12. Riley
Maddoc crosses the room,coming to a stop at Logan’s shoulder.
“We need information,” he says calmly. It’s just a reminder. He makes no move to stop Logan from choking the life out of the piece of shit who failed to raise me and Chloe, and Logan doesn’t act like he heard anyway, so I figure it’s a done deal.
And I’m not fucking sorry, either.
Frank gurgles again, his face turning a color that shouldn’t exist in nature, and I can’t look away. He deserves everything he gets. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a reaction to seeing him get it.
My adrenaline is so high it takes me a minute to realize I’m gasping for breath, panting, filled with an echo of residual terror that freezes my blood as Logan’s unexpected rage wakes up memories of being held just like that, his fingers digging into my throat, choking me, bruising me…
But it’s not just terror that has me panting.
In my entire life, no one has ever come to my rescue when I needed it. No one gave a single solitary shit that Frank was a pathetic excuse for a parent to Chloe and me. Not until now.
I don’t really know what triggered it, because Logan’s reaction is clearly not part of the Reapers’ plan, but watching him unleash all that deadly fury on Frank settles something that’s been broken inside me for a long time.
Maddoc’s right. We need to know if Frank can help us find my sister. But if that doesn’t happen? If Logan finishes this?
I can’t say I’ll be sorry. In fact, watching it happen has a soul-deep satisfaction that almost feels as good as sex welling up inside me.
“Logan,” Maddoc says softly.
Logan blinks as if he’s coming back to himself, then opens his hand, releasing Frank. His face is completely shuttered again, but there’s a slight tremor in his hands as he tucks them behind his back and steps away, letting Maddoc take over.
Frank falls to the floor, hacking and coughing as he clutches his throat. He’s fucking pathetic. Face covered in tears, sweat, and snot, and body reeking of other fluids.
Maddoc crouches down next to him, ignoring all of that, and fists his hand in Frank’s hair, yanking his head up. “What do you know about Chloe?”
“N-N-Nothing,” Frank wheezes, cringing away from him.
Dante saunters over, tsking as he shakes his head. “Come on now, Sutton. That can’t be right. Not after you cozied up with McKenna and his fucking weasels, promising them they’d get good value out of her.”
“I didn’t—aghhhhh.”
Logan’s face doesn’t change expression as he delivers the vicious kick to Frank’s ribs, but his hands steady again, and when he flicks his gaze toward me, I give him a small nod, that weird sense of satisfaction inside me turning into a bright glow.
Both Maddoc and Dante act like nothing happened.
“What was that?” Dante asks Frank, cocking his head as he stares down at him like he’s been a naughty puppy. “Couldn’t hear you very well. Wanna try again?”
“I don’t… I didn’t… wait!” Frank gasps, flinching as Maddoc suddenly straightens up, hand still gripping Frank’s hair as he drags him to his feet at the same time. “Okay, okay, okay. I, uh, I haven’t heard from Chloe in a long time! Not since before the, uh, the arrangement. You know, with West Point. Austin never said! Never said she’d got away from them. I swear I didn’t know! I’m not even doing business with them anymore, and I haven’t heard from either of my girls since that call from Riley the other day.” He turns watery, bloodshot eyes on me. “I didn’t know it was about this!”
“What?” I say as all three of the Reapers swing around to look at me too.
“You called him?” Maddoc asks, his eyes going cold.
“Fuck no, I didn’t call him,” I say. “How would I have even done that? He’s a fucking liar.”
“No! No, I’m not, I swear,” Frank babbles, hands scrabbling in his pockets.
Maddoc immediately twists him around, slamming him face-first into the wall and immobilizing his arms. “Watch it.”
“It’s… it’s just my phone. I was just getting my phone out for you,” Frank whines, his body going slack. “Let me show you! Riley called me. She did.”
Maddoc frowns, then jerks his chin at Dante.
Dante pats Frank down, grimacing because yeah, he’s fucking disgusting. “No weapon, Madd,” he finally says, gingerly pulling out Frank’s phone. “You wanna look at this?”
