As I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes, I asked, “What time is it?”
“Just after six.”
“All right. I’ll be right there.”
He nodded, then disappeared into the hallway. I pulled myself out of bed, and after a quick run to the bathroom, I went to check in on Delilah. Not wanting to just barge in on her, I tapped on the door as I unlocked it. When I stepped inside, I found her still in bed watching TV. When I glanced over at the screen, I was surprised to see she was watching Animal Kingdom—one of my favorite shows. I’d stumbled across the series a few months back when I was nursing a hell of a hangover and quickly became engrossed in the crazy family. The three sons and their lunatic mother were always into something, and I found it hard to believe that a woman like Delilah would be interested in all of their antics. She drew me from my thoughts as she sat up and turned off the TV. “Any news on Danny? Did you find out what you needed to know? Can I go home now?”
“Slow down, Delilah. As of now, nothing’s changed.”
“How long is this going to take?”
“Already told you ... That’s up to Danny.”
Worry filled her eyes as she asked, “So, he’s ... still alive?”
“He is.”
“Thank god.”
It was clear Delilah was relieved that her brother was still alive, but her face was still marked with worry. I couldn’t blame her. She was stuck in the middle of an impossible situation. Hoping to take her mind off things for a moment, I asked, “You a fan of Animal Kingdom?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She cocked her head with curiosity. “Why? Do you watch it?”
“From time to time. Smurf is something else, isn’t she?”
“She’s a nutjob, but she makes the show.”
“That she does.” As I started out the door, I told her, “I’ve gotta get going. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Okay.” She nodded, and just as I was about to close the door, she asked, “Hey, do you think I might be able to make a call into work? I need to let them know I won’t be coming in.”
“Doubt Viper will go for that.”
“It’s not like me to just not show up for work,” she pushed. “I doubt anyone but my mother would notice that Danny’s not around, but if I don’t at least text my lead nurse, they’ll get suspicious and—”
“I’ll talk to Viper and let you know.”
“Okay, but my shift starts in a couple of hours and—”
“I said I’d talk to him, Delilah.”
With a look of defeat, she sighed. “Okay.”
“I’ll be back when I can.”
With that, I closed the door and went down to the conference room to join Viper and the others. When I walked in, they were already seated and waiting for me to do the same. As soon as I was settled, Viper announced, “You all know that we brought Danny in last night, and he spent some quality time with Shotgun. I’d like to say that we got everything sorted and this thing with him is done, but unfortunately that isn’t the case.”
“So, what’s going on?” Axel asked. “Who fucked us over?”
“Can’t say for sure ... at least, not yet.” Viper turned to Menace and asked, “What were you able to find out?”
“Don’t have a lot just yet, but I’m still working on it.” He took a piece of paper out of his file and handed it over to Viper. “Lives in Texarkana. From what I can tell, he’s just another go-between. I tracked the burner he was using, and it looks like he goes to Texas at least once a week, if not more.”
“Got a name?”
“Not yet.”
“Is he making drug runs to Texas?” I asked.
“That would make sense, but I can’t be certain just yet.”
As Axel looked over at the paper Menace had given Viper, he said, “Not much here. Looks like you have your work cut out for ya.”
“I do, but I’ll get it.” He turned to Shotgun. “Need you to see if Danny knows anything more. Might help to know how he got his start dealing with these guys.”
“No problem. I’ll get him talking.”
“I have no doubt you will,” Menace replied. “Since we have the sister, might be a good idea to have a chat with her as well.”
My stomach twisted into a knot, and I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “We’ve already talked to her. It’s pretty clear that she doesn’t know anything.”
Viper cocked his eyebrow as he told me, “We don’t know that for certain.”
“No, but my gut tells me she’s speakin’ the truth.” I glanced around the room, and it was clear from their expressions that my brothers were surprised by my declaration. Hoping to play it off, I shrugged and said, “I don’t see any reason for her to lie ... not when she’s got nothing to gain and everything to lose.”