Page 95 of The Thief

“I can help you,” Dan assured her.

“Then fucking help,” I gritted back. “Take us to him.”

Adam, Devon, Colton, and Will charged over, and Adam grabbed Dan by the scruff of the neck, throwing him up against the wall as the others held his arms, and he cursed through his teeth. “Where is he? Get his location. Now!”

“Show me the photo,” Dan replied, and then, looking atJess, he said, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry he took your daughter. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

I launched myself at him, my fists ready to pound his face as I screamed, “You don’t talk to her. You don’t even get to look at her, you fucking bastard.”

He lowered his head and muttered, “Sorry,” again. But Jess ignored him, her body vibrating with rage, fear, and sorrow as she turned the phone around to show him the photo.

“If it’s any consolation, she’s smiling. She doesn’t look scared,” he stated flippantly, making my anger explode into a mushroom cloud of rage.

“He fucking kidnapped her! Took her from her grandma’s house, away from her mum to God knows where. I don’t care what the fucking photo shows you. We’re fucking raging, and right now, the fact that you might be of some use to us to get her back is all that’s stopping me from ripping your fucking throat out and shoving it up your ass. So, cut the crap and tell us, where the fuck has he taken her?”

“I’ll call him.” Dan reached into his pocket for his phone, his eyes on me the whole time.

“On speaker,” Adam demanded. “We want to hear everything.”

Dan nodded and tapped his screen, then held it out as it started to ring.

“What’s up?” Con Hinds answered on the second ring.

“What the fuck have you done? Where are you?” Dan asked him.

Con laughed. “How do you know I’ve done anything?”

Dan took a moment to get his story straight, then said, “I know they’re after us. I know they sent you a message. Theysent me one as well. I was watching the grandmother’s house, waiting for them to pick up the kid and I saw you take her. Why the fuck did you do it, Con?”

“What message did they leave you?” he asked, dodging the question.

“That means fuck all right now. You took the fucking kid. I need to hear she’s okay...” He glanced up at Jess. “And I need you to tell me where you are.”

“What? You mean you didn’t follow me?” I was seconds away from grabbing the phone and telling him exactly what I was going to do to him when I found him, but Adam put a hand on my arm. He knew I was losing it.

“I lost you at the lights at the end of the road.” Dan looked nervous, but Con bought his lies.

“The kid’s fine. And if you want to find me, come to the place where it all started. Maybe we can work together to take these bastards down.” And then the line went dead, and we all stared at Dan, waiting for him to speak.

“I know where he is. So...” He glanced at each of us in turn. “Who’s driving?”

“We should cuff him,” Colton stated. “We can’t trust him.”

“If you want my help, you take me as I am,” Dan replied. “Or you don’t take me at all.”

“We don’t have time to argue over petty bullshit,” Adam seethed, grabbing Dan’s arm and marching him to the door. “Let’s get in the fucking van and go.”

I followed them, Jess did too, clinging to Adam’s phone like it was her lifeline to Ava.

“Tyler, Jess,” Adam barked. “You ride up front with me. The rest of you in the back.”

“Are you sure about this?” I asked Jess as I opened the van door for her to climb in.

“She’s my daughter. Don’t try and stop me.”

“I never would,” I assured her, climbing in after her. “I never would.”

Chapter Thirty-Six