Page 59 of Peak’s Code

Peak’s head tilted. “Did Captain send you?”

“No.” That stopped him. Maeve felt the tension in the room sharpen.

“Then why are you here?” Peak asked.

“Because Captain is missing,” Warden growled. The words landed harder than the thunder.

Maeve stepped out from behind the wall. “What do you mean, missing?”

Warden glanced over his shoulder. “Can I come inside before somebody puts a bullet through my spine?” Peak closed the door long enough to remove the chain, then opened it again. Warden moved fast, stepping inside and immediately turned to help Peak secure the door. Rain covered his black shirt, and water ran from his beard onto the motel carpet.

Maeve kept her pistol trained on him, and Warden looked at it. “You don’t trust me?”

“I barely know you,” she insisted.

“You trusted me enough to eat the burger I brought you,” he reminded.

“I was starving,” she defended.

“Still counts.”

Peak moved away from the door but didn’t lower his weapon. “Start talking.”

Warden removed a wet burner phone from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed. “Captain left the temporary clubhouse last night, and never came back.”

Maeve frowned. “He came here.”

“We know.”

Peak and Maeve exchanged a look. “Who is we?” Peak asked.

“Me and Ruin,” Warden said.

“Captain told you where he was going?” Peak asked.

“No. We found his truck.”

“Where?” Maeve asked.

“At an abandoned gas station about fifteen miles north of here,” Warden said.

Maeve’s stomach tightened. “Was there blood?”

“No,” Warden said.

“Signs of a struggle?” Peak asked.

Warden shook his head. “The driver’s door was open. Keys were still in the ignition. His phone was smashed on the ground.”

Peak’s gaze shifted toward the motel door. “He left here last night.”

“Then somebody intercepted him fast,” Warden said.

“Or he never intended to go back to the clubhouse,” Maeve said. Both men looked at her. She lowered the pistol slightly but kept it ready. “Captain warned us there was a mole in the Grave Prowlers. He gave us coordinates and a burner phone. Then he left alone.”

Warden folded his arms over his chest. “You think Captain set you up?”

“I think we need to consider every possibility,” Maeve insisted.