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“Yes,” Ryder said, bringing me back to the present. “Antonio Sanchez is dirty, but clean. He uses his legitimate businesses to keep up appearances like we do, only he sells guns instead of drugs. Trust me, he was the first person I suspected of being behind her abduction. I even had Colt following him around in the van for a few days after she went missing.”
Colt spoke up from the end of the table. “He only left his house to go to the club, and both times he had the same security people with him and rode in the same car. His house has tons of staff coming and going at all hours of the day and night, including a stuffy doorman, so if he took her, it would be unlikely that he’d keep her there.”
“What about his club?” I asked, figuring Tweak had already opened pandora’s box.
He leaned forward, his spiky brown hair no longer blocked by Gunner’s shoulder.
The first thing I noticed was the absence of a prominent prospect rocker from the front of his cut. Good for him. It had been a long time coming. The kid had never balked at anything that was asked of him, even when it meant getting his hands dirty.
“While I was waiting for him to finish his meeting, I had a look around. His club doesn’t have a basement orrooftop access, and they left all the doors unlocked except for the manager’s office. When I came up empty-handed after picking the lock, I asked Brandy to hack into his security system. All she could tell me for sure was that Stella hadn’t been there in the last two days.”
Ryder drummed his fingers against the table as he looked over at me. “See, dirty but clean.”
“I hate to even think this,” Beast interrupted, scrubbing a hand down his face. “But we haven’t been able to get a visual. How do we know they haven’t already sold her?”
“Because I’m currently the highest bidder.”
Silence descended on the room at Hunter’s statement. I sat forward, letting my hands dangle between my knees. “So, you know who these bastards are?”
Hunter had a stare that made you feel like a bug under a microscope, and even after all these years I still didn’t have a clue what went on inside his head. Maybe I didn’t want to. Something told me it wasn’t the most pleasant place to be.
“Yes, and no. I’ve identified all the men coming and going from the warehouse where I believe she’s being held, but not who they take their orders from. Whoever’s behind this isn’t some dumb, low-rent criminal. Their website has layers upon layers of security and it’s masked to look like an antique furniture auction site. They’ve cleverly disguised the descriptions of the girls to match pieces of furniture. A mint condition mahogany rococo chiffonier would be code for a tall eighteen-year-old African American virgin. You need an invitation to view the girls’ pictures and a passcode to bid.”
Ryder ran a hand through his dark hair, leaving the ends sticking out in places. “And how did you warrant such an invitation?”
“Now, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Was it because someone was looking to capitalize on my ties to theBraterstwoor were they trying to send the club a message?”
Hunter’s pale eyes found mine. “Stella may not be safe even after we get her back. Are you prepared to help me, even if it means following my orders, or are you going to become a liability I need to dispose of?”
He might be a cold psychotic bastard who was just as likely to kill you as he was to help you, but at least he was honest about it. I’d never heard of the Braterstwo, but if Hunter was involved with them, they weren’t to be trifled with.
My enemies were starting to pile up, and I was no closer to getting Stella back than when I walked through that door. Fuck. It seemed for now, at least, I had no choice but to work with Hunter.
“I’ll play by your rules as long as I’m the one who gets to kill the bastards.”
“Funny you should mention that. Brandy made me promise that once Stella was clear, I’d kill them all.” He shrugged. “She never specified that I had to be the one to slit their throats. Knock yourself out.”
I still didn’t know who in the hell Brandy was, but she’d just become my new favorite person.
CHAPTER 6
STELLA
My body felt like one giant bruise, the ground underneath me cold and unyielding. Where the fuck was I? There was a faint glow of light to the right, but my head hurt too much to bother turning toward it. Muted cries echoed off the walls, so it was probably a small mercy that I couldn’t see a hand in front of my face.
A whisper of movement made me tense, and I immediately regretted it. My stomach rolled like it did whenever I got on a boat. I could almost feel the phantomwaves rocking me. Weakness held my limbs in place, and I wondered if I was going to die choking on my vomit in wherever the hell this was.
“Don’t move,” a high-pitched male voice whispered.
Wait. I knew that voice. Everything was disjointed and slow inside my head as I tried to grasp on to the fleeting thought.
“They’re monitoring us on the cameras, and I don’t want them to know you’re awake. They worked me over pretty good and with the drugs still floating around in your system we won’t last a minute against them.”
His voice quieted to a squeak when he spoke again, and I had to strain to hear him.
“Get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to get the hell out of here.”
Yes. That sounded sensible. Sleep, then I would leave this place. My body settled and darkness once again enveloped me. Only this darkness wasn’t absolute. It came with haunting dreams of a man with cinnamon-colored eyes.
