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“Yeah, with two other girls. The men came and took them one night.”

“They’re dead, aren’t they?” I asked, and his eyes confirmed my suspicion. “Where are the bodies?”

Tension formed a deep crease between his eyebrows. When he told me the truth, I wanted to drown him in the brook, but it was too shallow.

* * *

BeforeI left the fishing resort, people assumed Bruce and I were good friends discussing a handy work project.There was a lightness to Bruce after his confession. Though he didn’t kill Hank’s sister, he was involved with the people who did. I didn’t always believe in second chances, especially for criminals who kept repeating the same crime. But after meeting Kiera and reconnecting with her, I believed in it. She was my second chance at happiness.

Even though Bruce deserved jail time, I gave him a second chance. He needed to give me information on The Trogyn and where they kept trafficked victims and the locations of their drug operations. He told me he didn’t know, and I believed him because he didn’t even know the crime organization was called The Trogyn. Someone on his level wouldn’t be privy to top information, but he could get creative if I was his ticket to salvation.

I could be the compassionate devil who gave him this second chance.

I also discovered the person who had attacked Bruno was some guy named Bo, who had orders to make it look like a robbery. Bruno happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and took the hit. I smiled at the thought and asked if Bruno was part of the organization. But Bruce had never seen him at any of the meetings.

Had I been wrong about Bruno? Or was he part of another crime organization?

Inside my car, I leaned back into the seat and breathed. The conversation with Bruce drained my energy. I had to inform my boys of this recent development and compare notes with them.

After a few moments, I checked my phone and smiled at Kiera’s photo of her Chococat with a little heart pin, enjoying a lunch date. Her text message lightened my mood, rejuvenating my body instantly.

I typed a reply.I love that you’re my girl-fur-end. You’re purrfect fur me.

A laugh escaped me, followed by shock and embarrassment.

I’m so fuuucked. Since when did I send out that kind of text? Even thinking in such a silly way was beyond me. But now I was capable of that and more.

I had it bad for her.

With renewed energy, I sent out a conference request to all my friends. My phone rang with Levi’s name flashing on the screen.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“The banquet has been moved to Sunday evening.”

The day after dinner at Grandma’s. I didn’t know why they kept changing the date, but I went with the flow. Something was happening here in Austin, Texas, and it was bigger than I could ever imagine.

“Just give me the address, and I’ll be there.”

“They’ll send a text to let us know twelvehours before the event. I don’t know why they’re being so paranoid this time. The last few gatherings weren’t this secretive.”

This was a tactic used to weed out people who weren’t in close proximity. The ones who were serious about the event should have already been here in Texas.

“Okay. I’ll keep an eye out for it. If I don’t get it, I’ll be calling you.”

“Sounds good. It’s a black-tie event, so don’t come in jeans,” he teased.

“Do you know anyone new who’s attending?”

“I haven’t been asking, and I’m not going to. Why?”

I didn’t want to disclose anything that could hurt my friend. The less Levi knew, the better. “Just curious. I mean, there could be a celebrity attending. Maybe that’s why they’re being extra careful.”

“I didn’t think of that. Maybe a celebrity is performing for us like a halftime show.”

The organizer knew me as a wealthy man who was looking to spend money and have fun. Men like me shouldn’t care who attended because spontaneity was the heart of any party.

“Well, gotta go now. I have a meeting.”