Page 103 of Three

“I have eyes on Hunter,” Uri says.

“Bros…keep him safe.” My voice is not as steady as I wished it would be.

“Got him,” Uri replies.

“Nothing will happen to him,” Gabe assures me.

“We got your back, Jacks!” Lori confirms.

I bend my knees and launch myself up, using my upper-body strength to grip the window trim with both hands. A piece of broken glass cuts my palm, but I don’t let go. I swing my right leg up and haul my ass over the window, being careful to avoid other sharp pieces.

I crouch down. I’m in the bathroom on the second floor. Someone must have slept here. There are dirty blankets covered with dust in the corner and old beer cans.

My hand is bleeding and hurts like fucking hell. I tear a piece of fabric off my sleeve and wrap it around the wound, but it doesn’t really matter now. Hunter is what I need to focus on.

“What are you doing here?” The surprise in his voice makes me unsheathe my knife from the holster on my back and move toward the broken door.

“Shhhh! I hacked Jasper’s phone.” Opal’s voice reaches me through Hunter’s earbud. So she is in the church!

“I have old Betsy on her, just give me the go,” Uri says.

“Uri, wait!” Hunter scream-whispers, lifting his bracelet near his lips.

“Who’re you talking to?” Opal asks.

“It’s not important. Why did you hack Jasper’s phone?”

“We found a body in a warehouse yesterday, a young guy, who I took in a couple of times for possession and gun dealing. Malcom Bindy,” she starts to explain.

“Bullocks!” Lori cusses in my ear as I move to the baluster.

Shards of glass crunch under my sneakers even though I try to avoid them. I lean over the stone railing, but I’m only able to see Hunter from my position. The floor caved in, and I can’t move any further. I need to think of a way to get down to him.

“I thought I saw Jasper arguing with him at the Milton hotel where the police fundraiser was held. The one I told you about. I was leaving the bathroom, and I heard raised voices from the back entrance. It was just a glance, so I didn’t think much of it. But then I found Malcom dead a few days later, and when I asked Jasper, he denied the whole thing. But I knew he was lying. I could feel it. Call it a cop intuition or a woman one, I just knew it!” She sounds agitated. “So, I went back to the hotel and checked the video from the back entrance, and it was Malcom who Jasper grabbed and shoved outside. He didn’t look like himself, Hunt. It was like his body was possessed by something ugly. The smirk on his face…”

“The plot thickens like my grandma’s béchamel,” Lori remarks.

“She sounds sincere,” Gabe says.

“What did they argue about?” Hunter asks. He’s wearing his void mask.

“I couldn’t tell. But whatever they discussed made Jasper furious.”

“Ask her why she didn’t come,” I tell Hunter.

“Why didn’t you show up yesterday?”

“Someone has been following me. I’m not being paranoid, I swear.” I see her hand grabbing Hunter’s arm.

I don’t fucking like it. I don’t trust her. I need to get to him.

“And then the captain told me I was off Malcom Bindy’s case. A coincidence?”

“There are no coincidences,” Hunter and Opal say at the same time, and I see Grizzly’s blank mask cracking slightly.

“I know there’s something going on. And I didn’t want to involve you. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you to cancel, but I went underground to get to the bottom of this.”

Her explanation seems consistent. But I can’t trust her until I examine all the facts.