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“Thanks, Gramps,” I said, following my dad toward the front doors.
The Calgary Church had the same maroon carpet and wood accents as every other older church I’d ever seen. It was spotless, not a speck of dust anywhere, but clearly run down. They hadn’t been using the collection plate money for upgrades, that was for damn sure.
The sanctuary and the first few rooms beyond it were empty. By the time we hit the fourth room with no luck, I was starting to wonder if we were on a wild goose chase. The fifth room was empty, too.
We hit pay dirt on the sixth.
Behind the door, we could hear Titus singing, well, rapping. Badly.
Dad swung the door open, his pistol at the ready, but the only people in the room were Noel and Titus.
“Dad,” Titus said, the relief in his voice making my throat tighten.
His face was black and blue, but otherwise he seemed fine.
“Who’s here?” my dad asked as he bent down to untie Titus.
“Hey, Noel,” I said gently. Counting on my brothers to watch our backs, I kneeled down by Esther’s baby sister. She hadn’t come through their morning unscathed and was almost as black and blue as Titus.
“Otto,” she breathed, smiling painfully. “Happy to see you.”
“Hey, I was keeping you entertained,” Titus complained from behind me, his voice strained. “I had two more verses to finish.”
“Let’s get you out of these,” I murmured, reaching for the ropes that tied her wrists to her ankles. “Jesus.”
“Thanks.”
“How long have you guys been in here?”
“I’m not sure,” she murmured, rubbing at her wrists once they were free. “About seven songs, I think.”
“Eight songs,” Titus corrected, dropping down beside me. “You must’ve forgottenI’m a Little Teapot.”
“I remembered that one,” she replied matter-of-factly as I helped her to her feet.
“Let’s get ’em outta here,” my dad ordered. No one stopped us as we walked the kids back down the hall and out the front doors.
“There’s no one in there,” Gramps informed us, glowering at the prospect in front of him.
“I’m tellin’ ya, man,” Cian said, his eyes widening. “That’s the car that brought ’em in!”
“It is,” Titus confirmed, reaching out to pull Noel against his side. “I think they left with someone. They got a call and bailed.”
“It’s not like they’re missing,” Noel pointed out quietly. “I know where both of themlive.”
“Thatta girl,” Rumi praised, raising his hand for a high-five. She ignored him.
“Think it’s best we get you two both back to the club until we know what’s what,” my dad said tiredly.
Noel looked around until her eyes landed on me.
“Your sister’s already there,” I told her.
“You ever ridden a motorcycle before, sweetheart?” my dad asked her gently.
Noel shook her head.
“It’s not hard,” he continued, walking her toward the bikes.
