Page 14 of Steel

Havoc’s search of Helix’s old room confirmed what Tempe was sent here for. He found a flash drive hidden in the wall, and I don’t like that Helix has been dead for almost a year, and I still haven’t uncovered all his lies.

Ghost nods, walking away with the drive in hand.

“We’ve got another problem,” Havoc says. “Her mom’s gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“No body.”

I shake my head. “You think they took her hostage.”

“Not likely. If the puddle in the kitchen is any indication, Tempe’s right; there’s no way someone can survive that amount of blood loss.”

“So they took a body?”

“Looks like it.”

I drag my hair off my forehead; not sure what to make of that. One less body is a good thing. But it also means they had a reason to hide it.

“And her brother?” I ask.

“Found him in the laundry hamper like she said. Soul’s trying to talk to him, but he’s just a little kid, so he’s not saying much.”

Because he’s probably traumatized.

At least he’s alive.

As much as everything about this pisses me off, nothing gets under my skin like the fact that these assholes used some little kid to manipulate the situation.

“What do you want us to do with him?”

I know my answer before I say it, and I hate that it’s my only option, but I don’t have any other choice when it’s two in the morning and the kid’s not old enough to fend for himself.

“You have the truck?”

“Yeah.”

“Bring him here.”

“You got it. Anything else?”

I tip my head back and take a deep breath.

Not my house.

Not my mess.

Not my problem.

Except it is. Tempe has ties to the Twisted Kings, whether she’s involved or not. We can’t leave traces of what happened tonight in her house.

“Have the prospects hang back and bleach the floor. I want it fucking sterile. The last thing we need is the cops coming around and blaming the club for the mess. They’ve been itching for a reason to get to us. We don’t need to hand them an excuse.”

“You got it, Prez.”

I end the call as a bad feeling settles in my gut. The same one I got right before I was almost blown up last year. Something nasty is on the horizon.

It figures.

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