenant Sabine Henson.”
“Barbie,” the dark skinned woman said.
“This is John Keegan and Sam Reed.”
“Tex.” The man with the accent gave her a mock salute. “Hey.”
“They call me Mozart.”
“I’ve met you two—Mouth and Zero, right?” Anke asked.
Mouth nodded. “Clayton Hastings.”
“Rei Hakama.”
With the introductions out of the way, Daniel pulled out one of the chairs and took a seat. The others gathered around and turned their eyes onto Daniel. “I guess you’ve heard by now,” Daniel began. “I haven’t said anything about my sister to any of you guys. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to discuss. There’s some baggage there and I didn’t want anyone to think it would affect my work.”
“Really? You’re a damn fine cop,” Barbie said. “We’re family. What affects you, affects all of us.”
“Another reason I didn’t say anything.” Daniel exhaled loudly. “I know you’d all want to protect me.”
“Damn right.” Zero cut in. “We’re not even going to deny it.”
“Right.” Barbie tilted her head. “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
