“Not so much it got her killed. I had a deal with the Pagans, protection and cash in exchange for exclusive access to military-grade weapons. Some, they kept. Some, we sold together. Tyra thought I should sell to the Angels, too. She wanted a cut, and tried to broker a deal. It was business. The Angels never cared about Tyra.”

“Business.” I said it coldly, but Jason was unmoved.

“I’ve never pretended to be the good guy. I needed money, pure and simple. I told you my reasons.”

“You must have some idea who killed her.”

“Look, little brother, Tyra was fun, but had a closetful of demons. You saw how she was. The girl could drive a saint to murder.”

“All I need is a place to start.”

“I don’t want you to start! That’s the point! I don’t want you near me or this prison, not near the Pagans, either, and definitely not the Angels.”

“If they convict you, they’ll execute you.”

“Yeah, well. Prosecutors.”

I leaned away, cold on the inside. “What kind of fatalistic, inmate bullshit is that?”

“Go home, kid. Go to school. Kiss the girl.”

“I won’t give up only to watch you die.”

“That sounds like something Robert would say.”

“Sara’s gone.” It was my last bullet, so I fired it point-blank. “Burklow thinks she was abducted, possibly by the same person who killed Tyra. That means it’s not just about you anymore.”

“Listen to me, kid. You’re out of your depth. You don’t understand what’s happening here.”

“Explain it to me.”

“If I did, you wouldn’t believe me; and if you believed me, you wouldn’t accept it. What I will tell you is this.” His restraints clattered as he leaned closer. “You watch your back out there. I mean it. Walking. Driving. Be aware of the people around you, of everyone around you. Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t open the door to strangers. Stay inside. Stay with friends. If you find yourself outside and alone, be especially careful of middle-aged men who look older than they should, doubly so if they’re small and narrow, and not at all dangerous-looking. You see someone like that, you run, and I mean for your life.”

“Why run? What man?”

“Let’s just say that a prison like this does not forget, and there are people who want to control me, bad people who will hurt you to do it.”

“People on the inside or the outside?”

Jason smiled, then, but with little warmth. “I understand you, little brother. I truly do. You want to help because we’re family, and it feels like a noble cause. But we’ve not been family for a long time. You don’t owe me a thing.”

“I don’t see it like that.”