Page 3 of Promise of Hellfire

I leaned back against the wall. “Your father is involved. And so is the chief of police.”

“Fuck,” Ethan muttered as he stood up.

I placed my glass on the countertop. “We need to find out more information.”

Ethan balled his fists in his lap. “What’s the plan?”

“I don’t know, honestly. Usually, Hunter or Dominic come up with something. I guess I need to run everything by Oliver first.” I shook my head, and weariness washed over me. “Hunter, I need you to sober up so you can call Scott. We need information on Chief Palmer ASAP. I need some time to myself.”

I pulled a bottle of beer out of the refrigerator and wandered away, not bothering to glance over my shoulder.

Chapter two

Rayne

OnceIwasonthe roof, I opened my drink and took my phone out of my jacket, dialing Oliver’s number and letting the December wind nip at the exposed skin of my face.

“Do you know what time it is?” he said on the other end of the line.

“It’s not that late,” I huffed, frustration seeping into my voice. “How in the fuck do you do this every day? My life has been nothing but chaos since November, and somehow,” I took a quick pull of the beer, “it just got more complicated. Again. Remember when I wanted to be a teacher? Help kids who need someone to believe in them? Well, that feels like a lifetime ago.”

Oliver sighed and his voice came out softly when he spoke. “Bad day today, firebug?”

“You could say that. Let’s start small. I found out this afternoon that Hunter’s father is Ayers–”

“Wait,” Oliver started to speak, shock coloring his tone.

“Just listen. This will go a lot faster without interruptions,” I interjected, taking another pull off the beer in my hand. “He already spoke to his mom and from the state he was in when he stumbled into the apartment earlier, it’s been confirmed.”

“This is your idea of starting small?” Oliver chuckled, and I walked over to the edge of the roof.

“Yeah, because then I found out where Lexi is. Did you know the Ruby Rose is auctioning women off?” I let out a humorless laugh. “The icing on the cake is Ayers and Ethan’s dad are both involved. Oh, and the police chief. Let’s not forget him. How am I supposed to even deal with this mess, Olly?”

“One step at a time. I wouldn’t have left you in charge if you couldn't handle it. What do you think you need to do?”

“Other than drinking and hiding in my room? Figure out a way to rescue Lexi before the next auction. I already have Hunter working on digging up information on the police chief. Well, whenever he sobers up.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Nia tonight and get her to sign off on letting me out of here. There’s nothing I’m doing at the hospital that I can’t do at home,” Oliver mumbled.

I looked over the twinkling lights of the city blankly. “Are you sure? Weren’t you just shot?” I asked.

He laughed at me and then wheezed. “It’s not so bad and I’ve lived through worse. It’s been about a week. I’m sure my release will come with some restrictions, but the bullet didn’t hit anything important.”

I peeled the edge of the label from the half-empty bottle and frowned. “Four days doesn’t equal a week.”

“It’s close enough, and this isn’t up for discussion. I’ll talk to you in the morning. I need some time to think.”

Dominic stepped out of the shadows and stood beside me. “I’ll take it the conversation went well?”

I twisted my lips into a wry smile. “Something like that.”

“Did he have any ideas on how to handle all this?”

“Nothing that he told me.” I walked from the edge and planted myself in a chair. “Who do you know that is involved with the operations of the Ruby Rose? A bouncer or one of the dancers? Hell, even a bartender.”

“I don’t know anyone personally. Sleazy clubs have never really been my scene,” he mused aloud. “I’ll see if Joey or Tony know more in the morning.”

I looked up at the night sky and took a deep breath. “I think you’re right. We need to find someone we can make talk. We have to find out when this next auction is and rescue Lexi before then.”

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