Chapter 86 Dead end
Sage's POV
"Diesel is a chronic gambler. He has been betting on fights for years. Sometimes he wins big and sometimes he loses bigger. This is probably just him paying off a debt to a bookie who doesn't take no for an answer."
"You knew about this?"
"Yeah. Dad knew too and we kept it quiet because Diesel is good at his job and what he does with his own money on his own time is his business. Unless you think owing money to bookies makes him a murderer?"
I thought about the person standing at the loading dock watching me drive away, perfectly still and silent in the darkness. I thought about the note promising another payment on Friday, about the way Diesel had checked whatever he was handed by that person before putting it away.
"I don't know what I think anymore. But someone was there tonight watching me watch Diesel. Someone who knew exactly where I was and what I was doing."
"How could you leave the house alone!?" Jaxon's voice shifted from angry to urgent. "Where is Ryder? How did you manage to get past him?"
"Jax—"
"You've been attacked several times. How could you be so stupid?! What if whoever was watching you decided to do more than just watch?"
"But I'm back safely. Nothing happened."
"Now listen to me very carefully." His voice was deadly serious in a way that told me he wasn't just angry anymore, he was scared. "You don't follow anyone else without backup. You don't investigate anything on your own without telling someone where you're going first. You got lucky tonight that whoever was watching you didn't do more."
"But we need answers about who killed Dad and we're running out of time."
"And we'll get them without you taking stupid risks that could get you killed." He paused and when he spoke again his voice had softened just slightly. "I'll talk to Diesel tomorrow about the money situation and find out who he owes and whether any of it is connected to what happened to Dad. You stay home and stay safe until we know more about what we're actually dealing with."
I wanted to argue and wanted to tell him I could take care of myself and didn't need him making decisions for me. But the figure at the warehouse flashed through my mind again, the way the person was watching me drive away like they knew exactly where I'd be going next.
"Okay. I'll stay home."
"Thank you." Jaxon's voice softened a little more. "Get some sleep. We'll figure this out together tomorrow."
He closed his door and I stood in front of it with the note from the warehouse still in my jacket pocket, turning the whole night over in my head.
Diesel had secrets, that much was clear. Whether those secrets were about gambling debts like Jaxon said, or something darker and more dangerous, I couldn't tell yet.
But Friday was three days away. Three days until his next payment. Three days to figure out if following him again would get me the answers I needed or get me killed in the process.
My phone buzzed with a text and I wondered who would be texting me at such an ungodly hour. Then I saw it was from that same unknown number that had been sending the threatening messages. I opened it with hands that had started shaking again as soon as I read the words on the screen.
"Curiosity killed the cat, princess. Stop digging or you'll end up just like your father."
Attached was a photo of me coming out from the warehouse, and heading towards my car. They had been right there, close enough to touch me, and I hadn't even known it.
I went downstairs and locked the doors again even though I had already checked them twice since getting home, and I stood in the hallway with my back against the wall trying to steady my breathing.
But fear wasn't going to be enough to make me stop investigating. Not when my father's killer was still walking free. Not when the clock was still ticking down toward Dante's and Diego's deadline. Not when the truth was somewhere out there waiting to be found by someone brave enough or desperate enough to keep looking for it.
I snuck back to my room, hoping and praying that Ryder was still fast asleep on the chair. I opened the door to find him pacing up and down. He looked up at me as soon as I walked in.
"And where the hell did you go alone at this time of the night!? How could you leave the house without telling me!?"
"Relax Ryder. I'm back aren't I?" I knew he cared about me, but the last thing I wanted at this moment was to be nagged by him.
"Why didn't you answer any of my calls? I thought something could have happened to you."
I sat down on the bed to take off my shoes and rolled my eyes. "You sound like my mum right now. I'm here now, safe and sound."
He knocked away the shoe in my hand and dragged me up to my feet by my shoulders with his broad palms. And then in a deadly calm but calm and possessive voice, he looked straight into my eyes and said to me, "Do not ever make mockery of my concern for you ever again."