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“Go ahead, bro, but I’m staying right here,” Diesel said softly. Pyro raged as Diesel remained. Diesel listened carefully to the words that came from his brother’s mouth and recognised the guilt in them. Janey Revers had meant a shitload to Pyro, a secret none of them knew about. Diesel felt a little hurt. Out of the Hellfire brothers, they were the closest. Pyro’s self-loathing escalated as he spoke about Tom and Beryl and, finally, how he’d felt deserted by them. And that Diesel understood was the crunch point. Pyro had felt abandoned and forgotten and therefore had forgotten them in return. What a cluster fuck.
???
Chance
Chance turned to Lio, who gazed steadily at the door Pyro had been shoved through. Bear returned with the others, but Diesel was missing. Chance knew Diesel wouldn’t leave Pyro alone and nodded an agreement to Bear, who glanced back towards the room. Pyro had only ever blown up once. Unlike most of Hellfire, who regularly lost their tempers. Yet Pyro’s temper could be one of the worse in Hellfire. Pyro hid his dark side behind the fun-loving personality he’d adopted. Pyro’s way of keeping everyone at arm’s length.
Chance was cursing himself. The way the girl had looked at Pyro for six months had jolted him. He’d realised then that she’d known Pyro, but not how he’d expected. Chance had thought, like everyone else, that they’d slept together. But this was deeper than anything he’d seen Pyro feel. Pyro had warmed slowly to Phoe, and now Chance understood why. Pyro had been afraid of letting another woman into his heart in case she also left him.
Damn, his brother had scars that even Chance hadn’t expected. Chance knew some of Pyro’s background, but clearly, there were deep secrets that Pyro held close. Chance and Hellfire abided by the unspoken rule of letting them tell you. And sometimes, Chance bitterly regretted not going Drake’s route and insisting that the president knew everything. However, that had come back to bite Drake on the butt, such as Blaze hiding shit from him.
“Tell me everything, Lio, that I need to know,” Chance said. Lio gazed steadily at him.
“Sure you don’t want me to tell Pyro? He may have further questions,” Lio asked.
“Yeah, we can contact you if need be,” Chance replied. “Start talking, bud.”
Chapter Two.
Diesel
“It’s shit when you thought those who’d abandoned you hadn’t,” Diesel said as Pyro round down. Fuck, Pyro’s suite would need some repairs. Diesel was fucking glad his bunk wasn’t on the other side of Pyro’s as a chair leg had gone straight through the drywall into the next room.
“Diesel, I killed Janey’s father!” Pyro snarled from where he sat opposite Diesel.
“Don’t think Janey believed that,” Diesel replied. “Woman wouldn’t have sought help if she felt hate.” Pyro glanced up, hope in his eyes.
“You believe that?”
“Yup. Janey truly thought you’d remember your promise and would keep it. When you didn’t recognise her, that gutted her. So Janey isn’t angry at you, bro,” Diesel said calmly.
“Honestly, you think Janey doesn’t blame me for killing Tom?” Pyro asked, and Diesel spotted the note of longing in Pyro’s voice. Whatever his brother felt, there was no denying the strength of feeling Pyro owned for Janey. Diesel crossed his fingers for a good ending and shook his head.
“No, you didn’t kill Janey’s father. From what I understood, Janey’s dad rushed in to rescue you and got caught. That wasn’t killing him, Pyro; that was his choice to save a boy the man loved.” Pyro stared at Diesel.
“Why did someone report Janey missing, and why did she take six months off work? I need more information,” Pyro said. “Shit, I’ll tidy this up later.” Diesel snorted. Needed more than tidying. Diesel would have another job before he flipped his next house.
Chance looked up as Pyro, accompanied by Diesel, walked into the rec room. He tilted his head to the inner sanctum, and they both followed him. Bear stepped in behind them and shut the door. Pyro glanced at Bear and winced when he saw the bruise on Bear’s chin. Bear’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh yeah, brother, Thalia will rip you a new one!” Bear grunted, amusement in his voice.
“What else did Lio say?” Pyro asked Chance.
“Your girl was reported missing a fortnight ago. Janey took a six-month sabbatical from work but didn’t tell anyone why. The library expected Janey back a few weeks ago, and when she didn’t arrive, people got concerned. Seems pretty fucked to me they weren’t worried about the fact they’d not heard from Janey for half a year, but whatever.”
“Woah, wait up. No one’s seen her since Janey left the hospital?”
“No. Hellfire was the last.” Diesel noticed Chance study Pyro, and decided his brother had his temper locked down as he continued, “Lio couldn’t understand why an upstanding citizen disappeared for six months and was shot. He was rummaging through reports and discovered one that had been shunted to the side as not worth investigating. The interrogating cop thought Janey had imagined events and filed it but not followed up. Janey Revers reported seeing a murder.”
“Shit!” Pyro exploded. Diesel laid a calming hand on his shoulder.
“Janey claimed she’d witness a man gunned down in an alley. She says she fled the scene in her car and went straight to the police. When they finally investigated Janey’s claims, there was no body or any sign of murder. No blood, no cameras, no other witnesses. Two days passed, and Janey informed the officer that someone was following her, and they assumed she’d imagined it. A day later, Janey called them again because her home had been broken into, and although not trashed, some things had been moved.” Chance paused to check Pyro and continued.
“The investigating cop offered a verbal warning, stating he thought Janey was attention-seeking. Janey returned to work the next day and applied for a six-month break, which she was entitled to as per the contract. She said nothing to her co-workers, but her car was forced off the road three days later, and Janey called the police. Janey thought they’d believe her this time. Instead, Janey was breathalysed and accused of driving herself off the road. What Lio and I figured, Janey saw a magazine with you in because she turned up needing help.”
“Which I denied,” Pyro said bitterly. He ran a hand through his hair.
“You didn’t know, brother. Janey’s not been seen since then.”
