We’d been called to this neighborhood often enough that I started piecing together that something was going on. And I was sure Brutus out there had something to do with it.
As soon as the guy let Teddy go the teen ran off down the street, disappearing into the night. I left the safety of the alley and caught the door to the apartments right before it shut. I watched the elevator until it stopped on the fourth floor, then booked it up the stairs. Too late. No one was in the hallway when I managed to get to the top.
Panting in the hallway, I swore under my breath as one of the doors down the hall opened and out came Brutus. He’d dropped whatever Teddy had given him in his apartment and was on his way back out. I stopped by a door and pulled out my keys, pretending to open the door as he strode by.
I had a choice to make and I needed to decide fast. Follow the scary looking guy, or break into his apartment? Eyeing the door, I decided on the former. I could always come back to the apartment later.
Hot footing it down the stairs, I peeked around the corner, waiting for the goon to go out the front door. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and stepped outside, following him down the sidewalk. I had no idea where he was going to lead me, but I couldn’t let this go. He could lead me to Ryan.
This group had lured my brother away and I was determined to get him back. No matter what it took. No matter who stood in the way. Ryan was the only family I had left.
I was a paramedic. I helped save lives. The thought of doing what it might take to find Ryan again made my blood run cold, but I couldn’t allow what happened to my brother and these other kids to keep happening to more innocents. If I could just find him again, I was sure I could convince him to come home. It didn’t matter that I’d failed the first time.
Going to the police wasn’t an option. They’d closed Ryan’s case so quickly my head had nearly spun. A kid from the wrong side of town, out late at night, doing who knew what? They didn’t have to say it out loud. They thought he was a piece of garbage and was doing something illegal. Maybe he was. Something was making him choose this group over coming home to me.
Either way the cops really didn’t care. There just wasn’t anything to go on. No leads. No one in this neighborhood would even think about speaking to them. Even if they did manage to find him, he was choosing to stay where he was. So what could they do?
And when I did manage to find out what was going on? Who these guys were and why Ryan was so loyal to them now? I wasn’t sure I’d want to give the people responsible to the cops. They could end up incriminating my baby brother.
Taking a deep gulp of air and steeling my nerves, I hurried alone into the dark so I could follow a man I suspected of murder. Or of working for a murderer. I wasn’t sure yet. Even though both Ryan and Teddy were alive, there’d been plenty of bodies that had appeared in this area. Someone was responsible for them. And I was going to find out who.
CHAPTER 4
Rue
“Where the hell did he go?” I muttered, turning in a full circle. I’d followed him for blocks and the guy vanished. How did a man that size disappear without a trace?
A yelp spilled from my lips when someone grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and my feet left the concrete.
“What’re you following me for, kid?” the guy snarled in my face. His eyes narrowed as soon as he got a good look at me under the streetlight.
He’d stepped into the shadow of the building, clearly having made my tail. I thought I’d done better than that. “I’m not,” I told him. “I’m just heading home.”
“Pretty thing like you shouldn’t be walking home this late,” he said, a sneer on his face as he realized I was a woman, not a child. Considering how big he was it wasn’t strange that he automatically thought I was a kid, even though I wasn’t a tinywoman. What was my five-nine height when this guy had to be at least six-four? Though from where I was dangling he seemed a lot taller.
“I can take care of myself,” I told him. “But thank you. Could you put me down?”
“Sure. Once you tell me why you were following me.”
“Hey, Rhino. You’re late.”
We both glanced over as another man came out of another building.
Rhino? I mean, the name fit. The guy was kind of built like the beast he was named after.
“I’ll be up in a minute,” Rhino called out.
Then he gagged as my punch landed squarely against his windpipe. It had the desired effect and he dropped me back to my feet. Before I could get more than a couple steps I was jerked to a stop by my jacket. He’d grabbed it again.
“Stupid little bitch,” he wheezed.
“Thought I was pretty?” I taunted over my shoulder, batting my lashes at him. I slipped my arms out of my jacket and started to run.
Unfortunately, I’d forgotten about the second guy. Slamming into him knocked the breath out of me as I stumbled back a couple steps. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my switch blade, angling my body so I could watch both men as they stalked toward me while I backed up. “Stay away from me.”
This wasn’t good. I was only expecting to follow Teddy and see where he went. I’d been hoping that maybe he’d lead me to Ryan. Not whatever this was. I wasn’t supposed to be facing two guys, one named Rhino, in the dimly lit street by myself. Not until I was prepared anyway. It was going to take more than a knife to take these two on.
“Come here, bitch,” Rhino said, his eyes flashing with a manic sort of pleasure. “I’ll show you why it’s a bad idea to be following men you don’t know.”
