Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“It’s fine,” Winston said. “Our girls are together. If anything happens, they can call Nash, Coffey, Hannibal, or Felix.”
Something stuck with me at those words.
I loved that Ande had my family as well as hers.
That didn’t mean that I liked being incommunicado.
“What are the odds that this sick fuck of a brother-in-law…” I gave Winston a look. “Okay, so he wasn’t a brother-in-law, per se, but he was married to the woman who was the twin of the woman you love. It’s easier to say brother-in-law than that.”
At my glare, he continued. “Anyway, what are the odds this dude leads you to this?”
‘This’ being a crack house guarded by what looked to be five or six armed guards.
And, based on the heat signatures, there were at least twenty small somethings in that house.
Winston was right, though. What were the odds he’d lead us here?
Something wasn’t adding up.
But there was no way I’d leave anyone at the mercy of whatever creepy fucks were outside.
“Did you find what I asked for?” Winston asked LaDerrick.
“Yes,” he answered. “Just got the info. House is registered to Abraham McBride. That’s why he was here.”
“Wonderful,” Winston said as he slipped his gun into the holster at the back of his pants. “Let’s go see what we can scrounge up.”
“Incapacitate or kill?” Autry asked.
Winston rolled his eyes. “We can’t go killing in the States, Autry, and you know it.”
“I can do what I want, when I want.” He paused. “But I’ll be good just this once.”
“I appreciate it,” Winston joked.
“The names of the guards outside are…” LaDerrick went on to explain their names, job titles, last known locations, as well as the occupations of each man standing outside based solely on a grainy, almost dark photo that we’d sent to him over thirty minutes ago when we arrived to find it armed to the teeth.
“Now what do they have in that room?” I wondered.
“Let’s go find out.”
So we did.
And what we found was absolutely disgusting.
• • •
“The man lives in a home with five other wives, almost four children per wife, and they all share like one happy little family? Yeah, right.” I rolled my eyes. “And what’s with the hardware outside if they’re happy living here?”
“Something feels like it stinks,” Autry agreed.
“You’re telling me that you’re absolutely okay with your man living in Germany, while you and your husband’s five other wives live here and get protected by actual criminals?” Winston asked.
At the closest lady’s nod, he rolled his eyes and turned to the one who looked to be the youngest—and least brainwashed by her ‘husband.’
“Have you seen your ‘husband?’” I asked.
“N-no.” She looked around hesitantly.
She was the only one who didn’t have children.
Though it looked like she was a few months shy of having one.
“He’s suspected of abusing my fiancée’s sister,” I said. “She killed herself last month.”
The woman’s eyes widened.
It was the woman at her side’s snort that had my eyelid twitching.
“You think we’ll believe that our Abraham would cause anybody harm? He protects his country. Why would he hurt it?” She sniffed.
I had to grit my teeth to stop from shaking some sense into her.
Was she really that clueless?
Or did she not realize the kind of danger she’d be in if she didn’t protect herself and the children?
Or were they all just so brainwashed that they didn’t see it?
“The police are here arresting your armed guard,” Winston said as he went to the window to inspect the people still trussed up outside of it.
“Are you going to talk to them?” Autry asked.
“I am,” Winston said. “LaDerrick, get the phones turned back on. Mission apparently is over.”
Winston went outside with whatever LaDerrick’s reply was.
I headed to the back door of the house where I’d be inspecting it before leaving.
I’d hoped that we’d find him here since he’d left Germany.
It was his only listed address.
Hell, even all of his life insurance went to the first woman we’d talked to. His original wife.
But apparently none of them believed in phones, nor did they believe in sharing anything with each other. It was as if they all lived independently from each other, which seemed impossible with such a small house. But whatever.
As I left, I inspected the industrial sized kitchen.
It was built to easily help feed a lot of people at once.
But since I could care less about whatever weird shit they had going on here, I left without thinking too hard about it.
When I got outside it was to see the large bald spot in the grass where a car had once been.
“Hey, Autry,” I said. “Ask one of them what car was here.”
Autry, having followed me out, went back inside.
He came back in looking white as a ghost before saying, “You need to check your phone.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and winced. “It’s dead.”