Nathan addressed the silent room. “Anyone else?” When no one made a move, he approached the table where Amber Sheldon was seated. Although her smile had somewhat faded at his arrival, it wasn’t completely gone. He addressed the three men seated with her. “Would you gentlemen please excuse yourselves from the table?”

The politeness in Nathan’s voice took them by surprise, but all three left. One of them bent over the bartender, the other two grabbed stools at the bar.

Amber Sheldon removed a cigarette from the pack sitting on the table and fired it up with a wooden match. Through a slit in her lips, she blew the smoke up and away, and nodded to a vacant chair. “Have a seat, cowboy.”

Nathan sat down facing the center of the room. He caught the two men he’d noticed earlier watching him. He winked and they looked away.

She studied his damaged face for several seconds. “Been in a few fights?”

“A few.”

“What do you want?”

“My own private jet.”

“Cute. What do you want with me?”

“That’s much more specific, but you already know why I’m here, don’t you.”

“I gotta pretty good idea. You a cop?”

“No.”

She took another deep drag and blew it out slowly.

Nathan leaned forward slightly. “What did he say to you on the phone the other night?”

Her face showed instant understanding. “That little slut, what did she tell you?”

“I’m asking the questions from now on.”

“The fuck you are. I don’t have to tell you jack.” She blew smoke in his face and smiled.

In a lightning-fast move, Nathan snatched the cigarette from her fingers and flicked it at her. In a shower of red sparks, it bounced off her forehead.

“Hey, asshole. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

He engaged Amber’s stare. “I’m the one who’s asking the questions. You’re the one who’s going to answer them.” Nathan softened his tone. “It doesn’t have to get rough. We can talk like mature adults right here and now, or you can be tortured in a soundproof room, screaming in agony. I’m good either way.”

“Some cop you are.”

“I’m not a cop.”

“Who are you?”

“A vested third party.”

“A bounty hunter? Ernie told me someone like you might come around.”

“And.”

“He said if I talked, he’d kill me and Janey.”

“Does he know she’s his daughter?”

“Hell no.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“No.”

Nathan watched her reaction closely.

“I don’t,” she said. “I’d give his ass up if I did. He’s a piece a shit.”

She wasn’t lying. “Tell me about his old hangouts, places he liked to go, people he knew. Anything that might help me find him.”