Page 90 of Made of Steele
She snorted. “Sorry. No. It’s just. Well, I figured most everyone under forty had heard of this video game.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s the most violent game on the market and has been under a lot of controversy this past year.”
The time he’d been under and not paying much attention to the real world. But it was odd that Nick didn’t know about it. As a tech guy, he was most likely into video games. Even if he’d heard the stories, there were so many games on the market that it would be hard to recognize the logo for all of them.
“Tell me about it,” he said.
“The graphics are very realistic, and you have choices of a ton of brutal weapons. I told Teagan the game has claws like Wolverine’s, and she had me look online to see if there were other weapons. She especially wanted to know about a rifle, hatchet, and bow and arrow. Once I told her there were, she raced out of here.”
Drew’s heart kicked fully into gear. He appreciated the information. Figured it would be most helpful. But didn’t like that Teagan had run out as if she was following a lead on her own.
He forced calm he didn’t feel into his tone. “But she didn’t say where she was going?”
“No. She has her cell. You should try calling her.”
“I have been. She’s not answering.”
Gretchen frowned. “That’s not like her at all. She’s the most conscientious in that area of all the Steeles. She says she never knows when it might be the call that will help their business thrive.” Gretchen studied him. “She probably knows it’s you calling. Any reason she might not want to talk to you?”
“Not that I can think of.” He tried to keep his tone neutral but failed big time. “Can you call her? See if she answers for you?”
“Sure.” She rummaged around in her purse to get out her cell. She tapped her foot, worry taking her expression. “No answer. I could call her sisters to see if she’s home.”
“Do that,” he urged while panic was fighting to gain purchase.
She looked at her phone and thumbed down the screen.
“Mackenzie, it’s Gretchen. Teagan’s not answering her phone. Is she home?” Gretchen’s eyes narrowed, and she looked at Drew, then shook her head.
His gut cramped. Hard. A knot of steel.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Please don’t let whoever is here have discovered the graves have been excavated, Teagan prayed as she inched toward the truck. If it’s the killer, they might think they don’t have anything to lose.
She felt the vehicle’s hood. Warm. Whoever was in the house hadn’t been there long. She would get a look at what was going on inside. She couldn’t waste limited County resources by calling for backup without knowing someone was in danger. She’d get details first so she knew what kind of response to request.
Light shone from the front room of the small house, spilling out like a beacon to lead her deeper into the property. She made her way to a tree and paused behind it to assess. Her mind filled with visions of the gruesome discovery they’d found on this property. Her stomach churned, nausea mixing with fear of what she might soon discover.
You have to be strong. Ignore the fear. Move ahead.
“No! No!” A male’s agitated words burst out of the broken windows like two gunshots, echoing through the quiet night.
Oh no. No. She knew who it was. She’d worked with him and his brothers for years.
Vito Conti.
And he was in trouble. She had to move faster.
She zigzagged to the house, ducking behind a rusty car. A tree. Then another.
She made a final mad dash to the nearest window. Broken. Good. She would be able to hear better. She spotted Jabal with a gun pointed at Vito, who was violently trembling. A laptop computer sat on a dusty table that had been turned upright, a video game on the screen.
The music played, and she recognized it from when Gretchen was researching Blood and Sorcery.
“I said play,” Jabal demanded.
