“We’ll start there,” Brantley informed him, getting to his feet. “We’d appreciate it if you kept us in the loop.”
Ronan swallowed and stood. “I’ll tell you what I can, but it won’t be much. My family … we don’t converse with outsiders about personal shit.”
Yeah, Reese had already figured that one out.
They left the building the same way they entered, with their armed escort walking them to the main doors.
“What did he say?” Slade asked as they descended the steps to the sidewalk.
“Could we detour through the park?” Becs asked, still holding Tesha’s leash.
Reese nodded, figuring it would give Tesha a chance to use the bathroom if she needed to.
“He basically told us we’re on our own,” Brantley answered Slade as they walked across the street to the park entrance.
Reese listened while Brantley relayed the high-level details of what little they’d learned from Ronan. The man hadn’t been a fount of information, that was for damn sure. However, he didn’t appear concerned about his sister’s whereabouts.
“Does he know where his sister is?”
“He’s not worried about his sister,” Brantley said.
Reese joined the conversation. “Which tells us he knows exactly where she is, and she’s safe.”
Ronan didn’t strike him as the sort to be left in the dark. As for whether the man was concerned about Decker, that was another thing entirely. There was a good chance the Kavanaghs had a hand in Decker’s disappearance, and that was the reason they were putting up walls.
“And Deck?” Atticus asked. “What’s that mean for him?”
“Either he’s with her, or he’s dead,” Brantley said bluntly.
Becs stopped walking, her eyes wide as she stared at them. “Dead?”
“Probably not,” Reese noted, although he wasn’t sure he believed it. If the Kavanaghs were linked to the Irish mob, and they found out Deck was a spy, then all bets were off.
“Hopefully, JJ’s got more information for us,” Brantley said, clearly realizing he needed to refrain from harsh assumptions while Becs was around. “I’ll call her.”
“Have her look into the club,” Reese instructed. “And Kieran O’Rourke.”
While Brantley called JJ, Reese followed Becs and Tesha across the grass, watching as his dog checked out all the new smells. There were joggers on the path and people playing with their dogs, everyone oblivious to the fact that a man was missing. And while Reese wanted to believe Decker had pulled one of his stunts and went off the grid on his own, he couldn’t help wondering whether he was in a cage somewhere, hoping someone was out there looking for him.
“Your friends … they do not be looking for you,” the man said in heavily accented English, staring down at Reese through the bars above him.
Reese didn’t bother responding.
“Two months. They should be here by now.”
Reese’s gaze slid to the concrete wall where he’d been tallying up the arrival of darkness. He wasn’t sure exactly how many days he’d been here, but his marks matched up with the man’s statement relatively well. Fifty-seven days and counting since Reese had been captured and thrown into this concrete hole.
“We’d like to meet them,” the man said, his smile hidden behind his dark beard. “We hope they arrive soon.”
“Reese? You okay, man?”
He dragged himself out of the memory and looked at Slade. “Yeah.”
“You think Ronan’s hidin’ somethin’? Like perhaps Decker’s dead body?”
Reese took a deep breath. “I think he’s hidin’ something, but I don’t think he knows where Deck is.”
“If he didn’t hire Deck, how’d their paths cross?”
