Page 143 of Depraved

He shrugged. “My guess is the PC figured out we were bullshitting him.”

“You think!” It wasn’t a fucking question. “But how? How the fuck did he figure it out, and how in Jesus’s name did they know where we were? No one fucking knew about that safe house.”

Onyx bent forward, placing his elbow on his knees. “I dunno, man. It doesn’t add up.”

“And we have no idea where Alyx is. Jesus!” I pulled at my hair, rage threatening to explode inside me.

“You saw her get into a van?”

“I saw her getting shoved into a van, man. There’s a difference.”

“Maybe it was cops getting her out of there.”

I shook my head and crouched with my back against the bars. “No. No. They weren’t cops. The van was unmarked. And if it was cops, why did the PC keep asking me where Alyx was?”

Onyx placed his palms together. “I don’t fucking know, man.”

“And Dutch. Fuck.” I pulled my hand down my face. “He got shot, and we don’t know if he’s okay.”

“Let’s just hope Manic or Ink got to Neon in time and closed the floor door. If the police find Neon, it’ll raise a lot of fucking questions.”

We heard a door unlock, and a detective held it open. “You have five minutes.”

I narrowed my eyes and stood. Manic came walking in wearing a hoody and sunglasses. “Thanks, man.”

The door closed, and I grabbed the steel bars. “Manic, what the fuck is going on? Did you find Alyx?”

He pulled the hoody off his head and removed the sunglasses, worry lines creased on his forehead. Even the goddamn scar on his face seemed more prominent than usual.

“No, dude. Sorry. There’s no goddamn trace of her.”

“Fuck!” Like a maniac, I slammed my head against the bars. I didn’t even fucking feel the pain. “And Dutch? He okay?”

Manic rubbed his chin. “He’s fine. While you two made a scene outside, Ink and I managed to get him in the basement. Police searched the house, but they didn’t find us hiding.”

“Thank God for one thing.”

“Yeah. The doctor got him sorted. Just a shoulder wound.” He looked at me, his eyes brimming with remorse. “Listen, man, Ink and I, we’re sorry we couldn’t help you and Onyx.”

“No.” I held up my hand. “You did the right thing by getting Dutch to safety and keeping them from finding Neon.”

I pressed my fists against the bars and stretched, letting my head hang down. “Where the fuck is Alyx, man?”

“We don’t know.” Manic glanced at his wristwatch. “But there’s something else.”

I snapped my head up. “What?”

“Tanit. She’s gone too.”

I shot up, and Onyx stepped in next to me. “Where the fuck is Tanit?”

Manic shrugged. “We don’t fucking know. But Trick said she hasn’t seen Tanit since this morning.”

“Maybe the same guys who took Alyx took Tanit?” Onyx looked at me questioningly.

“No.” I shook my head. “I only saw Alyx. Tanit wasn’t there. Plus, Manic just said Trick hasn’t seen Tanit since this morning.”

Onyx stared straight in front of him. “Are you sure the police don’t have Alyx? Maybe they took Tanit as well, I dunno”—he shrugged—“maybe to see if they can get some information on us.”