Page 41 of The Thief

I felt the others stiffen beside me, ready to defend and attack.

“Who wants to know?” Adam asked, before I could speak.

The man looked at Adam, his cheeks growing red before he focused back on me.

“I’m Toby. Toby Porter. I’m Jess’s brother.”

I didn’t even know she had a brother.

“How are they?” I blurted out, desperate for any shred of information. And the others stepped back, happy to let me talk to him after finding out I knew him... sort of.

“They’re doing okay. They’re stopping at Mum’s for now,” he said, then paused and added, “Jess asked me to come down here. She wanted to make sure you were okay. She would’ve come herself, but she didn’t want to leave Ava. But she’s been ringing the station non-stop to tell them you weren’t part of it. She wanted to help.”

I nodded, not really sure what to say back to him. I wanted to talk to Jess, but after today, I didn’t know how welcome my face would be at her door. I was grateful that she’d tried to help, but maybe seeing me would trigger memories she didn’t want to think about. I could be the last person she’d want to see. And as the realisation of that sank in, it sparked a twinge to ache in my chest.

“Thanks for taking care of them,” Toby added. “Ava has talked non-stop about you.”

“Has she?” I asked, but I noticed the way his eyes dulled slightly.

“When she talks, that is. She’s a bit... quiet at the moment. But they’re with us now. They’ll be all right.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. Ava was quiet. But then, she had just been through the worst trauma she’d probably ever go through. A trauma no one should ever have to go through, especially a little girl like her. So, it was to be expected that she’d be affected.

“Tell them...” I stuttered. “Tell them...” I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t seem to find the right words. Maybe there wereno words.

“I’ll tell them you’re out,” he replied. “Good luck, Tyler.” He held his hand out for me to shake, and something about the way he spoke told me he didn’t expect to see me again. It was all over.

He turned to leave, and I watched him walk away.

“Come on. Let’s go,” Adam said, breaking the silence. “Then tomorrow, we’ll make a plan.”

Tomorrow.

I couldn’t seem to think past the next minute.

Yes, we needed to make a plan.

And yes, those fuckers would pay.

But that wasn’t where it ended for me.

I wanted to make sure Jess and Ava were all right. Seeing Toby, hearing from him, it wasn’t enough.

I had to see for myself, whether she wanted me there or not.

I had to make sure my girls were okay.

Chapter Sixteen

TYLER

“So, first things first,” Adam announced as we all sat in the open-plan living area on our floor of the asylum. “How many were there?”

He turned to the whiteboard we had set up on the wall for work-related stuff and wiped it clean.

“Five,” I replied, and he used a pen to separate the whiteboard into five sections. “They used the numbers one through to five to talk to each other.”

“Even better,” he said, writing the numbers into each box. “What can you tell us about each one?”