Page 49 of Stabby Little

“I’m not sure.”

"And he disappeared while walking to your house?"

"Yes."

I take another sip of beer. "That's too coincidental to ignore. We didn't pursue this connection last time because the FBI's Manhattan field office was still researching Nolan's disappearance, and we figured they'd inform us if they found anything. They clearly fucking didn't. We must go through my leads one more time to see what we missed."

"The FBI concluded that Nolan ran away from home."

"And he didn't?"

"He had a great home life. His parents loved him and they were heartbroken when he vanished. I don't believe he ran away."

Jagger scoots close to me. "Do you think that their disappearances have anything to do with the rumors?"

I turn to Jagger. "What rumors?"

"You heard the rumors about how the Diavolos' warehouse exploded in Yonkers."

I shake my head. "No."

"There were cages." Jagger's voice is quiet. "Human trafficking. Evidence of captives living in the basement."

My blood turns to ice. "How many cages?"

"Hundreds. A conspiracy blog claimed a man snuck into the smoldering building after the police taped it off and saw everything."

"Did he take pictures?"

"He claimed five men in suits confiscated his camera and threatened him if he posted the pictures online."

"How did the blog receive the story?"

"It was an anonymous submission. The man wrote about it but didn't use his own name because he feared for his life."

My head spins. I never listen to rumors concerning my bosses. Deadly tales swirl around the Diavolos throughout the underworld, but the less I know, the better.

"Those are the rumors." Jagger leans back in his seat. "I don't know if they're true, but I sure as fuck won't ask Michael for verification."

"Michael told me one of his employees dropped a cigarette." I clench my fists. "Was that a lie?"

"I believe so." Jagger narrows his eyes. "You know Michael doesn't allow smoking. He's killed men for smoking cigarettes on the job because it puts him at risk for lung cancer."

"You really think the warehouse explosion relates to Ollie's disappearance?"

"We have an obligation to look into it."

Jagger and I make a pact to get to the bottom of this. His words niggle in the back of my mind.

The cages—paired with Michael's reaction to my feelings about Ollie's disappearance—are suspicious. Could they be related? Is this why Michael always asks me to forget Ollie?

I push it down. There's no fucking way my boss is connected to Ollie. I refuse to believe it.

But I could be wrong.

16

OLLIE

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