and felt a few eyes on me. Well, more than a few. I looked over toward the front lobby and saw the girl behind the desk staring at me with a phone in her ear. Well, if I hadn’t called local authorities, she probably was. Which meant our entire motel had been blown for us.
“Pretty sure the front desk attendant is—”
Bowser cut me off. “Just take the damn pictures.”
“All right, all right. Doing it now.”
I snapped pictures with the flash on as well as off. I took them from every angle I could as I heard sirens off in the distance. I cursed beneath my breath and sent the pictures right to Ash before putting the cell back to my ear.
Then, I headed quickly back into the room.
“I’ve also got her cell phone with me, so there’s no tracking it to get to them. It’s locked, and I’m sure we’re going to want in,” I said.
Bowser clicked his tongue. “Ash just told me he’s coming with all his equipment. Him and Sly will be there by the morning. In the meantime, I want you to stay put until—”
“Dude, I’m sorry. But I can’t wait until morning to go after Simone. She could be dead by then.”
“It was your idea to take her and you knew the risks. Now, buck it up and suck it up.”
Anger filled my veins. “No, you listen to me. We’re working with threats we don’t even know about right now and getting into her phone might be the only way to figure them out. But as of right now? I’ve got sirens in the distance telling me that police are about to roll up on this place, ask me questions, and throw me out. So, I don’t even know if we’ll have a motel to come to by the end of it.”
“One? None of that shit is my problem. It’s yours. And yes, I agree that we need to get into her phone. As for that front office woman? Link’s the one on the phone with her. Just confirming reservations. So, I don’t know who the hell those sirens are for that you’re hearing? But they aren’t you.”
I drew in a sobering breath. “Bowser, he’s going to kill her. You know this.”
“And we’re going to find her before that happens. You know that as well.”
“This is all my fault. I never should’ve brought her. I never should’ve—”
“Knuckles!”
My back stiffened. “Sorry.”
He sighed. “Look, I know your brain is in every which direction right now. Trust me, I get that. I honestly do.”
“I know,” I murmured.
“But you can’t do a damn thing without risking yourself without reinforcements. Sly and Ash are packing up as we speak. The front desk woman has confirmed an early morning check-in for them in exchange for paying double. They’ll be there in a couple of hours to—”
“That’s still not enough. I have to go after them. What if Ash can pull up the traffic camera—”
“Knuckles, you listen to me right now. Your head is clouded and so is your judgment. If you go galivanting off to try and save her, you’re going to get killed. End of story. Got it?”
I gnashed my teeth together. “You think so little of me, old friend.”
“I don’t think little of you. I just think more of Skeleton. We’ve underestimated him this entire way, so I think it’s time we take the cue. You go after him, I know damn good and well we’ll be finding your body as well as hers in a fucking ditch somewhere. All right?”
I closed my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you.”
“Good. Now, like I said, Sly and Ash are due to check in in a couple of hours. Sly will be directly next to you, Ash on the other side of him. Once they get there, give Ash her phone. He can get into it and download everything she’s got on there so we can go through it. Maybe try to see what the hell’s been up her skirt all this time.”
I growled. “Don’t you talk about her like that.”
“And you stand down. That’s an order.”
I licked my lips. “Fine.”
“Good. Now, go outside and see if there’s anything else you can find. Particles, hair, more scuff marks. Anything that we can use to figure out the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of this all.”
“I already know who and why.”
“I mean who exactly and why exactly.”
“I know that, too.”
He paused. “Do I need to pull you from this operation?”
I shook my head. “Not a fat