Page 24 of Storm and Tempest

“We need to find those guys,” Jax said. “Two, Four, and Five.”

“Those are stupid names.”

“So find out who they really are. And thenfind them.”

“Don’t tell me what to do just because you’re frustrated you have no answers.”

Jax folded his arms right as the sister walked out of the condo. She held out the laptop to Jax, but Ramon took it.

“Thank you for talking to us.” Jax took a business card from his wallet. “I’ll be in touch, so save my number. And call if you remember anything, or if Elliot contacts you.”

She took the card. “Do you really think he could still be alive?”

“Don’t ever give up hope. Not until you know for sure.”

Ramon shifted, holding the laptop. “We’ll call if we find anything.”

She glanced between them. “Thank you for trying.”

Maybe she’d already given up hope. It kind of sounded like it. But that didn’t mean Jax was going to. Because if Kenna hadtaught him anything, it was that when you gave up hope was when the bad guys won.

Chapter Eight

Jax’s phone rang just as they climbed back in the car, this time with him in the driver’s seat. He was tempted to go back to the scene at the restaurant, talk to whoever was working it. The car connected to his phone, and the dash screen readM calling.

“Hey, Maze. Everything good?”

“I have something already.”

“That was fast.” Ramon opened the laptop on his knees. “So do we, but we’ll have to drop it off. Where are you?”

“At the RV with Jolene, locked up tight.”

Jax had surveillance on his house, new since the last system had been breached before Kenna was taken. In fact, his place had been broken into multiple times, and he hadn’t really believed it until he saw how his system had been manipulated with his own eyes. Now the house had cameras outside, cameras inside, and the RV in the garage bay that had been built to accommodate the tall vehicle had its own system. All of it couldn’t be hacked without physical access.

“We’re dropping off a laptop,” Jax said. “What do you have?”

He drove toward his house, realizing he was hitting after-school traffic. How had he lost most of a day to all this? Seemed like a lot had happened in a short space of time. Maizie andBruce probably both needed a nap after being up last night unearthing a grave with no body, while Ramon looked like he usually did—not exactly well rested, though.

Jax didn’t need to start worrying about the guy’s sleep habits. They were barely friends at best. It was closer to a stalemate and purely because they had the same goal.

Maizie said, “I found the coroner who signed off on Marcus Buzard’s death. I have a copy of the certificate, and everything lines up with what was reported by Ramon and Kenna as to how he died. So the doctor definitely saw Buzard’s body at some point.”

“Or someone gave an extremely accurate description,” Ramon said.

Jax nodded.

“After that, it must have been taken,” Maizie said. “Or misplaced. Is that a thing? Misplacing a body?”

Jax shook his head, pulling up to a stoplight. “Not as far as I know.”

Ramon shook his head. “Doesn’t explain how he ended up alive and running around with Kenna.”

“You can’t believe that’s her.” Maizie’s voice had a higher pitch than usual. “It has to be faked.”

Jax winced. “The bar owner saw her, talked to her. I don’t want to believe it either, but we need an explanation.”

“Brainwashing.” Ramon sounded so matter-of-fact. Not that it was so farfetched with these people.