Page 134 of Tyler's Rule
“He hasn’t been part of that. Nor did he return my all-crew call earlier. How long has he been gone?”
Ice stole into my veins. “Possibly since early morning.”
Arran took up his phone and dialled someone, raising it to his ear. After a muttered discussion, he came back to me. “Manny says he was last picked up on the warehouse’s cameras in the early hours. The guard on the door recalls speaking to him. He’s on his way up.” His brow furrowed. “Do you have a way to track him?”
My breath caught, and I snatched up my phone, pulling up his tracker. It spun, then settled on that same vague area to the north. No fixed point. Just a wide, useless stretch of land beyond the city covering miles.
I exhaled frustration. “It did this earlier. It won’t find him. Why would that be?”
“What kind of tracker is it?” Arran asked.
“One of mine,” Shade replied, stalking into the living room. The tattooed enforcer’s scowl would scare the paint off wood. “The only scenario where it won’t give a precise location is ifthere’s a signal issue. Meaning he’s someplace remote with no one with a phone nearby to connect to and report back.”
My heart beat faster. I didn’t like this.
Everything about it felt wrong.
A knock brought the guard into our midst. Cassie came to me and curled an arm through mine, giving comfort I desperately needed.
The guard started his explanation. “A man came to the door last night, asking for Tyler.”
“What time?” Arran asked.
“Midway through the night shift, just before dawn. He demanded to see Tyler. His uncle, he called himself.”
Tension rolled off Arran. “His uncle? Manny, can you get a picture?”
He had his phone held out, and I realised a call was connected.
“Sent,” a disembodied voice returned.
A second later, and his phone buzzed.
Arran held up the overhead shot of a man in his sixties with a faint resemblance to Tyler. “Jonas.”
“You know him?” I asked.
His slow nod did nothing to help my nerves.
The guard tugged at the skeleton crew bandanna around his throat. “That’s him. He was rolling. Scrawled a note when Ghost didn’t come down.”
“They didn’t talk?” Shade asked.
The guard shook his head. “Ghost read the message then went off after him. I didn’t see him come back.”
Tyler’s uncle came here then he vanished. My anxiety soared. He’d lived with that uncle after his family died. His ultra-brief description of the man had given me the impression he wasn’t all that great a guy, even if he’d taken him in.
“Did you see what was written on that message?” I whispered.
“No, but it’s in the bin downstairs,” the guard said.
“Get it,” Arran ordered.
The man vanished.
Arran’s phone buzzed again, this time with video. Tyler entered, read the piece of paper, then left again. My heart hurt, and I rubbed over the ache.
“He went out, but I can’t see that he returned,” Manny’s voice came.
