Page 50 of The Sentinels

I couldn’t keep from looking for my dad wherever we went. I didn't see him, but I could feel him, watching, following me. At least that's how I felt. I made sure to drive the long way home, keeping watch behind me to make sure that I wasn't being followed. When I felt safe that I wasn't, I finally headed to my apartment.

It occurred to me that if he’d managed to find me at the boardwalk then he probably knew where I lived, too.

As soon as I got inside I was going to call the prison to see if my father had been released. At least then I'd know if my fears were grounded or if I was imagining things.

Chapter 25

Ace

About an hour into our search I decided to take an overpass, and I was rewarded for following my gut. Maniac was a stupid fuck. The van had been parked at a storage facility and was easily spotted from the bridge. Thank fuck it was parked at a unit at the back, where it would be unlikely that they would hear our approach. We made our way there and parked our bikes just outside of the front office.

"How we gonna do this?" Joker asked beside me.

"Let's go inside first." I dismounted my bike. Heath and Sully followed suit. "Find out what the staff knows."

The four of us stomped inside the office, taking the cute little girl inside by surprise. It was clear from her expression that we scared the shit out of her and that she was intimidated by us. She couldn't have been more than twenty. As her gaze flicked back and forth between us, her frightened eyes settled on me more than once.

"Relax, sweetheart. I might look like a monster, but I'm usually harmless." She made an attempt to relax. "We just have a few questions."

"Okay," she said shyly.

"That orange van parked in the back, it just get here?" Joker asked.

She nodded. "A couple of hours ago. They rented a storage unit about a week ago."

I knew exactly what they planned to use that unit for. "Did you get a look at anyone? The driver?"

She shook her head. "Renters aren't required to stop in here once they have their own keys."

"Got any cameras around?" Sully questioned.

She shook her head again.

I hadn’t thought that they would. The place was old. "You're going to close up for the rest of the day."

Her eyes rounded. "I can't do that! I'll lose my job!"

I gave her a hard look.

She blushed and looked toward the floor. "I need this job," she murmured beneath her breath.

"You know who we are?" Heath questioned, drawing her gaze to him.

"Yes."

"Then you know we're the good guys, but there are some people out back who aren't. We just don't want you hurt, okay?" She nodded. "You lose your job, you find one of us." He reached inside his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "This is to make up for cutting out early." He peeled off a hundred and handed it to her.

She reluctantly took the money. "Thank you."

"Now get your purse, lock up, and get out of here," I ordered lightly. "And don't come back today, yeah?"

"Okay." As she began moving around the office, gathering up her things, we stepped back outside.

"We'll leave our bikes here and approach from the other side of the building."

We waited for the woman to leave before we made our way down the end of the storage units from the other side. We hugged the side of the building, coming to the corner we would have had to take to get to where the van was parked. I peeked around the corner and recognized the man who was standing guard as one of the Hellraisers. I pulled back.

"There's one outside, but he's facing the front. Everyone else must be inside." I wished we knew how many we'd be dealing with. "Heath, you're the stealthiest one here, you think you can sneak up on him and take him out?"