Ryker’s presence hit their group.
“I wanna see Alexis,” he announced.
Merry looked at him and nodded. He turned to a uniform who was standing with a plainclothes officer and whistled.
When he had the uniform’s attention, he nodded his head to Ryker. “This guy is guardian to Alexis McGraw, the redheaded girl in room twelve oh three. He wants to see his girl.”
The uniform swept his eyes top to toe on Ryker and then they narrowed on Merry. Ryker looked like guardian of the gates of hell, not guardian to a pretty, fourteen year old redhead.
“He’s cool,” Merry assured.
“Merry, are you gonna talk to the girls now or can they go home?” Layne asked and Merry turned to him as the uniform approached.
“They wake up, they’ll be disoriented and since they were probably roofied, won’t remember much. We can talk to them in the morning,” Merry answered.
Ryker was moving away with the uniform, his hand in his motorcycle jacket but he called to Layne, “You’re our ride, bro.”
“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Layne called back.
“I know, but you comin’ or what?” Ryker returned.
Layne glanced through Merry and Cal, nodded and followed Ryker. It would seem big, scary, badass, looking like a raving lunatic Ryker needed his BFF.
Fuck.
He heard Ryker on his phone when he stopped beside him at the elevator. “Liss, baby, she’s okay, she’s good. They found her. She’s all right. I’m goin’ to her now. We’re gonna be home soon. It’s all good.”
The elevator opened and Colt with a variety of cops walked out. Colt clapped Ryker on the shoulder as they switched places but his hand came up to Layne, Layne took it and looked in Colt’s eyes.
“Cal called, ran it down. Remember us when you’re a big Hollywood action star,” Colt remarked.
Layne let his hand go muttering, “Bite me,” through his smile.
Then he moved to the elevator.
Layne pulled into Lissa McGraw’s driveway and the front door on the house was opened before he came to a complete stop.
Lissa was running out but Layne saw Jasper, Tripp, Keira and Seth Cosgrove standing in the yard, each with a can of pop in their hands.
Seth broke away and slowly approached the Suburban as Ryker hopped down. Layne exited the other side and watched Rocky wander out behind Lissa, Devin on her heels. By the time Layne rounded the hood, Ryker had Alexis in his arms. She was awake but not herself. She slid her thin arms around his huge shoulders just as Lissa collided with them, her arms spanning them both, she burst into tears.
Rocky moved to him and took his hand.
“Somehow, Seth heard word. Paige is inside too. Jasper tried to get him to go but he wouldn’t,” she whispered, leaning in close.
“He’s a good kid,” Layne whispered back, eyes on Seth who was hanging back but his gaze was intense on Alexis.
“Lissa told us she’s okay. Is she okay?” Rocky asked and Layne looked at her.
“She’s good,” Layne answered.
“Totally good?” Rocky pushed, her eyes as intense as Seth’s and she was holding her body funny – guarded, alert.
“She’s fine, baby, she woke up just when we got to her. She doesn’t even know what happened but no one got a chance to touch her.”
“Tiffany?”
“Tiffany too, it’s all good.” He leaned down and put his hand to her neck. “Totally good, Rocky.”
Rocky nodded and her eyes moved to Ryker who was shuffling Lissa back while carrying Alexis to the house. Layne and Rocky moved with them. Layne nodded to Devin then his eyes cut to his sons.
Finally, he looked at Seth and stopped. “It’s good you’re here, Seth, but let me scope this out, yeah? Stay out here with Jas, Keira and Tripp.”
Seth nodded. Layne nodded back, swept his eyes through his boys and he and Rocky went inside.
Vi, Feb, Josie and Paige were there. Coffee mugs were everywhere but Vi was collecting them. Angela was asleep in Paige’s arms. Jack was sitting on his ass on the floor, sucking on something purple and edible that he’d gotten all over his face in a way that gave evidence to the fact it was sticky. Layne could see through a wide opening and Feb was in the tiny kitchen, doing something at the sink. Josie was wiping down counters. Lissa, Ryker and Alexis had disappeared, likely down the back hall.
Layne went to the mouth of the hall and waited.
Ryker came out five minutes later, walked to Layne and stopped.
“Your call, brother, you want company, they’re here for the long haul. You don’t, I’ll get them gone,” Layne offered.
Ryker stared at him, said not a word, then turned and disappeared in the room he came out of. Two minutes later, he was back.
“Liss likes to hear people in her house. Alexis is asking about Seth. Your crew is in for the long haul.”
“Right.” Layne nodded. “I’ll call Reggie’s and order pizza.”
Layne turned to move into the living room but turned back when Ryker said, “Bro.”
“Yeah?”
“She was wakin’ up when we got to her.”
“Yeah man, I was there.”
“She was wakin’ up when we got to her,” Ryker repeated.
He had something to say so Layne waited for him to say it.
Ryker finally spoke. “She had less than an hour.”
“Ryker –” Layne began.
“You hadn’t called that location, bro…” He trailed off and stopped.
“Well, I did.”
Ryker held his gaze.
Then he whispered, “Yeah, you did.”
Then he turned around and disappeared back in the room.
Layne went to the living room, his eyes going to Rocky.
“Let the kids in. We need to order pizza,” he said into the room.
Rocky’s eyes locked with his.
Then she gave him the dimple.
Layne woke to his cell phone ringing and Rocky pinning him to the bed.
Instantly, her head came up.
He reached out to the phone, his eyes scanning his clock, it was three forty-two. He looked at the display, it said “Unknown Caller” and he flipped it open, putting it to his ear.
“Layne,” he answered.
“Heard word from your man, it’s safe to call you,” a woman replied, it took him a minute to place the voice and then he did.
He scooted up in the bed and Rocky scooted with him.
“Marissa,” he said on a squeeze of Rocky who gave him a squeeze back and pressed closer.
“She didn’t make it,” Marissa stated.
Marissa was right. Nicolette Towers was dead on arrival. Layne had no problem with this.
Jeremy Goulding had flipped and copped to Tara, Summer and Hannah, but there were no other girls from the ‘burg. However, he did know of operations in other small town churches in two locations. Towers held these parties often and the girls went for top dollar. Jeremy withheld this information because he knew he was screwed and he didn’t want to be more screwed. He thought, since the girls hadn’t talked for months, this knowledge would never make the light of day. Fortunately, he was wrong.
Towers had two stables and recruited her other girls from out of state. Some were runaways. Some were sold into her operation. Some were clocked in juvvie and picked up when they got out, their disappearance put down to running away, none of them missed. And none of them originally came from Indiana, thus flying under IMPD radar.
There were so many people involved, from pimps, to recruiters, to security, it would take the IMPD some serious time to dismantle the entire operation but it was already disintegrating. Some of the men they picked up were heavy hitters, wealthy power brokers, also not all local. And they were all blabbing like old women.