He coughed, a husky whisper coming back for a moment, “He’s at—” He coughed, clearing his throat. He came back, sounding clear again. “The Red Demons are known to hang out at The Twister Sister, a bar on the east side of Cain. He might be there, or he might be somewhere else. I’m fairly sure that they put him up somewhere, but I wouldn’t know where to even tell you to look. And remember, I’m positive they have other hangouts, but that’s the locally ‘known’ place they’ll be at. That means the only guys there will be the guys who don’t have warrants out for their arrests. You get me? Just ’cause they’re not illegal right now, doesn’t mean they’re not guys to be worried about. They’re still dangerous.”

Bren’s fingers curled so tight around the phone, her knuckles started to turn white. “Tell me about the heavy hitters with them.”

“Bren–”

“I need to know. I’m not going to do anything, except talk to Dad if I find him, but I have to know what we might be walking into.”

Channing was quiet on his end.

Two seconds.

Five.

Ten.

Then, fifteen seconds later, he said, “I can’t give you a rundown on all the members. We’re still gathering intel ourselves, but you know Maxwell Raith.”

Bren nodded. There’d been a run-in involving him this past summer.

“Heckler is another one. I don’t know his real name. He’s one of their enforcers, but the other big name to know is their VP. Ghost. I can’t remember if I’ve told you about him or not. His name is Shane King.”

“King?”

“He goes by Ghost.”

Bren didn’t reply, but she didn’t hand the phone over either.

“Word’s been put out that you’re protected. My cop friend let me know that the last time I was there. Having said that, you go in there, looking for Dad, I can’t guarantee there won’t be someone going rogue. You stabbed one of theirs. They take that seriously, very seriously. You might not be as protected anymore.” A beat. “I really don’t want you going there.”

But we were.

Bren looked up, holding my gaze.

I reached over, taking the phone from her. Her fingers didn’t move.

“It’s Cross again.”

“I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. Wait. Maybe I should come?”

Bren’s brother knew the score. You try to cage Bren in, and she’d break free every time. It was the only reason he was giving her what he knew, so he knew where she was going. He knew that. I knew that. Bren knew that. And seeing her look, Bren was set.

I said into the phone before hanging up, “We have her back.”