“Any of them have blond hair.”
“I never noticed.”
“Give me the CD.”
The clerk steps back as I approach the counter. His gaze flickers over my shoulder. I know TJ is behind me. While I was talking to the clerk. Mal left the store with Patch and is on her way to the office.
“I don’t know. If something's happened. Shouldn’t we call the cop,” said the clerk.
I lean over the counter, pull the boy towards me until we are nose to nose. “Give me the fucking disk.”
The boy nods as he wiggles out of my grip. His hand shaking as he reaches behind the counter. As he fumbles with the disk, he drops it to the ground, and my teeth grind. As a reward, I scowl at him. “If you remember anything. Call me.” I scribble my number and pass it to him. His trembling doesn’t ease as he hands me disk.
The door slams behind us as we leave the store and I turn towards Delaney’s office. When I reach it, the lights are off, and the door is locked. I shake it and shout, but nothing happens.
“Day says he’ll be here with Kit and Oyster soon.”
I nod at TJ as I kick the door, which springs open with a creak and rebounds against the wall. I glance around the office. My first decent look inside, and I notice how minimal the room is furnished. There are a couple of chairs and a trash bin full of coffee cups. At the rear of the room is another door and I open it. This one has a desk and a chair, but nothing else. “Shit. Did he sit here all day and do nothing?”
“Alex. You need to think.”
I glance over at TJ. “Mia is missing, and you want me to think.”
“Let’s go back to the office. There’s nothing here. Fuck, think, Alex. They can’t be far. Taking Mia was an opportunity. Not planned. They weren’t to know you were coming into Noir Valley. Not today.”
TJ steps outside and I follow him. When we reach the door to Sugar and Spice, the hum of bikes fills the air and I turn my gaze down the street and watch Day and several brothers ride toward us, then pull up beside me. Day nods as he climbs off his Harley and removes his helmet. Kit and Oyster follow. The other three bikers remain seated.
“Have you called Hank?” Day asks
I shake my head at the biker, then follow him up the stairs. Patch sits on the chair she was using earlier while Mal cleans her cut. She is the one to look up and watch us as we stride into the room. Her gray eyes full of curiosity.
“No luck?” Mal asks.
I shake my head and look at Patch. She glances away. Then I look at Mal. Her gaze is steady as she watches me. TJ said this was an opportunity of chance. Both these women had used their cells while I was here. I turn to Patch. I’ve fucked the whore several times before hooking up with Mia. My gaze falls on Mal, I know little about the woman. She isn’t a club woman, and I paid little attention to her. As I watch her, the door to the office opens and Cole strides in.
His hair is wild from him running his hand through it and his lips set straight. The gray of his eyes blaze and as I stare at him, I know who he is. For months I’ve been denying it because I didn’t want to know the truth. His eyes are the same as Jo-Leighs. His nose and chin belong to Tom, Jo-Leigh’s father. “Is it true Mia’s missing?”
I nod. I have questions, but they will have to wait. “Delaney has her.”
“Are you sure?”
I hold the disk out to him, and Oyster takes it, then strolls round the oversized desk, slipping it in the computer’s drive. He plays it and as we watch, we watch Patch and Mia go through to the back. A couple of customers come in. But none of them are Mark Gates. I look over to Patch. Her gaze is on me, then it flickers away. “Pull up our CCTV footage.” Oyster fiddles about, then we are watching the road outside. Delaney comes out of his office, but there is no Mark Gates and it dawns on me. He used the back door.
“We’re losing time. Oyster get hold of Data. See if he can find out which direction the sedan went.” I turn to Patch and smile. “Patch, Cole will take you back to Demon’s Lair. One of the women there will look after you.”
“I will.”
I nod as I walk over to him. “She knows where Mia is. I’m sure I can trust you.”
Cole’s gray gaze is on me and he nods. “For Jo-Leigh.”
I nod as I slap him on the shoulder.
Chapter 32
Mia: In a Basement Somewhere in Noir Valley
I stare at the stairs. The passage of time has become nothing more than a passing blur. When the stranger left, he switched off the light and every sound echoing in the surrounding air has me wriggling in the chair. When he pushed me into the chair, he unbound my hands, only to bind them to the back of the chair. I wiggle again. My bladder is tight, and my mouth is dry. How long is it since the man said he would get me a drink? I glance in the direction of stairs. The only reason I know where they are, is because the chair is facing them. A key turning has me lifting my gaze to the top of the stairs. My breath stills in my throat as I wait for my tormentor. The light flickers and as dull
