Page 45

FORTY-FOUR

JACK

FEbrUARY

That fucking bird call.

Bryce wasn’t in Nepal. And he was definitely the fucker I chased out of the rink.

He wasn’t on mainland California anymore.

He was close, though.

The reason I knew was so contrived, hardly anyone would believe it.

First, I noticed the lighting in the background of his call matched early spring evening: the same time it was where we were.

But it was the bird call that sealed it for me.

Not just any bird call. The California quail.

Not just any California quail. This was its endemic sister only found on Catalina Island: the rare Catalina California quail.

I knew exactly where that spineless weasel piece of shit was, and when I found him, I’d make sure he never disappointed my wife or son again.

“Hey man, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I wandered over to where Nikki was getting changed. I was still in my sweaty compression pants, but I couldn’t wait any longer. The sooner I could get Bryce tracked down, the sooner I could make Aspen happy again.

“Yeah. What’s up?”

I rolled my lips between my teeth. “I need a connection.”

Nikki reared his head back. “Connection to what?”

I lowered my voice and leaned in. “The dark web.”

“The dark web?!” he shouted. “What do you need on the dark web?”

Jesus.

Mikey was already headed our way with a shit-eating grin on his face, and I knew I was in for some fuckery. “Whatcha doin’, Jackie baby? Finding another mail-order bride?”

“I do not have any connection to the dark web,” Nikki said, waving his hands in front of him.

“I swear to fuck—” I mumbled.

“It’s just Google Dark, Jackie. Go to dark.google.com,” Mikey said. “Come on, man. Child’s play.”

“Mara is not a mail-order bride. And that’s not how you get on the dark web, Mike!” I snapped, then lowered my voice. “I just need some information.”

“What kind of information?” Nikki asked, sliding some underwear under his towel.

“I need to find someone.”

“I think you can do that on the regular web?” Nikki tried.

“No, he’s a shady little shit,” I said.

“Who?” Mikey asked, being his usual nosy fuck self. “Oh, you know what? You know who’s got mob ties? Sorrento.”

“What do I have?” Our captain, Dylan Sorrento, looked up from where he was stripping for the shower.

“Mike, that’s racist,” I finally managed over all the mayhem around me. “Just because Sorrento’s Italian doesn’t mean he’s in the mob.”

“You’re the one who asked this sweet little sugarplum about the dark web because he’s Russian!” Mikey argued, pointing to Nikita.

“He likes all those spy documentaries!” I shot back.

“That doesn’t mean he knows how to get on the dark web. Now look who’s stereotyping!” Mikey whined. “That’s worse.”

“They’re both bad,” Nikki said with a sigh and a shrug.

“Everybody out,” Sorrento said, waving off everyone around us. When no one budged, he put a hand on my shoulder and steered me to the hot tub. “Let’s hit the tub.”

I quickly pulled off my pants under a towel and headed for the hot tub. I slipped into the water, facing Sorrento and his absolute carpet of chest hair. “What is it you need?” he asked.

“I need to find a guy.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Who?”

“Mara’s ex.”

“The guy from the kids’ rink? The one who was supposed to be on some woo woo retreat?”

“Yeah, definitely him. He’s not on the retreat anymore, if he ever was.”

“Shit,” Sorrento breathed.

“Yeah, shit. He’s been lying to Mara and the kids. And he disappointed Aspen on his birthday. He has to pay.” I was already hot from being in the hot water, but my face flared that much hotter, clenching my fists to contain my rage.

“Pay how?” Sorrento asked. I wasn’t quite sure, so I just stared back at him. “Look, I do know a guy, but you can’t be getting into trouble. And you didn’t get this from me.”

“Why do you know a guy?”

He sighed, looking around to make sure we were still alone. “Jeanine’s ex has always given me a bad vibe. He still lives close to her parents and works on their farm. Before we were going up to see her parents and taking the kids, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t a child molester or something.”

“So you hired this guy?”

He nodded. “A private investigator. But I’m not sure he uses all above-board methods. But even with that, I just found out he’s a boring little shit. His search history was so pathetic.”

“Yeah. That’s what I need. I need to know where he is and what the hell he’s doing there.” I leaned in. “I think he’s on Catalina.”

Dylan grimaced. “Island? Like where you get the ferry from Long Beach to go look at whales?”

I rested my head back against the lip of the tub, letting my ass drift off the seat. “Yeah.”

“And you’re not going to go take him out?” Sorrento’s voice was a low scrape.

I popped my jaw, my muscles still tense thinking about the shit that was Mara’s ex. “What were you going to do to Jeanine’s ex?”

Dylan ground his teeth. “Fair point. I’ll send you the guy’s contact.”