Sullivan scratched his chin. “How do they do that?”
“Okay, say I achieved a level 60 in my range attack. Everyone in our clan would say stuff like ‘Grats!’ or ‘WTG!’ for way to go. Spacedog would say ‘That’s great, but level 80 is better. I have so many other armors or weapons I can equip.’“
“Like a backhanded compliment,” Jo said.
Rian looked at Evan, and they shook their heads. “No, like a bridge troll.”
Leaving the term alone, Jo pulled open the file of clean photos of their victims. “Do any of these look like QueenAmethyst or Spacedog?”
“We never chatted with them face-to-face. We had some group convos with them, but those don’t have pictures,” Rian said flipping through the pictures again.
“So you don’t know what they look like?”
The boys shook their heads. “But we know a lot of the ones that went missing. You only have eight we know of, but before Queen and Dog went off the grid, we were up to fifty-one that left us.”
That caught her attention. “How do you know the exact count?” It wasn’t possible their serial killer had killed that many.
“Because I keep track of who leaves, when they leave, why they leave, their rank, and if we would allow them to rejoin,” Evan stated.
“Why?” Jo was out of her depth trying to follow the paths of an online group like this.
Rian’s eyes widened as if she were an idiot. “We do that to keep the ex-members who are jerks from coming back. We don’t even allow some of them to visit.”
“But the others visit?” Sullivan joined them.
“Most of them. Some unfriend us so we can’t see their experience gains. So of the fifty-one, maybe thirty visit our chat regularly as guests, and we have about half as friends on Facebook.”
Fifty-one was a good place to start. They could always broaden the list if it was needed, but her gut said this was their best shot.
“Send me the full member list and a separate list with the fifty-one, Evan.” Jo passed him a card with her email address on it.
Chapter 6
The basement gym was large. Scuffed white walls took up two walls. Half the room had no wall or barrier it opened into a hallway. Straight ahead were the stairs that led to the upstairs hallway, and to the right of the stairs was the media room with gaming stations set up each with their own television. Overstuffed leather couches and chairs were strewn throughout the room, easy to push back when they wanted to play one of the more active games that required dancing, skiing, or throwing a bowling ball. To the left of the stairs was another hallway that led to a sauna and showers. Jo was impressed with all the equipment set up in the gym.
Spongy mats were set up on one side as a martial arts ring but could quickly be pushed aside to turn the area into a sparring ring. The other side held various machines that could be found in a top-notch gym. Mirrors circled the area so they could watch their forms when weight training. Jo didn’t use the weights much. Instead, she worked out on the machines or on the mats. Her favorite pastime was watching Rhys at the free weights. Sweat slicking his toned arms and darkening the fur on his chest. The shower after always ended with them making love against the tiles downstairs the door firmly locked. With his residency’s erratic schedule, it was rare for both to be in the gym at the same time. She couldn’t wait until that piece of his schooling ended.
“Watch your guard, Rian,” Joseph commanded.
Jo flinched as Rian hit the mat again. Never in a million years had she thought she would invite her biological dad into her life. And especially into her home to train her, Rhys, and Rian. But here they were.
After Rhys’s abduction last year, she was determined they both be in top form to defend themselves if it ever happened again. Rhys had held his own with her. But Rian was like a puppy hopping all over the place and using moves better left in the gaming world as they had no place in a real fight. The thump of Rian’s larger frame slamming into the mat drew an exasperated huff from Rhys. His arms crossed, she forced herself to look away from all his skin on display. In a black sleeveless shirt and shorts, she wished they were alone and headed for those showers in the back. He’d already slipped on his white socks and black tennis shoes while she was distracted by Rian and Joseph.
“He’ll get it, eventually.” Jo patted his arm.
“I should’ve re-enrolled him in Karate years ago. My parents had him taking classes when he was younger. After the accident, the doctors were concerned about him being punched in the face or back of the head—”
Jo froze. “Now?”
“Oh no, now it’s fine. He’s had plenty of time for his brain to heal as well as it can, and if you notice your dad—”
“Bio-dad. Dad is reserved for Carl.” Jo loved Carl as her own father. He’d adopted her and brought her and her mother into his family. And though she was forming a bond with her biological father, their budding relationship didn’t diminish her feelings for Carl.
“Okay, your bio-dad, which sounds sci-fi-y, takes great care not to hit Rian in the head. He’s kept it strictly to tossing him to the mat and hitting his body.”
It was nice that Rian could have ties to both of Jo’s fathers. He enjoyed fishing with Carl even if he talked all the fish away, as Carl said. And he enjoyed sparring and learning all the intricate ways to protect himself from Joseph.
“Rian! I won’t warn you again watch the guard. Otherwise, I’ll have you scrubbing toilets, boy.” Joseph’s sharp bark jerked them all to attention.
“Is this really necessary?”