“Chloe has my phone,” I whisper, my heart suddenly racing as I put it together.
“Unlock it,” Maddoc says, releasing Frank and shoving it into his hand.
Frank nods eagerly, quickly tapping the screen and then shoving it back into Maddoc’s hands. “Yeah, see? Right there! I told you. That’s Riley.”
Maddoc shows me the screen. “That’s your cell number?”
I nod.
His lip quirks up. Just a hair. Just for a second. “Last I saw that, it was in my office drawer.”
I lift my chin. “Guess you should learn to lock up shit that matters to you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maddoc says, holding my gaze before slowly letting his eyes drop down to my wrists.
When he turns his attention back to Frank, I can’t stop myself from rubbing them. The cuffs are long gone, but I swear to fuck I can suddenly feel them again.
I can’t deal with Maddoc fucking with me like that, though. And it’s not what we’re here for.
“You know it wasn’t me that called,” I say to Frank. “Quit fucking lying. What did Chloe say?”
“I don’t know! Nothing! Thought it was you, honey gir—uh, Riley. I did! Maybe a butt dial or whatnot. You, uh, she.. there was no message. Just sounds.”
I frown. “There was a voicemail?”
He nods eagerly.
“Play it,” Maddoc says, shoving the phone back into Frank’s hands.
He does, and it’s just random noises. Not a butt dial, though. Chloe would have been more careful than that. But even though there’s nothing, my eyes suddenly sting as I realize what this means. The timestamp is yesterday. She was alive then, at least, and that’s more than I knew before.
I turn away as the guys make Frank replay it a couple of times, scrubbing at my face as I try to get myself back under control. We can do this. We can find her.
And when we do, I’m never letting her go again.
Logan records the voicemail on some fancy little electronic device, both Dante and Maddoc seeming to believe that he’ll be able to pull something useful out of the noise.
He probably will. I’m starting to think Logan can work fucking miracles.
“All good, princess?” Dante asks quietly, making me jump. I didn’t even hear him walk over.
“Fine,” I say, straightening my shoulders. “We done here?”
He glances back over at Frank. Maddoc is still pushing him. Questioning him on some shit about West Point and circling back around to questions about Chloe, but it’s pretty clear Frank doesn’t know anything. As always, he’s fucking useless.
“You want to leave him breathing?” Logan asks when it’s clear there’s nothing else to get from him.
Maddoc looks at me, but I keep my face blank. I don’t need them to kill him.
But I also won’t cry if they do.
Maddoc turns back to Frank. “We’ll be getting Riley a new phone to replace the one she gave Chloe.” He grabs a piece of paper, writes a number on it, and slaps it against Frank’s chest, where my father scrabbles to grab it. “If Chloe calls again, or if you remember or notice anything that you think might help us find her, you call that number.”
“Right.” Frank swallows, glancing down at the paper.
“Oh, and if you’re thinking of talking to anyone about this visit?” Maddoc adds, his voice hard. “Don’t.”
Frank shakes his head. “No, no, of course not! Not a word. Not a peep.”
The three Reapers share a look. Logan’s the one who steps forward, and Frank just about pisses himself.
“If West Point finds out we were here, I’ll find out that they know,” Logan says in a deadly monotone.
“I won’t tell them! I won’t talk to them! I swear,” Frank babbles, backing away until he hits the wall again.
“I’m sure your word is as pathetic as you are, Sutton. But just to be clear, if you break it, I’ll come back and pay you another visit,” Logan promises. “On my own.”
Frank is selfish, slovenly, and stupid… but not that stupid. He understands what Logan’s saying.
If Logan comes back on his own, neither Maddoc nor Dante will be there to step in and stop him from finishing what he started today.
I don’t know why Logan seems to care so much. Hell, maybe his threats are just some kind of strategy that the guys haven’t shared with me yet. But still, even though this partnership between us is temporary and I know damn well that the Reapers aren’t really on my side—even though Chloe’s still missing and we didn’t find out anything useful here—when we finally walk out of Frank’s house, I don’t feel quite as alone.
And I really, really wish that feeling could last.