Page 85 of Byte

“You got lucky,” my dad said.

“I know,” I admitted. “But I didn’t have much time, and it was the only plan I could think of. I knew Ranger would have his rifle and would be able to take him out.

“I get it,” he said. “I don’t like it, but I get it.”

“Did he say anything to you?” Byte asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing of significance. He told me not to do anything stupid, tied my hands behind my back, and drove me here. Then, he demanded they send Gabby outside. That was it.”

“So we still don’t know who he is or what he wanted,” Byte said.

“Nope, and we can’t ask him,” I said, and gestured to the mess that was once Chad. Ranger had taken him out with a shot to the head and the end result was the most disgusting thing I’d ever seen.

“Do we really care?” Ranger asked.

“No, I suppose we don’t,” Byte said. “Gabby’s safe, and that’s all that matters.”

One of the police officers approached with a friendly smile. “Hey, Phoenix,” he said and held out his hand. “Are your guys ready to give statements?”

“Sure,” my dad said and turned to me. “Tell them everything.”

26

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It took forever for the cops to finish processing the scene. I was anxious to get back to the clubhouse to tell Gabby everything, but I also wanted to stay to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

The detective who seemed to know Phoenix came over to where we were gathered on the porch. “You said this guy’s name was Chad Higgins, right?”

“That’s the name he gave Gabby,” Phoenix said. “Why?”

The detective opened the wallet he was holding and pulled out multiple IDs. “Looks like ‘Chad’ may have been involved in identity theft. It might take a bit for us to verify his true identity. Is there anything else you can tell me that might help?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Phoenix said.

We’d already told them about his association with Lauren and Lawrence. I knew one of the IDs had my name and address on it, but since I wasn’t supposed to know that and hadn’t found out legally, I kept that information to myself. I also didn’t want them looking into my information while they were trying to identify Chad. “Can we take a look at those IDs to see if we recognize any of the names?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” he said and handed over the small stack of licenses. I slowly went through them and waited until the detective looked away to slip the one with my name and address on it into my shirt sleeve. When he turned back to me, I handed the IDs back to him. “Sorry, I don’t recognize any of those names.”

“Thanks for looking,” he said. “We’ll get it figured out.”

I knew they would, and it really chapped my ass that I hadn’t been able to. I silently seethed about that until they finally left.

“I saw that,” Phoenix said knowingly.

“I didn’t care if you did,” I said. “I was only worried about the detective.”

Phoenix laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. “Do you need any help with that?” he asked and gestured to the large blood stain marring my otherwise clean driveway.

“Nah, I have a pressure washer.”

“Where is it?” Ranger asked. “It’s my mess to clean up.”

“I’ll take care of it,” I said.

Ranger shook his head. “I’m getting up there in age. I might not have many more opportunities like this.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, while Phoenix and Shaker laughed.

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