Lib Novel Page 55
She pointed without looking up at me, her finger indicating three envelopes spread out before her. Each one bore a set of car keys, the metal glinting faintly in the dim light filtering through the grimy windows.
“Customers must’ve dropped these off thinking Venom was still open for business,” I said, kneeling beside her to get a better look.
“Which means they definitely left in a hurry,” Abby concluded, straightening up. Her eyes met mine, sharp and calculating. “No plans to skip town, no word to their clients—the accusation on Alex must have taken them completely by surprise.”
“Obvious enough,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair, frustration nipping at me. “Find anything else?”
Her lips twitched into a smirk as she produced a phone from her pocket. “Just this. But it’s dead. We’ll need to charge it.”
“Let’s head back to the office,” I suggested, and Abby nodded, slipping the phone into her jacket pocket.
We returned to the office and I made a beeline for the ancient computer sitting like a dusty relic on the desk. Meanwhile, Abby fished out a charger from her bag and plugged in the phone.
“Who still uses these things?” I mumbled as I jiggled the mouse, the screen flickering to life. A prompt for a password appeared and I couldn’t help but snort when “password” let me right in.
“Wow, Nathan, you cracked the code,” Abby teased, peering over my shoulder. “Kinda odd for a criminal mastermind to be so lax with security, huh?”
“Guess they didn’t expect anyone to get this far.” I clicked through files and folders, finding nothing but old invoices and supply orders—nothing useful.
While I scavenged the digital wasteland, the phone on the desk buzzed to life. Abby picked it up, her fingers dancing across the screen. “It’s Neon’s,” she said. “Unlocked, too. These guys really need to be more careful.”
“Typical.” I watched her scroll through the contents. “Anything worth our time?”
“Voicemail from Alex,” she announced, a hint of urgency coloring her voice.
Abby tapped the voicemail, and a voice that was all too familiar filled the room. It was Alex, his words rushed and laced with panic.
“Dude, you need to fucking hurry! I don’t know what the hell is going on, he’s gonna kill me—“ The message cut off abruptly.
Cold recognition washed over me. My own voice, a distant roar in the background of the recording, chilled my blood. It was the hospital, the day I’d been chasing him down—the last time I saw him. I remembered the fear in his eyes, the way his breath had come out in ragged sobs. That wasn’t the face of a man who knew what was happening—it was pure terror.
“Jesus,” I murmured, the memory gnawing at me. I glanced at Abby, finding her eyes already on me.
“That really doesn’t sound like someone who knew what was going on,” she said, her tone even but her gaze probing.
“Let’s reach out,” I suggested, my voice firm despite the unease that lingered in my chest. “We can’t leave this trail cold.”
Abby nodded, her fingers moving deftly over Neon’s phone. She crafted a message with an efficiency that spoke of her FBI training. “Sending to both Alex and Javi. ‘Shop’s closed, but we’re here looking for you. Contact us.’”
“Good.” I watched as she hit send, then I pulled the burner phone I’d brought with me out of my pocket. It was the only way I would be able to reach Alex…and if one of them came back here, maybe he would call.
I had to hope he was safe out there.
We left Venom Motors behind, the door shutting with a finality that echoed through the empty streets. Abby slipped her hand into mine, a silent show of solidarity. It was a small gesture, but in that touch, there was a promise—a vow that no matter what was ahead, we’d face it together.
Abby’s presence was a constant reminder of what was at stake—and of what I stood to lose. But right then, as her fingers intertwined with mine, I felt something other than fear.
Hope.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Nathan
Another family dinner…sooner than I would have liked.
My father was tightening his grip on all of us, intent on maintaining what control he had left in the wake of all the attacks on our business. I would have enjoyed the family dinners if they weren’t always accompanied by dark, twisted meetings with my father…and by the lingering absence of both Alex and Justin.
The only thing that made them tolerable was Abby.
Leaning against the doorframe, I watched Abby move with grace among the bubbling pots, offering a gentle smile to my mother as they worked side by side. Lily flitted between them, her laughter ringing clear, a stark departure from the tension that clung to the rest of the house.