Page 101 of Falcon's Prey

“No.”

“I’ll throw it in the river.” He shrugged it off.

We carried Mattias back to the car, knowing we still had a few hours before he bled out.

While Gideon waited for me, I brought bleach and poured it all over the floor, washing away any of Mattias’s DNA. Once that was done, I got in the car, and we drove to the seediest part of town and dropped Mattias off in the first empty space we found. As I drove away, Gideon called 9-1-1 from his burner phone.

Dawn was beginning to break by the time I was ready to drive back home. I still had a few things to get before I went back to Ember.

* * *

The coffee shopwas busy this time of the morning. I found the doctor shuffled in the same booth Ember had been when she was here.

“Did you get what I asked for?”

The doctor jumped at my voice. He sat a little straighter upon seeing me.

“Can I speak to her?” He held on to a black bag

“No, but only because it’s not safe. I assume you know about the predicament she’s in?”

The doctor nodded. “I’ve been with the Remingtons since Michael was a teenager. I saw to him, his parents, and when Silas came along, him briefly.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

“He was an angry boy. I suggested therapy, which Mr. Remington did, but there was nothing wrong. It was as if Silas tried to be the opposite of what I suggested was wrong with him.”

I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t ask the question that was on the tip of my tongue.

“I’ll get her out of this alive,” I assured him since I could see he was fond of her.

Ember had a way of drawing you in, and once you were in, you didn’t want to leave.

The doctor handed me the bag. He looked like he wanted to say more, so I waited him out, staring him down.

“Be careful. Silas was enraged when he heard that you took Ember. He wants you dead.”

“How do you know?”

“Michael stays in her room. He misses her, and that’s where his at-home care is set up. On the day of the parade, he came to the penthouse to work out his anger on Michael.”

Processing the words, I nodded to the doctor and said goodbye. Before I left, I ordered Ember some food. When I got to the car, Gideon was bitching I didn’t get him anything, so we had to make another detour.

By the time I got back to the house, I was tired and my chest on fire.

“Whose house is this anyway?” he asked.

“An acquaintance I do business for. He lives in San Francisco.”

The guy was a lawyer with some shady dealings. He usually contacted Pam or me to get the information he couldn’t always get on his own. Not without arousing suspicion. When we came over here, I told him I wouldn’t be around, and he offered his place. I knew he would cash in on this favor when it was convenient for him.

The house was quiet when we walked in. Usually, Pam was up earlier and Ember was probably in the room sulking. I went to the kitchen and grabbed two garbage bags—one for me and the other for Gideon.

“What the hell happened to you?” Gideon mocked as we walked into the living room where Pam was seated watching television.

Her nose was busted, and I knew exactly who did that.

“Next time she touches me, I’ll kill her,” she spat.

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