Page 25 of Secret Twins for the Alien Dad

“Not to me.” She’s shifting in her sequins, and her eyes won’t make contact with mine. She’s lying, but something tells me to hold, at least for now. But then something occurs to me.

“You thought I was somebody when I came in. Who was it?” She lowers her brows as if she’s not sure if she’ll tell the truth this time or not.

“Her ex, Jason.” From under some rubbish, she produces a picture of the two of them together. “He’s looking for her, too.” She's too dramatic, too obvious, but a buzzer sounds from her comm before I can get to the bottom of it.

“My shift’s about to start,” she says with a pout. “Brev won't like it if I’m late.” With that, she fastens a feathered headdress to her crown and makes for the door.

“Tell me where to find Jason.” This time I've positioned myself between her and the exit.

“Security desk 12,” she says in a huff, shoving me out of the way. “I said Ican’tbe late.”

In the weeks I’ve been searching, my friends have taken a few jobs, but they return to the casino after each one to check in with me. Each time, I send them away again, refusing to leave without Myra.

Today, however, I’m glad they’re here. I find Jason, then send Skalt a message, asking for backup. While I wait for Skalt to arrive, I sit off to the side out of sight, glowering at Jason. I’ve been watching him for twenty minutes, rage building inside me.

What if he’s who she saw in the elevator? It's all starting to add up, and I finally feel like I’m getting a hold of things. Skalt agrees to come over to see if we can squeeze out some answers.

“Brother,” he says when he arrives, fists clenched and ready.

“Brother,” I reply, popping my neck and flexing my muscles. “Let’s go.”

Jason rounds the corner where I've been stalking him, right into my trap. Before he knows what hit him, we’ve got him tied, bagged, and in the broom closet for questioning.

“Where is she, Jason?” As soon as the bag pops off his head, terror fills Jason’s beady eyes. Skalt and I are no joke on our own, I see his pupils dilate at the pair of us side by side.

“I swear! I don’t know anything!”

“You went to her stack today, I know you did. What did you do with her?” Skalt stands cracking his knuckles, growling like a loose cannon.

“I…I-!”

“Out with it!” I scream into his face, producing an almost primal roar that has his mug covered with sweat.

“I didn't hurt her, I didn't mean to, anyway.”

“Details, scum. What happened?” Skalt grabs Jason by the collar, pulling tighter until he bursts.

“It was me!” he screams. “It was me who told Brev! About her being in the rooms that night! I didn’t know about the comm. I swear! I didn’t mean to get her intothatkind of trouble.”

“Then what the hell kind of stunt were you trying to pull?”

“I just wanted to teach her a lesson! For screwing around like some common whore!”

My hand has a mind of its own. A mind that will beat the shit out of anyone who talks like that about my girl. Skalt is on me in a second. Good thing, too, as there’s not much of him left to talk to anyway.

We leave Jason in the broom closet to think about what he’s done. His bloodied face should keep his mouth shut for a day or two while I try to piece together where Myra would’ve gone to hide out from Brev.

It seems like everywhere I look is just another loose end. Myra didn’t vanish. She has tobesomewhere. The lights and noise from the casino floor only aggravate my frustration, so Skalt and I head outside for a breath. As soon as Glimner’s muggy air hits my lungs, my comm buzzes. It's Fin and Danton.

“Tell me you’ve got news.”

“So there is something. There’s a buzz over at Twin Stars that the boss's kid is in some kind of trouble with Brev. There’s a room-comm everyone is looking for. I guess it has some pictures on it. Then this morning, a comm turned up destroyed near the train tracks just outside of Glimner City.”

“What’s that got to do with Myra?”

“It was hers. She hopped a train headed west and threw it out the window.”

“Was there anything on it? Anything that could tell us where to find her?”

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