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“Rooobbb!” Matty’s voice blasts from outside the door.
I scramble to get him. “Matty? What is it, pal?” I kneel, palming his cheek.
“He took Amber!” my baby brother pants.
Rage rushes through me. I should’ve hunted Aidan down the moment Amber-Rose confessed. I should’ve killed him then! How could I fuck this up?
“Where’s Andre?”
“He was hit.”
“Did you see who took Amber?”
“The cop.”
Jesus, Aidan’s infiltrated the LAPD? “Was it Officer Cooper?”
“No. It was another guy. Amber knows him.”
I’m numb from head to toe, like I’ve just fallen into icy water. I want to believe that this is just a nightmare I’ll wake up from, but this is all so fucked up.
Matty follows me. I’m worried about him, but he looks determined to show me something. “They went that way. He said not to look, but I looked anyway.”
I sprint to the backyard trail. “Amber-Rose!”
But I only hear the echo of my voice. My heart can’t beat faster even if it wanted to. Composing myself, I keep my focus, trying to read Aidan’s mind. But first, I’ve got to keep my baby brother calm—although I can’t see any hint of anxiety in him. If anything, he’s stalwart. “Good boy, Matty! You’ve been really helpful.”
Not far from where we are, I see Andre lying on the ground. He’s starting to wake up.
“Andre!”
“Sorry, Mr. Hartley. I didn’t see that coming,” the man says, standing tall despite his bruised forehead and burned neck. He must’ve been tasered.
I grunt, but I say, “Go and get Dave.”
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault,” Matty says.
“No, it’s not your fault, Matty.” I put my hands on his shoulders. “Amber-Rose is with that guy, but she will lead us to him, so that’s a good thing. Before this, we didn’t know where he was. So you’ve helped us, Matty.”
Matty nods, fiddling with something on his chest—it’s the gold chain I gave to Amber-Rose. I fight my guilt. Does this mean the end? No. She just wanted to make sure she stays with us, somehow.
I pick Matty up and dash back to the house. “You stay here with Clay, okay?”
“Rob…” Clay says.
“She’s been taken,” I quaver. “Andre was hit. Call Garcia.”
I run back outside and follow the footsteps along the backyard trail. The dirt path is damp, and I can see two sets of footprints. From the sizes, no doubt they’re Aidan’s and Amber-Rose’s.
The police car that’s supposed to guard my back entrance is there. It looks empty at first, but when I walk closer, I see Officer Cooper—half-naked, gagged, tied, and unconscious. Probably tasered or sedated.
It’s not long before a couple of officers make their way over.
“Did you see anything?” I ask them.
“No.”
I call Amber-Rose’s cell, but Clay answers. She left her phone at home—so she doesn’t have anything on her that I can track.
