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It took him less than a minute to pick the locks. He held up a hand then went inside first, eyes scanning the space. I followed him next.
The place looked even more barren than I remembered.
“What the hell?”
“Stay here.” He strode back into the kitchen. His face was dark as he came back out and headed upstairs. I lingered in the living room and stared at the empty mantel, the abandoned couch. There were no pictures on the wall anymore, nothing on the shelves. It was like someone had packed and left only the major furniture.
It was eerie, like he’d never been there.
“Same upstairs,” Tanner said. “Kitchen still has everything though. Refrigerator’s full.”
“Think he just moved?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I don’t like this.”
“Let me call him.” I took out my phone and found his number. I dialed it and he answered on the third ring.
“Hey, honey.” He sounded like he was far away.
“Dad? Am I on speaker?”
“I’m in the car,” he said. “What’s up?”
“I haven’t heard from you in a little while,” I said, “so Tanner and I went to your place to check in on you.”
Long silence on his end. I heard the sound of cars in the background.
“You there now?” he asked.
“Did you move?”
He cleared his throat. “Listen, honey—”
“Did you move?” I asked again. “Because half the stuff here’s missing. It’s like you left the furniture but took all the personal stuff.”
“I’m jumping to a new location,” he said. “Just to be safe, you know? They found that house, so I thought—”
“Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
Another short pause. “I wasn’t sure I could.”
“What, because of Tanner?”
“I don’t trust him. You know that.”
“He’s working to save your ass.”
“He’s a killer. He betrayed a contract. How the hell is anyone supposed to trust that guy now?”
I opened my mouth to argue then snapped it shut. I held it there for a breath then spoke calmly. “Where are you now?”
“Don’t worry about it. I just got some business, okay?”
“Dad,” I said. “Where are you right now?”
“Just on business,” he said. “Listen, honey, don’t worry about any of this, okay? I got it handled. I’m going to take care of everything.”
“No, Dad, wait, don’t do anything.”
“Sorry, honey, I’ve got to go.”
“Dad—”
But he hung up the phone. I stared at it then slipped it into my pocket.
Tanner leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Well?”
“He says he moved because the Leone family knew where he lived.”
He nodded. “Reasonable.”
“But he also said he was going to… take care of things.”
Tanner grunted. “Really now?”
“He said I shouldn’t worry. And he’d handle it.”
“That’s not good.”
“No, it’s really not.” I crossed my arms and hugged myself. “Do you know where his people are? I mean, like, their hideout?”
Tanner smiled. “They’re not bandits, you know.”
“I know. But seriously.”
“They’ve got a spot,” he said. “There’s a club they go to.”
“Take me there.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, right now. I think… I think he’s going to do something stupid.”
Tanner watched me carefully. I couldn’t tell if he believed me, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I even believed myself. It seemed crazy to think that my father would attack the Leones. I had no real proof of anything, just a bad feeling and a couple vague comments.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s go.”
We left the house together. He locked up then walked fast to the Lexus. We got in, drove into traffic, and headed south. We moved over a few blocks to the west and he parked on a quiet neighborhood street in front of a house with a bright blue door.
“Stay close to me,” he said.
“Where’s the club?”
“On the next block,” he said. “We’re not going inside. We’re just taking a look around. But don’t wander off. If any of them spots you, this whole thing is over and who knows what’ll happen next.”
I nodded, fear rolling over in my gut. My palms began to sweat as we stepped out of the car. I stuck close to Tanner and kept my head down. He strode along the sidewalk like he owned the world.
At the corner up ahead, a low black building butted up against the tall red brick facade of the residential row homes. The windows were dark and the words PUTTY’S PLAYHOUSE were stenciled in red on the glass. The door was bright red and two big black trashcans flanked either side of it.
Tanner lingered at the corner then crossed. He turned right, moved to the far side of the building, and stepped down a short alley that cut down the center of the block between the two rows. He held up a hand as he lingered just inside the alley, listening for something, then walked to the back door. He pressed his ear up against it and waited.
I stood nervously pacing. He seemed to turn into a statue, not moving a muscle. I wanted to scream and shout at him but I couldn’t seem to work up the nerve.
