Page 113 of Riordan's Revenge

But the warning we’d given him was what drew fire through my blood. “We told him that if he hurt anyone else, we’d come after him.”

Shade gave a dark, cruel smile that should’ve chilled me. It was like looking in a mirror. “Read the update.”

I returned my gaze to the text. “Roache entered GGG as a guest of another member. He gave a fake name and had fake ID. Our mistake that we allowed it.” I squinted at Shade. “What’s GGG?”

“Girls Girls Girls. A club in Newcastle. Read on.”

“He purchased time with two dancers and a private room, told them to put on a show then to fuck him. One of them noticed scabs on his dick. Club policy is no visible illness and protection is always used. The girls refused him. He got angry and struck out. One of the girls escaped. By the time security arrived, he was raping the second.”

My heart pounded. I quickly scanned the lines describing how Piers had escaped, and they’d only identified him days later using video footage.

When I was done, my hands shook. “He raped a woman. He broke the terms of our agreement.”

“He did.”

“We should’ve killed him.”

“Agreed. He’s back in Deadwater again in a couple of days, attending some big thing the mayor is putting on. If ye want him, he’s yours. We’ll get him the night before the event.”

“The police won’t take him?”

He smiled. “It hasn’t been reported. I told the club we’d handle it for good, whether by your hand or mine. The woman he attacked agreed to it and said to stick the knife where it hurts.”

My certainty flared, bloodlust rising. Piers was mine, and my first kill would be worthy.

Chapter 34

Riordan

My bike wheels bumped over the potholed street, and I parked outside the dilapidated Victorian crescent in North Town where my sister and I used to live. Wind cooled my hot head as I removed my helmet, and dead leaves skittered through the churchyard across the road. The place Bronson killed Cherry, though every trace had gone.

I scowled and faced the houses. The white terraced row used to be grand, positioned on a hill overlooking Deadwater River and the dockside warehouses below. Now, they were split into damp and mouldering flats.

I’d spent a decade sleeping on the sofa here and had never wanted to come back, but in the same breath, wouldn’t let my sister face this alone.

Who knew what had happened to her father this time. Whether Adam Walker was on the floor in a drunken coma, or had choked on his own vomit, he went missing often, but one of these times would turn out to be the last. I hoped this wasn’t it.

Two cars pulled up behind me, my sister and four skeleton crew exiting. Gen came to my side. She managed a thin smile, and together, we crossed the pavement and entered the street door.

In the narrow hall, the TV noise from the two downstairs flats battled each other. We climbed to Adam’s front door.

Gen knocked. “Dad?”

No answer came.

I found my keys but stopped on the way to using them. “He’s changed the locks.” A shiny new cylinder graced the grimy door. “The only reason would be to keep someone out. Me, obviously.”

Gen touched a long crack in the wood. “Arran said the door had been busted when he came around a while ago. Probably Dad coming home drunk and barging in. He’s had it fixed. That’s all.”

“Did he give you a new key?”

She sighed. “No.”

From behind, Lonnie said, “Need me to smash it?”

I found my skeleton key. “He’ll only fly into a rage if he’s in there. I’ll get us inside.”

Like at the mayor’s house, the door opened easily under the cheap lock replacement and revealed the dark living room. My sister flipped on the light, her shoulders up as if to protect herself from what was inside.

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