Page 88 of Always Been Mine

No answer.

Gabe’s blood boiled through his veins. “Were you involved in the kidnapping of the redhead?”

This time the man turned his head to look at Gabe. “No. Not me. I wasn’t involved.”

“But you know who was involved?”

“No.”

“What’s your name?”

“Johnny.”

Bullshit that was his name, but that would do for now.

They reached the top of the stairs where there were two rooms.

He yanked Johnny close to him and muttered, “Which room?”

“The one on the right.”

“Who else lives here?”

“No one. Fuego is not here anymore. I’m not Fuego.”

Gabe heard rumors that the gang was laying low ever since the hit on the senator’s uncle. He nudged the guy forward and instructed him to open the door on the left. It revealed a large bathroom, except it wasn’t. It was covered intiles with a raised structure in the middle that was twice the size of a regular bath tub. Gabe didn’t have any doubt what this place was used for—bloody executions.

“Did Volkov use this room?”

“Yes. This whole space was his.” Johnny was groaning in pain.

Jesus Christ.Was Ryker a sadist?

“Why did you run from me?” Gabe asked as he pushed the man into the other room. There was a bed and other furniture. The dresser had its drawers open and clothes strewn all over. The desk drawers were empty, the contents scattered on the floor as well. Someone had been looking for something.

“I recognized your picture.”

“Volkov had pictures of me?”

Johnny nodded and pointed to a bare wall. “He had a few pinned on the wall, but mostly they were of a redhead.”

Gabe’s gut roiled in distaste at the thought of Ryker stalking Beatrice. “If you’re not Fuego, what were you doing with Ryker?”

“Ryker? I do not know—”

Gabe shook his head. “Volkov.”

“I ran errands for him. He didn’t like to be outside much, especially during the daytime.”

He noticed that Johnny was starting to look pale. Might as well patch him up before he keeled over. Gabe instructed him to sit on the chair and took out a roll of duct tape. The innocuous household item had many uses, like securing a captive and temporarily fixing a bleeding injury. He checked the gunshot wound and realized the bullet went through.

“You’ll live,” Gabe said curtly after wrapping several layers of tape over the bleeder. He checked the man for the Fuego tattoo and found none, so he must have been telling the truth. “Who ransacked this room?”

“The Fuego big boss—Ventura and another guy.”

Gabe knew how Ventura looked from the pictures the Iron Skulls provided. “Describe Ventura’s companion.”

“Listen,hermano, I told you too much already.” With the bleeding stemmed, Johnny was thinking coherently again and not running his mouth. “I’m sure they’re having this place watched.”

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