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“Then I’ll finish him off with a round to the head…eventually.” Hammer’s icy glower left no doubt he meant to make the prick suffer.
Liam couldn’t agree more with that plan.
“I want to hurt him, too,” Beck drawled cynically. “I’ve got that shit down to an art form.”
Making their way through the house, Liam found it remarkably more revolting than the first time he’d been there. The gut-churning odor of rotting garbage and fetid decay clung like an oily black film. Beer cans and cheap gin bottles littered the floor as they made their way down the hall, searching for Raine.
Exploring every closet and cubby, they called out to her, pausing to listen for the tiniest scrape or moan. With each room that turned out empty, the glimmer of hope Liam had been clinging to faded darker until the red he’d been seeing turned black.
Standing outside Raine’s old room, Liam felt his hand tremble on the doorknob. He didn’t want to see the posters of her teen idols on the walls again or be reminded that his raven-haired lass had once lain on the bed only to have her innocent dreams stripped away by the monster she’d called Dad.
Beck seemed to read his mind. “Go ahead. I’ll check this room.”
Hammer’s brows furrowed with concern as he stepped in behind Beck. A snarl rumbled from Macen’s throat as he darted back out and raced down the hall toward Bill’s room.
Beck emerged less than a minute later, pale and visibly shaken. He shook his head bleakly.
“Son of a bitch!” Hammer bellowed.
Liam and Beck ran down the hall, then bolted into the master bedroom to find Hammer pacing and cursing. Empty dresser drawers gaped open. Macen ripped several hangers from the barren closet before heaving them across the room in a violent rage.
Bill had left, and Liam had little hope the bastard had any intention of returning. The gravity of Raine’s peril slammed into him anew. Finding her now would be difficult, if not impossible. A needle in a fucking haystack.
“I’ll call Seth and have him contact the police,” Beck said in a dismal tone.
“Goddamn it, I thought she’d be here.” Hammer sounded stunned, shaken. “That he just wanted money and the chance to yank my chain. Where the fuck is he?”
Liam wondered the same thing. And what if they’d wasted time on this wild goose chase instead of calling the police, and it cost Raine her life?
“Come on,” Beck urged. “We need to get out of here.”
Hammer nodded, then he and Beck hurried outside. Liam followed, closing the door behind them. The snick of the knob left him feeling as if he’d abandoned Raine.
Liam swallowed the fear in his throat and followed the other men across the yard. A new level of panic trampled him. Time was running out if they wanted to find her alive. He could almost hear the mocking tick-tock in his head.
Once in the car, Beck rang Seth. Hearing the doctor say that they’d failed to find Raine choked Liam with hopelessness. But he’d bloody well keep fighting to get her back…unless he knew for certain he had nothing left to fight for.
“Before we head to the club, the private eye I hired to check in on Bill periodically sent me the names of a couple of the asshole’s haunts. Let’s check them out,” Hammer suggested.
“What kind of places? You think he’ll be at one of them?” Liam asked, almost hating his wretched hope but needing it so badly.
“Mostly restaurants and bars, so I doubt he’ll be hanging out. I’m hoping someone will know where to find him or will have seen him recently.” Hammer scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what else to do.”
“Let’s go,” Liam urged.
Hammer pulled from the curb and sped down the street. Liam noticed his friend wasn’t concerned about getting pulled over any longer.
As they darted onto the highway, he remembered the photos Hammer had shown him of the last beating Raine had suffered at Bill’s hands before running away. Liam tried to clear his mind, not fixate on the horrors Raine could be experiencing as they broadened their desperate search.
The first bar Hammer stopped at was closed. The second, though open, had only two patrons inside, eating eggs. No one had seen Bill lately. Ditto with the third.
Liam felt the despair rolling off Hammer’s body. It echoed inside him.
“Where next?” he asked, his frustration spiking.
“That was the last place on my list. Fuck!” Hammer snapped, anxiety taking its toll. “I’d convinced myself she’d be at Bill’s, just waiting for his cash. Now I don’t have a goddamn clue.”
“We should head back to the club,” Beck suggested. “I’m sure the place is swarming with cops. Maybe we can help them somehow.”
Liam wanted to believe that. Unfortunately, he didn’t. He had to pray that his strong, wily girl, who had escaped her sire before, could somehow do it again.
