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“You didn’thaveto do anything, Joe. He’s in prison! What’s he going to do from there?”
“No. I spoke to you before him. Remember our phone call? You weren’t willing to budge. And Dad…he’s not— He’s got contacts in a lot of places, Fal. You can’t underestimate just how far he’d go to save our family.”
“Save his money, more like.”
Joseph stared at me in disbelief. “I don’t understand why you’re being like this. Do you want to be broke? I know he did things wrong. A lot of things. There’s no excusing what he’s done, and that’s why he was sentenced. But—”
“Do you know what happened to me the night Tim died? Did you know that our father, the man who should have been there for us, beat me so badly I ended up unconscious with three broken ribs?” I hissed. “He could havekilledme. So forgive me if I don’t have any sympathy for that monster.”
“W-what?” Joseph’s face drained of colour, and he swayed on his feet. “What?”
“You heard me. Then I was shipped off to Switzerland, and I was out of sight, out of mind. Problem dealt with.”
“Oh, fuck. Fuck. What have I done?” Joseph shook his head, his eyes widening in horror. “I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t know.”
“It’s in the past. I’ve dealt with it. But I hope you can understand why I don’t have any sympathy for his situation.”
“It’s not that. It’s—”
Leaves crunched behind us, and we both startled. Joseph’s head bowed, and I could hear him mumbling, “Oh, fuck,” over and over again.
An icy chill trickled down my spine as I slowly turned around.
I clapped a shaking hand over my mouth, bile rising in my throat.
When my eyes met his harsh gaze, his lips pulled up into a cold smile, devoid of any amusement. “Hello, Fallon.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
The car park was empty other than Winter’s matte-black Fiat 500, which Fallon had borrowed. Yanking my helmet off, I took off for the graveyard at a run. I’d promised not to interfere, but Fallon needed to know what was happening. Except she wasn’t fuckingthere. Where was she? I yanked my phone from my pocket, scrolling to her name as fast as I could. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I shouldn’t have let her go alone.
My phone started buzzing in my hand, Creed’s name appearing on the screen, and I swiped it open. “Now’s not a good time,” I barked out. “Fallon’s missing.”
“Roland Hyde’s on the loose,” he said, and my fucking world fell apart. “According to my intel, he had help, both inside and out. He was being transferred from one minimum-security facility to another in the early hours of this morning, and he somehow managed to give them the slip. Probably bribed whoever was involved. He got picked up by what we think was one of his business associates. Possibly even Joseph Hyde.”
“Fuck. I— Fallon was supposed to meet Joseph Hyde this morning at the graveyard. I’m here now, and her car’s here, but there’s no fucking sign of either of them.”
“Have you tried calling her? Can you track her phone?”
“I’m on it.”
“Good. I’m on my way. We think he’ll be heading to Alstone. Obie’s with me, and he’s on the phone to Mack right now. I’m not staying out of it this time, Z. That fucking asshole has burned every fucking bridge going. He’s a cockroach that needs to be destroyed.”
“I’m gonna find Fallon. Let Cade know what’s happening.” Ending the call, I ran for my bike, dialling Fallon’s number as I did so. It rang and rang until the generic voicemail kicked in, and I swore, hitting Granville’s number next.
He answered after two rings, and I didn’t give him a chance to speak. “Granville. Hyde Senior’s on the loose and heading this way. Do you have Joseph’s number? He was supposed to meet Fallon today at Tim’s grave, but neither of them are here.”
“Shit.” His voice shook. “Yeah. I’ll call him. Anything I can do?”
“Call Cade. He’s on his way to the Alstone Holdings offices. We had a tip-off about a new story that’s going to be printed. I can’t help feeling like it has to be connected.”
“It can’t be a coincidence,” he agreed. “I’m on it.”
Ending the call, I launched the map on my phone. Why the fuck hadn’t I got West to add our tracking app to her phone? At least she’d turned on her location sharing on her maps app, so it gave me somewhere to start. I clipped my phone into the holder and started up the engine.
I’m coming for you, baby.
* * *
