Dad grumbles a bit more, but doesn’t elaborate. Suddenly he leans forward and stares intently at Pax. “Trafficking women?”
Ash responds. “We’ve seen cages and Pax heard something that sounded like whining, but we haven’t found any hard evidence.” He runs a hand through his blond hair. "Suppose we found evidence, then what? You’d have us go up to them and tell ‘em, 'that’s crossing the line, gentlemen. Stop it'?” He chuckles without any trace of humor.
“Fuck,” Dad says. “If this is true… How on earth are we going to keep Layne safe?”
Everyone at the table falls silent. That’s exactly the problem. The only solution seems to be to put a bullet through that Vanderberg’s head, but then what? There’ll always be someone else ready to take over. Will Layne be safe then? What do they want from her? There’re so many questions.
“Let’s give this some thought and figure out what to do next. Let’s reconvene in two days. Kyler, Brooks, check if you can get more info from Koslov.”
When we all nod, he bangs the gavel on the table, and we all stand. God, I could use a drink. I saunter over to the bar and ask West for a whiskey on the rocks.
I’m barely settled on a leather bench with my drink when Colt plops down beside me. “Hey, Boss.”
“Not your boss, kid,” I mumble and take a sip. The whiskey burns my throat and I welcome it.
“I know, but um… I was thinking.” Resting his elbows on his knees, he looks at me from under his inky eyelashes. He uses the tip of his tongue to circle the piercing on the left side of his lower lip.
I put my hand over the beanie on his head and give it a playful push. “Can you do that?” I ask, grinning.
“I can check if I can find something in their computer systems.” He shrugs, ignoring my comment.
I immediately sit up straight and look at him with a frown. “What d’you mean?”
“Well, you know I’m pretty good with computers—”
“Fuck, Colton. Being good with computers is not the same as being a hacker genius. I thought you were just a Google whiz. Which one are you?” I take him in from head to toe. The kid from the club. Paxton’s best friend. The boy with the piercings and the black clothes.
“Genius might be a stretch, but—”
“Seriously? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I smack the table and he winces.
“Does Pax know about this?” That bastard… “Okay, whatever. What can you do?” Now I lean forward too and hold his gaze.
“If I can access their computer, which I’m not sure I can because I don’t know how secure it is, I can check their emails and their files. I can search for evidence connecting Connor’s murder or potential trafficking.”
I whack him on the shoulder. “That would be fantastic. Do it, but make sure you don’t get caught.”
Colton shoots me a “what kind of idiot do you think I am?” look.
I grin and collapse against the back of the couch. If this pans out, we’ll have more than just hearsay. Maybe even a glimmer of hope.
Twenty-Three
Itossedandturnedall night. Sometime during the night, Kyler came to lie down next to me but left early, which confirmed my suspicions that something was wrong. Feeling like a zombie, I make Rebel breakfast and wave her off as she gets on Brooks’ motorcycle.
I grab my phone and call my best friend.
“What’s wrong?” The concern in Teagan’s voice is clearly audible.
I pace through Kyler’s apartment. Well, whatiswrong?
You screwed us over, Layne.
Paxton’s voice keeps playing in my head and I’m at a loss, but I can’t let it go either. In what way did I screw them over?
“Something’s amiss,” I whisper into the phone.
I can almost hear Teagan rolling her eyes. “I know, Layne. You’re locked up at Kyler’s apartment because there are men who want to snatch you and your daughter. Did you find out what Connor did?”
