Page 26 of Four Times Saved

This was the guy they thought had something to do with Lily's kidnapping?

"Mr. Thornbread?" I took a guess, because I was blown away by the fly of a man, easily swatted away.

"Yeah. Who are you?" He jutted his chin out. Aw, bless, I hoped he didn't think he could scare me.

"Oh, you don't remember me?" I smiled over his shoulder at the receptionist who was looking in our direction. I couldn't tell if she was looking at us or daydreaming of a way out of this hellhole. "Why don't we step outside and we can discuss that thing we talked about?" I cocked my head.

He looked at me from head to toe as if trying to piece together where he could have seen me before. Of course, he hadn't, but I was guessing by the strong scent of alcohol, which couldn't be safe while operating heavy machinery, he didn't know his head from his ass. I'll give him credit though, the man must be a professional drinker, because he was steady on his feet, his words didn't slur, and if it wasn't for the scent of it on his breath, and my great skills of perception, he could've fooled me. Well, not me, but clearly, the people he was working with.

How did this man still have a job? What was he, eighty? Either that or life had worn him the hell down.

"Yeah, alright." He decided, stepping out the door, though his eyes remained shifty.

"You doing okay, man?" I asked, leading him toward the shipping containers where the rest of the guys were waiting. I got a buzz from knowing he'd soon be caught in the spiders' web, and that these spiders were a lot less controlled than I thought they were.

Ethan

"Tyler's heading this way with Terry now," I said after reading the text message and shoving the phone in my pocket. My chest tightened while I fumbled around my pocket for my wallet and whistled at the lone worker out for a stroll, nodding them over to us.

"What are you doing?" Ryan mumbled.

"We don't want too many people seeing our faces and knowing who we are," Matt reminded me as Eric peeked around the corner, keeping an eye out for Terry and Tyler.

"Shh." I hissed at the person sauntering over to us, mouth opened, ready to say something. Pulling out one thousand dollars in hundred-dollar notes, I hurried him over. "Hey, do you have any empty containers here, by chance?"

The worker wiped the sweat away from his brows and studied me. "Yeah. Why? You looking to buy one? I can work something out for you..."

"No. No." I shook my head, silencing him. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in letting me search inside the empty ones, though." I'd been eyeing those containers for a while and I'd been magnetized to them. Call it discernment or intuition, I didn't know.

"You a cop?" The worker backed off and looked around.

"No. Why? You got something to hide?" I asked, scowling at him as my blood heated in suspicion.

He fidgeted a little and I pressed my lips together, holding myself back from jumping to conclusions and jumping him in the process.

"Nah. Listen. I don't have anything to do with anything dodgy that happens here, man." He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Anything dodgy?" I asked, while Ryan and Matt stepped forward.

"That happen around here a lot?" I stepped into him.

"Look man, I don't want no trouble." He started hurrying away.

"There won't be no trouble." I hissed at myself for scaring him off. "Not if you let us search the containers. There's even something in it for you. One thousand dollars. How often would you say someone drops that on your doorstep? Unless you get a lot more than this doing dodgy shit..."

"I told you. I ain't into all that." He eyed the money. "I don't know what you want me to do."

"What the fuck?" The voice I'd been waiting to hear cracked behind me. I spun around. "Listen, why don't we go talk somewhere else?" Terry Thornbread turned around as soon as he saw us and tried to escape, slamming into Tyler's body.

"Woah, woah. Where are you going, buddy?" Tyler placed two hands on Terry's shoulders and turned him back around to face us. At the sight of the stranger, his brows dropped. "Who's that?"

"Someone who might be able to help us out..." I sought confirmation through eye contact with the freaked out man.

Tyler hissed and shook his head. "You're a fucking wild card, you know that?"

"Listen, I don't know what's going on here. But I don't think I want to be a part of it." The worker began to back away.

"Go get help!" Terry shouted as Tyler punched him in the spine and he fell to his knees.

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