When I meet his gaze, I can tell he wants to say more.

"Just tell me." I gesture at him. "You won't offend my delicate sensibilities by being honest."

"I understand you are in a difficult position," he offers carefully. "Being that Eli is your father-in-law. But if you feel like he’s fucking around with you—”

"Why don't I just torture it out of him?" I shake my head, disgusted with myself.

"Yes." He jerks his chin. "You could keep your wife away until he healed. She wouldn't ever have to know. Eli won't tell her if you don't let him."

But I would know.

And that's the fucking problem.

I collapse into my seat and reach for the bottle of scotch, which seems to be the only answer to my current problems.

"There are only so many sewers a rat can hide in," I say.

"In one city," Marco agrees.

He's right. Abel could be anywhere. And Eli isn't offering up any ideas. My men have searched every inch of this city and turned up nothing. He seems to have disappeared. And he isn't the only one. The Society is known for having a vast reach, but even they haven't been able to track down everyone involved in this scheme who's turned up MIA.

"Chamber's family," I murmur distractedly, spinning the bottle around in my palm.

"What about them?" Marco asks.

"They still haven't been located."

"I thought we assumed he must have killed them too."

"We did," I admit. "But what if Chamber's had the foresight to send them away? He had far more connections and money to buy them a new life."

Marco's brows pinch together. "And Abel found out where they were?"

"It's not outside the realm of possibility. He cleaned out Chamber's office. Maybe Chamber's had something there. Maybe he was planning to leave too."

"It sounds reasonable. But would they take Abel in after he murdered their husband and father?"

"I have a feeling Abel doesn't ever wait for an invitation. He just arrives as he pleases."

Marco considers the idea for a moment. "I think you had a point earlier. There are only so many sewers he could hide in. If we want to get him out, we have to flush him out."

"Hard to do when he doesn't care about anyone but himself," I note.

"He cares about his ego though. How he's perceived. It must be killing him to be invisible right now. He's thirsty for power."

I blink at Marco, surprised by his observation. It's simplistic, but so obvious I can't believe I didn't see it myself.

"Why would he need his father dead?" Marco states the obvious.

"So he can become Head of Household."

"Exactly. And I don't think he's disappeared with any notion of giving that up. He's still delusional enough to believe he can take back his power. He's just trying to figure out how."

"There is one way to speed up the process," I remark.