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“If he was filming, he might have caught Avery’s disappearance on camera.”
“Paul says he’s not that smart, so I’m guessing whatever he has in place isn’t too complicated. If he’s filming Avery, it will either go right back to whatever device he has the camera connected to, like his laptop, or it will be a closed feed and save directly to the camera itself, like on an SD card. Those will only hold so much, though, before they run out of space and need replacing. I’ll head back to the motel and check the room for cameras. You talk to this Damon guy.”
“Alright, I’ll head out now. Text me his details and address. James, you wanna come?”
“I’m game.”
“Call me if you find anything useful,” I tell them.
“We will,” Greg agrees, his face lined with worry. He cares about Avery too. I know the others think she might have left on her own, but Greg and I think it was something more than that.
I head to my car and drive back to the motel. I know from talking to the clerk this morning that the room is still vacant, so I jimmy the lock and walk in, placing my laptop on the bed. I check the mirror, front and back, but don’t find any cameras. The air vent doesn’t show anything from the outside, so I take out my pocket knife and unscrew the cover. Sure enough, inside is a small camera. One that looks like it’s motion-activated.
I check out the device and head back to my laptop. I connect to the Wi-Fi and dig around. Sure enough, there it is. The camera is on a live feed.
It takes me minutes to access the feed, which I download. As I wait for it, I call Hawk and then Creed. The voicemail kicks in for both of them, so I leave a message to call me back immediately. Then I call Paul again.
“You find something?”
“No, I just have a quick question. Where did you find my guys’ prints?”
He’s quiet for a second. “Something I need to know?”
“No, I’m just trying to work something out.”
“Right.” He doesn’t sound convinced, but he doesn’t push for more. Just as well, really. I’m not sure what I could say that doesn’t sound bad. I trust my brothers, but some primal instinct in me is telling me to brace myself.
“Okay, here we go. Do you want them individually or collectively?”
“Collective is fine.”
“Found prints on the door, the dresser, the fridge—both on the handle and on the inside of the door. One in the bathroom, on the sink, and then on the cell phone. That help?”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “Yeah. I’m just trying to remember the details.”
“Alright. Call me if you need me.”
He hangs up as I start to play the now-downloaded video file from the day Avery came back. I sit and watch as Hawk and Creed make their way inside and search the room. Then watch as Creed hands something to Hawk, and Hawk slips it into a bottle of water from the fridge.
I grip the laptop so tight I’m surprised I don’t crack it. What the actual fuck are they doing? I didn’t want to believe they were capable, even when everything started to point their way. It just made no sense. But now…
My focus snaps to the screen as Hawk leaves and Creed hides under the bed. I have to stop the video and put the laptop down to pace for a minute. I’m so angry that it takes everything in me not to put my fist through the wall.
Eventually, I calm down enough to finish watching, but the calm doesn’t last. I watch Avery return, drink the water, and pass out with next to nothing on. I’m so pissed that it takes me a moment to realize I’m hard. It seems even my anger can’t stop my body’s reaction to Avery’s smooth and creamy skin. But I ignore it as I continue to watch the video. Creed eventually crawls out from under the bed and pulls out his phone. Within moments, Hawk returns. Creed pops the back off Avery’s phone and takes the SIM card before they both maneuver Avery’s unconscious body into a T-shirt. Hawk scoops her up and carries her outside while Creed grabs everything, makes the bed, and leaves the phone on the bedside table.
The video has no sound, so I can’t hear them, but it doesn’t take a genius to know they thought they’d be in and out, and with the room left as it was, we’d all just assume Avery up and left again. Maybe I would have if I hadn’t spoken to her at the hospital and found out what’s going on in her life. She came here to help and get help in return, and these motherfuckers drug her and sneak out with her. They have no idea the danger she could be in.
Blowing out a breath, I upload a virus so that when Damon opens the file, it will invade his computer and erase everything on it. As much as I’d like to turn it over to the cops and have this asshole prosecuted, they can’t use it as evidence when I’ve illegally obtained it. Plus, I don’t think Avery could afford the exposure.
Next, I run a trace on the trackers I put in Hawk’s and Creed’s cells. All our phones are traceable using GPS, but since everything that happened with Oz and Zig, I’ve added trackers to the phones too. Even if the phone is off or damaged, I can still locate it.
And right now, both those fuckers are in the same spot. I check the coordinates against a map and the list of properties owned by Apex and its members and get a hit. I email the info to my phone and shut down my laptop. I yank the camera out of the air vent and screw the cover back into place before heading out to my car with everything.
I toss the laptop and camera on the front seat and grip the steering wheel, taking in a few deep breaths to calm the raging anger coursing through me. As much as I want to go pick up Avery alone, I know I can’t. Creed and Hawk are acting unpredictable, and I won’t risk Avery’s safety by making decisions when I’m angry.
Pulling out my cell, I call James.
“Hey, Ev, we’re just pulling onto Damon’s street.”
