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I knew he was right, but rage and fear made it hard to think clearly. Every minute that passed was another minute Matty was in danger.
"What about Rider?" I asked, straightening up.
"Jono is with him now," Bolt replied. "So far, he's just crying and pissing himself."
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. "Bring him in. Let's see if facing both of us changes his tune."
Bolt nodded and left the room. Sophie continued to sob quietly, but I ignored her, pacing the small basement room like a caged animal. When the door opened again, Jono shoved Rider through. The prospect stumbled and fell to his knees, his face pale with terror.
"Please," he whimpered, looking up at me. "I swear I don't know anything about Matty."
I hauled him up by his cut and slammed him into the chair opposite Sophie. "Twenty-four hours ago, you were making fun of him at the barbecue. Called him childish, said he was playing with dollies."
"I was being an asshole," he shrieked. "Just to get in with Sophie, I admit it. But I didn't hurt him, I swear."
I studied his face, looking for any sign of deception. "Who recruited you to the club, Rider?"
"Brick," he replied immediately. "He's my cousin's friend."
"And what were you doing when the alarm about Matty went out?"
Rider's eyes widened. "I was helping set up the beer kegs with Cruise. You can ask him."
I exchanged glances with Jono. Cruise had indeed mentioned Rider helping with the kegs when we'd been coordinating the search parties.
"And your phone?" I demanded. "Where was it during the barbecue?"
"Jono has it," Rider said quickly. "I swear I didn't text anyone except my girlfriend. Check it if you want." Jono nodded so he'd obviously checked. Something about his earnestness rang true. I'd been so focused on Sophie and Rider because of their comments to Matty that I might have overlooked the real traitor.
"Who else was recruited around the same time as you?" I asked, a new suspicion forming.
Rider thought for a moment. "Just me and Tik Tac. We were the only new prospects in the last six months."
Tik Tac. The quiet one who always seemed to be hovering nearby. Who'd been assigned to security after the first attack on Matty.
"Jono," I said quietly. "Where's Tik Tac now?"
Jono's eyes narrowed as he caught my meaning. "He volunteered to check the perimeter cameras. Said he might be able to find footage of the van."
"With access to our security system," I muttered. "Son of a bitch."
"I'll get Digger to see what he looked at," Jono said, already pulling out his own device.
I turned back to Rider and Sophie. "If either of you is lying to me, I'll be back. And next time, I won't be asking questions."
Sophie sobbed harder, but Rider just nodded frantically. "I'm not lying, Bear. I swear on my mother."
I left them tied up—we couldn't risk either of them warning Tik Tac, if they were involved after all-—and followed Jono up the stairs.
"Digger," Jono barked into his phone. "Find Tik Tac. Now."
As we emerged into the main room of the clubhouse, Cruise approached, his expression grim. "Tik Tac's gone. His bike's missing, and the security footage from the east gate shows him leaving about thirty minutes ago."
"He disabled the cameras we have on the service road," Digger called from his laptop. "But he forgot about the gas station across from the highway entrance. His bike passed their cameras heading east ten minutes ago."
"That's our confirmation," I growled. "Get me everything on Tik Tac. Real name, known associates, properties. Anything that might tell us why he’s involved."
Digger's fingers flew across his keyboard. "His real name is Timothy Kowalski. Goes by Tim or Tik Tac. Former military—discharged three years ago. No criminal record.”