Chapter 20 #4
Jonah and Vinny had been driving the ATVs, with Vinny’s sidekick sitting with him.
Neither of the ATVs was the one that she and Girard had borrowed.
Hallie hoped that meant that Jonah’s men were still looking for Girard, that he’d managed to evade them completely.
As they got out of the vehicles, a group of men came out of the back of the house.
A couple of them took charge of the ATVs, wheeling them away.
The rest stayed, standing in a semi-circle, all their eyes and attention on Jonah.
Hallie recognised a couple of the men from her and Girard’s encounter in the forest, and saw Knot and No-knot in the group.
She didn’t see Shorty, the tall man who’d accidentally shot and killed another one of Jonah’s thugs.
A chill went through her as she wondered just what kind of punishment Jonah would have decided was appropriate for the death.
It had been an accident, but it had also been born from Shorty’s stupid handling of his gun.
As her eyes travelled over the group, her heart sank.
There were more men here than she’d expected.
She and Girard had encountered a half dozen in the forest, including Vinny and his perhaps brother.
Then she’d seen Knot and No-knot, so she’d known that Jonah had more than a half dozen men.
But she hadn’t imagined this many. There were at least twenty.
All of them armed. The single gun at her hip was not going to do much good against that small army.
Even if she could bring herself to deliberately kill people with it.
Her attention caught on one particular member of the group.
A young man with cool-toned, deep black skin and tightly curled black hair.
The angles and planes of his face were shockingly familiar to Hallie.
Devin had been an old man when Hallie had first met him, his hair already grey, but the young man standing amid Jonah’s thugs was the very image of what a younger Devin must have looked like.
He could only be a relative of the old man.
Hallie’s breath caught in her throat. Rhodda’s son?
The age seemed right. And having a son following Jonah might explain some of the woman’s odd behaviour.
Hallie wished the woman was nearby so she could give her a shake.
Knowing that Rhodda had a son and that he was part of Jonah’s group would have been useful information to have much earlier.
Even Rhodda’s son, and Devin’s grandson, was just a distraction from the leader of this group, though.
Jonah stood in the middle of the open space between the back of the house and the outbuildings, bathed in the blinding white artificial light.
The floodlights all focused on that spot, Hallie realised.
She’d bet money that he’d either organised it that way, or had chosen to take advantage of the focal point when he’d first seen it.
All eyes were drawn to him. Even Hallie found it difficult to look away.
His pale skin glowed almost silver, his blond-streaked brown hair looking almost bronze. He looked more than human.
And he was in a foul mood and dangerous with it, if Hallie was any judge. The planes of his face were set in a hard expression, eyes glittering as he looked around the group of his men.
“Is Kris back yet?” he demanded, voice carrying clearly through the space.
There was an awkward shuffling among the men that Hallie would have found amusing in other circumstances. The armed thugs didn’t want to further anger their boss. And Hallie’s stomach sank further. Jonah had more people - she doubted that this Kris, whoever he was, was out alone.
“No, sir,” Knot said, after Jonah had sent a furious glare around the group. “No sign of him or the other ATV.”
Jonah spat out a curse that made Hallie’s brows lift. “Blondie, you and Red take the bike and go find them. I want that hochlen brought here.”
“Dead or alive, boss?” Blondie asked, eyes gleaming with what looked like eagerness at the thought.
“I need to know what he knows and who he’s told.
So I need him alive and able to talk. And you’d do well to remember what happens to those who fail me,” Jonah’s voice was smooth, but it sent a chill down Hallie’s spine and she wondered again what had happened to Shorty.
Most likely he was lying dead somewhere, and the rest of Jonah’s thugs didn’t want to end up in the same place.
Then Jonah smiled and Hallie’s stomach turned.
The smile was somehow worse than anger. “As long as he can answer questions, I don’t care what you do to him.
Have some fun.” There was a ripple of dark amusement around the group at that and Hallie decided she did not want to know what these men considered to be fun.
Worry tightened her gut. She had to believe that Girard had so far managed to evade the men who were after him.
But he wouldn’t necessarily be expecting another pair.
She had an impulse to slide away from the house, to go back down the hill and see if she could find Girard, make sure he was alright, or help him out if he was fighting off Jonah’s men.
A moment’s reflection and she stayed where she was.
She had no idea where Girard was. The ATV could have travelled a long distance before Girard decided to ditch it - if he had.
No. She was better here, watching and listening, getting information for the investigators.
But still, her eyes tracked the two men as they got onto the heavy motorcycle that Hallie remembered from the forest road.
Someone must have fixed the starter as the engine fired up, shockingly loud, and the pair rode away.
Jonah turned to the remaining group as the noise of the engine faded. No one had moved, which told Hallie that he had complete command of his people. “Your mother is causing some issues,” he said, eyes on the young man Hallie had picked out as Rhodda’s son.
