Page 66 of Ethan's Sky
Xander isn’t a small man, but he’s more on the leaner muscular side of things. I know he works as a bouncer for their strip club and leads a double life as a super nerd. He’s the Mountain Heights tech guy. He and Hawk are two of the smartest, tech savvy men I’ve ever met in my life. They’re also two grown ass men who get almost as excited about a new video game as they do about pussy. It’s strange.
“Sky usually worked behind the bar.” Xander offers, like he didn’t just defuse a fucking bomb.
Xander shifts in his seat, eyes focused on his laptop as he addresses the room. “I’ve combed through our footage at the club for the last three months and I haven’t seen this guy until now. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there before. I can’t get into the footage that far back from this location. Those videos are all saved on the hard drive at the clubhouse.” Xander taps a few keys on his laptop, not making eye contact with anyone.
“AND! Do we know who he is?” Ghost roars having lost his patience.
Xander taps some keys, the TV on the wall comes to life and we’re all staring at camera feeds from inside The Bare Trap. “No. We don’t. Not yet.” Xander says, looking Ghost in the eyes when he adds, “But we will. One of the girls recognized him but didn’t know his name. But either he’s been there before or someone he’s working with has because he knew where the fucking cameras were. I can’t get a good angle from any of them on his face. But we can see his tattoos. It’s definitely the same guy.”
“Fuck!”Ghost snaps.
Xander’s right. Every picture the man’s face is tilted down or away. His baseball cap is worn down low over his eyes. The one thing we can all see is the spider tattoo on his neck.
“Bronson has had my men out looking for him in case he’s still in the area.” Eli grunts. “But you all should be on the lookout. There’s a very good possibility he’s headed here next.”
Eli directs his response to Gabe. Gabe’s scrubs his beard with both hands, growling, “fuuuuck.”
“If he isn’t already here.” Cash ominously offers.
“Declan, get Garrison on this. Send Wyatt and Liam on it.” Gabe orders.
“The only good thing we can say is he appears to be alone. Bronson didn’t see him meet up with anyone. He left alone.”
“Did we get a plate?”
“Yeah, but he left in an Uber. So, the registered owner won’t help us here.”
Jake fills in the blanks and Eli nods. “What would he want with Skyler?” Jake asks. “With George dead, he doesn’t need her as leverage anymore.”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Eli looks to Gabe, his brow raised in question, but it’s Mack who answers.
“Money.”
“The fuck?” Ghost slams his fist on the table as he stands up. Caleb grabs his shoulder, a subtle reminder to reign his shit in.
Mack leans against the wall looking haggard in his rumpled suit and hair. He doesn’t usually wear his work clothes to the clubhouse if he can avoid it. He must’ve flown in in the middle of the night from Baron’s Edge.
“George said he dropped off a shipment to Parisi’s men. A package we now know wasn’t his, since the owners of said shipment killed George for keeping it from them.” Mack lets out a long sigh, crossing his arms over his chest as he continues. “Either they think Skyler knows where the shipment went, and who George was working for, or…” his words hang in the air.
“He plans to use Skyler as a means to make back some of the money George cost him.” Caleb supplies.
“Using his daughter to pay off his debt.” Jake growls. “He plans to sell her or pimp her out. It’s the only plausible reason he would be looking for her.”
“What was in the shipment George stole?” I’m almost afraid to ask because I’m certain I know the answer.
“It would appear George handed over a trailer full of women and under ages girls to an unknown Samaritan, who then contacted the feds and told them where to find the trailer.” Mack informs the room. The agent on the case wondered if Russell West or Garrison Security had any idea who the Samaritan might be so she could thank them in person. Of course, we told her we knew nothing other than one of our drivers was shot and his trailer stolen. Since George was an independent contractor, and he wasn’t on a run for West Enterprises, we have no record of what he was hauling or where he was coming back from.”
“Damn. Is that enough to keep the feds out of your ass for now?” Ghost asks.
“I’m sure they’ll be around, but there’s nothing tying Russell or his companies to any foul play. For now, their main suspect as well as witness, is dead. George is the only one who knew anything.” Mack shrugs.
“Apparently there’s been several young girls who have gone missing from places like Baron’s Edge, Devil’s Canyon, Crestview…They all have similar stories. God girls who suddenly start slacking in school, skipping classes, coming home high, and sneaking out late at night to parties with people the parents didn’t recognize. Within a week to one month, the girls disappear. When they’re found…” Mack looks at me doesn’t finish his thought.
“They’re found beaten and raped. Track marks in their arms. Their bodies hardly recognizable by their loved one.” Hawk finishes, reading something from his laptop, then posting it up on the tv for all to see.
It’s the FBI files for four girls reported missing two weeks before George died. Their bodies were found three days ago.
“They were being primed by their dealer. He got them started with the intention of taking them.” Jameson hisses. “Got them hooked. Got them to trust the dealer to make them feel good. He knew when shit hit the fan, when the girls finally had enough of their parents bitchin’, they’d run to him, and he’d help them escape all their problems. All while the son of a bitch turned a profit.”
