Page 7 of Abe

“Nothing was missing, Hex. He still had his wallet; he had his pack with him. I don’t know how the hell he got to the café, but he couldn’t have walked. Someone must have given him a ride. But if it were robbery, they would have taken all of that. He had more than five hundred in cash in his wallet.”

“What the fuck is going on?” frowned Eric. “Can we see him?”

“Two people at a time. Let Razor and Bella go in first. Then, two of you can speak with him.”

Hex and Luke followed Bella and Razor toward the back. Entering the room, they watched as Cruz and Doc held down Abe’s arms.

“What’s he doing?” asked Razor.

“The asshole keeps saying ‘let me die,’” said Doc. Razor stormed to his side, gripping his son’s hand.

“Stop it! Stop it right now!” Abe looked up at the familiar voice, the tears swimming in his eyes. He shook his head, then gripped his father’s hand.

“It’s my fault. She’s dead because it’s my fault,” he said.

“Who is dead, Abe? Who, son?” asked Bella.

“Lyra. I was supposed to save her. I was too late. I was too late,” he cried. Razor gripped his son’s shoulders, holding him against him as he wept for the woman that he believed he was destined to save.

“See if we can get comms to find anything on a woman named Lyra,” said Hex. Cruz nodded, heading back out to the waiting area.

“Razor, brother, tell us what you can,” said Hex. Gabi stood at the door, frowning at the men.

“Didn’t I say two at a time?” she frowned.

“We’re sorry, Gabi, but this is important.” She rolled her eyes, walking away from them. “Tell us, Abe.”

“We’d been dating three years,” he said.

“Three years,” whispered Bella. “Three years, and you didn’t tell us?”

“Babe.” Razor gave a slight head shake.

“No, she’s right. I should have told you. I should have called all of you. Something was wrong. Something was strange. We were serious about one another. I was planning to ask her to come home with me for Christmas. This past summer, she disappeared. We’d spent the night together, and she left very early in the morning, as always.

“I thought she was seeing someone else, and we had a little spat, nothing serious. But when I tried calling her later in the day, she didn’t answer.”

“Did she give a reason for always leaving early?” asked Razor.

“Her uncle. Jessup…”

“Wolford,” finished Hiro, staring at the men in the room. “Jessup Wolford. His niece is Lyra Wolford.”

“Was. Was Lyra Wolford,” sniffed Abe. Hiro looked at everyone, a look that said he knew far more than Abe did.

“Hiro? What’s up, brother?” asked Hex.

“I think she’s still alive,” he said, staring at Abe.

Abe tried to sit up, but the others pushed him back to the bed. He shook his head, screaming at Hiro.

“You’re lying! I saw it! I saw the whole fucking house blow up! All of it! I’ve been suffering with fucking nightmares for months, hearing voices in my sleep, going fucking insane. Someone would have told me if she was alive.”

“Maybe they couldn’t,” said Hiro. “Maybe they had to keep it hidden. Look, Abe, I know this is hard for you, but she was the primary witness in a federal case that would have not only brought down her uncle, but potentially some very high-profile politicians, business owners, even cops.”

“I saw the fucking place blow up.”

“But did you see her body?” asked Hiro quietly. “Did you see her afterwards?”

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