“Yes, sir,” the young man said. He sounded equal parts irritated and resigned, as if it was hardly news that Jonah was finding his mother difficult.
“We’re going to need to send her another message. Get her back in line,” Jonah said. He had his hands on his hips, eyes travelling up and down the young man. “I’m not sure a few bruises are going to do it this time.”
Hallie’s brows lifted, and lifted further when the young man just shrugged and nodded.
So he’d been beaten before now, in order to keep his mother in line.
And had been a willing participant. And now Jonah wanted to go further.
And even if Rhodda’s son seemed to have no objection, Hallie felt sick at the thought of what Jonah might want to do next.
She’d seen gang members in low city with missing fingers or broken bones as punishment from their bosses.
Before Jonah had made a decision about what to do, the back door of the house opened.
Another man walked out of the house and Hallie forgot all about Jonah, and Rhodda’s son, and the prisoners, mouth opening in shock as she recognised the newcomer.
Perhaps the last person she would have expected to see on Paradise, let alone here. A veondken, on a human-only island.
Findo Trask sent a frowning glance at Jonah. “Is your business concluded?” he asked, an irritated edge to his tone.
“Not quite,” Jonah said. He cast a frowning look around the group. “Double the patrols. Everyone stay on alert until that hochlen is found.”
The group of men dispersed at once and in silence, and Hallie’s stomach sank as she saw that Knot and No-knot had been joined by another pair of men as they continued their round of the house and outbuildings. When Jonah said to double the patrol, it seemed he was taken literally.
She should move, she told herself. The longer she stayed here, close to the house, the more she risked discovery. And yet she found she couldn’t leave. Not quite yet. Not when Findo Trask had so shockingly and abruptly appeared.
“You have some promising young men working for you,” Findo said, a silky edge to his tone that Hallie didn’t trust for one moment. He was also lying. Hallie could taste the deception, even if she didn’t know what Findo’s motives were or what he hoped to gain.
“There’s at least one wanting off the island, so you’ll have your fresh meat for the ring,” Jonah told him.
They were talking in lowered voices, so that the humans probably couldn’t hear, but Hallie’s sharp hearing picked up the words and she shivered.
That explained Findo’s interest in Jonah’s men.
It seemed that Findo Trask was up to his old tricks, running an illegal fighting ring.
She wondered which city he’d set up in this time, as surely he would not be foolish enough to go back to Daydawn.
“I could take the hochlen off your hands, too,” Findo added, a small, cruel smile pulling his mouth.
“Only after I find out what he knows and who he’s told. He’s here with some woman,” Jonah said, heading towards the house, clearly intending to take the discussion indoors. He stopped when he realised Findo hadn’t moved and glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“Did you happen to get a name?” Findo asked. He’d stopped smiling and even at the distance, Hallie felt her skin crawl. That quiet tone held a promise of violence and she knew how cruel Findo could be.
“Not for the woman, no. Why?”
“For the investigator, then?” Findo asked, impatience in his voice.
“Special Investigator Abbott,” Jonah answered readily, brows lifting as Findo made a low, snarling sound. “You know him?”
“If Abbott is here then the woman might be Talbot. Hallie Talbot.” Findo’s teeth bared and even from her hiding spot, Hallie could see the deep red pinpricks in his eyes glowing in the floodlights. “She’s caused me a great deal of trouble.”
“Is that so,” Jonah said. He was standing facing Findo now with a thoughtful expression, weight on his heels.
Wondering what angle to play, Hallie thought.
She wasn’t sure what the relationship was between the two men, but she couldn’t imagine it was full of trust and goodwill.
The barely concealed contempt Jonah had felt for Nicholas seemed to be absent, though.
Which suggested that Jonah had an idea of just how dangerous Findo was.
“You’d do well not to underestimate her,” Findo said, a snap of anger in his voice.
“If she’s here with him, it’s just the two of them. What could they possibly do to me?” Jonah asked, half-laughing. The humour didn’t ring true to Hallie, and the false smile faded to a watchful expression. Trying to prise more information out of Findo, Hallie realised.
“Hallie Talbot was the best skip tracer in Daydawn. She had a one hundred per cent success rate,” Findo Trask said, voice flat and hard. “Don’t underestimate her.”
“That is impressive,” Jonah agreed. He was sincere.
Hallie could tell that, even from the distance.
But he also didn’t fully believe Findo’s warning.
He was still more bothered by Girard’s presence than her own.
Which made sense, as Girard was the one with Conclave authority.
All the same, he seemed more irritated than worried.
Which also made sense - as Jonah had said, it was just the two of them. What could they possibly do?
A small smile started then spread across Hallie’s face, hidden by the jacket collar. What could she and Girard possibly do? Well, Jonah and Findo were about to find out.