“Duane,” I murmured.
He studied me and grunted. Now that I’d heard his voice, there was no doubt it was him. I stepped closer, and his shifter scent, mingled with menthol cigarettes, pushed the memory to the forefront.
There was no doubt he was the one. I’d seen him around before, but he was always in the background, never speaking. Now I knew why. He was hiding.
If Stools helped hide the crime, he was the one who drove my dad and me off the road.
I stepped forward.
“Now you’re quiet?” I murmured. His eyebrows twitched. “Coward.”
His eyes thinned, and his lip curled up.
“Fuck off,” he hissed. I could only sneer. Yes, this was him. Without thinking, I lashed my hand across his face. His head jerked to the side. The clap rang through the shack, and the arguing behind me cut off.
Duane slowly turned back to meet my eyes.
“Is that all?” He raised an eyebrow. The smug look . . .
Not only my dad, but he’d placed Lucian in danger.
I slapped him again, this time using my nails. He grunted and jerked under the force. Blood bloomed across his cheek in thin lines.
There was no need for me to ask questions. Stools had answered everything. All I needed to know was that this man worked with Cierra to kill me. I didn’t give a fuck what kind of relationship they had, but he would know her location.
“Where’s Cierra?” I stretched my neck to the side, trying to warm up for the exertion. I knew how to throw a punch, and I’d use the underhanded skills I’d learned to their full extent.
His lip curled. He thrashed against the binds keeping him on the chair without saying a word.
“Joey, is he the one who drove you guys off the road?” Verity shoved into the space, pushing past Alex, who was trying to block her way. Her steps thumped on the wood. She rubbed her eyes, her hair a messy halo around her head.
Alex inhaled audibly, and I looked over at him, sniffing with his eyebrows furrowed.
I met Verity’s eyes and nodded tightly.
She ran at him, drew back her fist, and slammed it into his nose. A loud crunch echoed off the walls. She gasped and clasped her hand.
“Fuck, your face is hard,” she whimpered.
Alexveryobviously became tense. He gripped her shoulder and forcibly pulled her back.
“Get out of here,” he said harshly.
Duane was too busy whimpering with blood dripping down to his mouth. Good.
“You little bitch! You broke my nose,” Duane hissed. I socked him in the stomach. He groaned, his body hunching forward with a grunt.
“Yes, harder,” Verity crowed, breathless as she tried to slip past Alex.
“Why is a human outsider hanging around the Alpha’s house?” Alex snapped. I could tell he wasn’t going to focus until Verity was gone.
“We’ll talk later,” I said to Verity pointedly. She stopped struggling against Alex and huffed, yanking her arm out of his hand. With a quick jerk, she closed the robe again. She seemed put off by Alex. She strode to the door and left. Alex watched her, his head shaking.
Duane spat, and blood spattered on my shirt. I stiffened, turning back to him. A bit of his bloody saliva hit my cheek. Everything went still, and I didn’t move my gaze off him. He kept dropping his and returning it to mine.
“Where’s Cierra hiding?”
He only stared.
