Page 44 of Cerberus

“How did it go, Ross?”

I let out a deep breath. “It’s fine, Dad. Everything is fine.”

“Good,” he replied simply, then the sonofabitch hung up on me.

Before I could throw something, there was a knock at the door. I walked over, then swung the door open without bothering to look through the peephole. Saxton, Stone, and Fox were all standing in the hallway.

“Did you guys all drive over together?” I asked as I stepped back and let them inside my condo.

“Nah, we all met up waiting for the elevator downstairs,” Fox answered.

After shutting the door, manners took over. “You guys want anything to drink?”

“Nah, we don’t have much time,” Stone answered.

“Alright,” I said. “Then let’s sit down.”

As soon as we were all seated, Stone got right down to business. “When all that shit went down between Rylee and Laney, I had my PI, Chicago, dig up some more stuff on Laney. I assumed she wasn’t sophisticated enough to cover her tracks as well as August.”

“Did he find anything?” I asked.

“There’s absolutely no texts or calls between August or Laney on their phones,” he answered.

“None?” Fox asked, surprised.

“None,” Stone repeated. “There aren’t any DMs on her social pages, either.”

“And how could you know that?” Saxton asked, his expression questioning.

“Let’s just say that Chicago is very good,” Stone replied dryly.

“Okay, so that has to mean they’re using burner phones to plan their shit, or talking in person,” I surmised. “That’s going to make getting proof a little harder.”

“When it’s all said and done, it’s all going to fall back on Laney, and the stupid girl doesn’t even know it,” Fox remarked.

Saxton looked over at Stone. “Does Rylee still have keys to her old apartment?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered. “I can ask.”

“Thinking of breaking and entering, Voss,” I asked.

The fucker just grinned. “It’s not breaking and entering if you have the key, right?”

“Rylee left in such a hurry, she could always argue that she went back because she forgot something,” Fox posed.

“Plus, she knows Laney’s class schedule,” I pointed out. “She’ll know when Laney won’t be home.”

“And if we happen to stumble upon a drawer full of burner phones, well...” Saxton smirked.

“I’ll ask Rylee,” Stone said. “We can sell the forgot something story to Alexander if it gets back to him. That proof thing should go both ways. Laney would have to prove that Rylee wasn’t there because she forgot something.”

Fox looked over at me. “Any progress with Sutton?”

“Not yet. I’m…I need to calm down before I approach her,” I admitted.

“Says the guy who’s supposed the have the patience of a saint,” Stone joked.

“There’s a reason most Saints weren’t married, Stone,” I remarked dryly. “It’s because everyone knows nothing tries a man like a woman.”

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