Rose barely bats an eye, but I instantly go on alert. Was Vlad or his men talking about her? “I am,” she says with a smile. “Oh, don’t tell me we’ve met before and I’ve forgotten.”
“No,” Isla says, a wide grin spreading across her face. She nods at Viper and Shadow. “We met these two in a store a couple of days ago when we were getting some last-minute supplies for some homework we had to do.”
“Shit, I remember you now,” Viper says, a small laugh coming into his voice. “You two were the smartasses that were telling that lady that your sister beats you like a pinata.”
“And they told us that our sister wasn’t allowed to meet you in case you gave the kids around here bad ideas,” Isla finishes, her smile widening to a grin.
Rose beams. “Well, it’s nice to know my reputation precedes me.”
“So you know her sister?” I ask, trying to get this back on track. We don’t have time to waste. Still, I can see it’s relaxed both kids a bit. Maybe we can get more information out of them. We don’t have time to waste.
“Not know her, but we’ve met her that one time,” Shadow says seriously, nodding. “She was dressed in scrubs. Seemed a bit worn out and a little jumpy, but I chalked it up to her working all day in a high-stress job and wanting to get home.” Viper nods his agreement.
“Oh, and she ran into a couple of other guys the other night,” Isla adds. “Ahhh, Icy? No, that’s not it.”
“Frost?” I ask, trying to connect the dots.
“That’s it,” she says with a nod. “Vlad’s men dropped her off three blocks from home and she had to walk back last night. She almost got mugged, but your guys showed up and scared him away. He had another guy with him.”
“Bowie,” Viper supplies.
“Yeah, him,” Isla says with a quick nod.
Fuck, this was only last night? This entire time, we’ve had someone who’s known about Hulk and we’ve missed our chance to find him. Twice.
“That’s when she found out his name,” Sawyer interjects. “This Hulk guy. She said that when she helped him last night, she found it out. But she said he wasn’t talking in full sentences and that when he said his name, all he said was Devil’s Soldiers. Wanted him for information or something like that. He didn’t say he was part of your MC. Just that Vlad wanted information, so Avery wasn’t sure if that meant you were working with Vlad and the two of them were sent there to make sure she didn’t talk, or just to threaten her if she tried to run with us or something.”
I can see why she would think that. I can’t hold it against her, but damn it, if she had just spoken up last night, we would have a direction. Something to get him back faster.
“Where is your sister now?” Rose asks gently.
They share a quick look. “She’s still at the apartment. She’s pretty sure that Vlad and his men are watching her and us. So she did some talking with a neighbor and had them sneak us out and get us here. We did our best to stay low in the backseat, so no one saw us, and he said that no one followed us, but she’s alone,” Isla whispers, fear filling her face and making her voice thick with emotion.
“No one was seen watching or approaching the gates or within eye view of the club,” Shadow tells me. Still, there is a good chance that they might be sitting down just out of sight.
“We’ll keep your sister safe,” I promise.
“They can’t know that you know,” Isla rushes out worriedly. “If they do, they’ll kill her for sure.”
“Because she knows where they are?” Viper asks, and I can already see the wheels in his head turning.
“That and she’s been working to keep their soldiers going if they get hurt,” Sawyer explains grimly. “She never tells us what they say, but she says they say things, and that Vlad fucker will talk to her sometimes. She doesn’t like him at all.”
“Neither do we,” Shadow says with a dry smile.
“Do you think she could tell us how to get where they’re holding Hulk?” I ask.
They exchange another glance and I already know I’m not going to like the answer. “They always blindfold her, and they did the same with us,” Isla says sadly. Shit. “And they always take her a different way. She was trying to keep the directions in her mind so that she could maybe use them if she had to go to the cops or something. The only thing she told us before sending us here was to tell you that the ride always takes half an hour, and the last ten minutes are always the same. Straight for four minutes of it, and then a sharp left for three minutes, a sharp right for two minutes, straight for the last minute before they stop, and she’s pulled out. When they pull her out, she’s led through a door, up a set of stairs, and then they take the blindfold off. She’s in a dark foyer, and they take her down a side hall where they keep the supplies. Then they take her down another long hallway that’s off that one, and at the end is a room with a steel door that you need a keycode to get into. It’s always guarded too. Oh, and there are a lot of doors along each side of the hallway leading down.”
“Sounds like soldiers’ quarters to me,” Shadow muses.
It’s not a lot to go on, but it’s enough. “We need to get the sister here, or get to her, and get as much information as we can from her. We might not have a lot of time.”
“But Avery?—”
“I promise your sister will be safe,” I interrupt her, my voice sincere but firm. “Your sister is the only connection we have to getting our brother back and I take that very seriously. She’s risking her life, and yours by extension, to make sure you’re safe, and to give us that information. I will make sure that she’s not doing that in vain, okay?”
They look at each other, not seeming overly confident in my promise, but then they nod.
