CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"No sign of the girl's mother?" asked Nine.

"None," said Whiskey. "We searched the entire place. But I can tell you this. The O'Noth brothers were watching every move we made. They saw us with the little girl and made sure they watched us. When we tried to find them, they were gone."

"If they know we're watching them, why are they still here?" asked Gaspar.

"Two million in prize money," said Ace. "If they win this competition, they will collect two million in prize money."

"That seems hefty for a circus competition," frowned Ian.

"Think about the amount of money they're bringing in," said Ace. They nodded at their friend, but when he didn't move, they knew he had more to say. "Look, you're not going to like this, but they've figured out that our men are not there to watch the circus. They're not going to do anything in front of you. I think we have to do something else."

"What the fuck are you suggesting?" growled Ghost.

"See, I knew you wouldn't like it. We need to send women. Apparently, it doesn't matter how old they are because the missing women are between the ages of twenty-three and forty-one. I might suggest we send Addie, Piper, Lucia, Ani, and Ellie."

"We need to send back-up for them," said Gaspar.

"No. You can't do that," said Ace. "Code and I will fly drones above the circus that will be tied to their locators. It will automatically follow them anywhere, and you can be close by watching. But you cannot be seen."

"Are we unappealing?" frowned Ian.

"No. You're big, old, grumpy assholes. You guys look like you eat trees for breakfast, and you have a permanent ‘I'm a badass' scowl on your faces. No one is buying that you're interested in the circus."

"They usually had kids with them. The women that were taken," frowned Ian.

"Most did, but not all. Look, all we want to do is make sure they can get up close and see what's happening. We'll send them in, see if they can win a few games, something that might lure them back for more fun. Hell, for all we know, they might be luring them in with other men."

"I fucking hate this idea," said Nine. "But. It's a good idea, and we promised the women we would allow them to be more involved. I think we have to use as many as we can to rotate the groups. Do we have any data on the times of day the women disappear?"

"Between ten and noon and then again between three and five."

"There must be something happening during those hours," said Ghost. "Alright, let's bring them in and speak with them."

"Why do they want to see all of us?" asked Piper, walking with Ace.

He shrugged, not wanting to give anything away. As he continued to walk, he realized he was walking by himself. Turning, he was face-to-face with more than a dozen frustrated faces.

Erin, Lauren, Alexandra, Grace, Faith, Kat, Mary, Ella, Rose, Lily, Lissa, Tori, Piper, Lucia, Addie, and Ani weren't going to budge.

"What do they want with us?" asked Ani, not so nicely.

"Please don't make me do this," said Ace nervously. "I can't break their trust."

"What about our trust?" asked Grace. "You're like my own son, Ace."

"Oh, come on! You're going to pull the ‘son' card on me? Crap! Okay, okay, they need your help with Gus's case. They want you guys to go to the circus and mill around."

"Alone?" asked Addie suspiciously.

"Yes. We'll have the drones attached to your trackers to follow you around so we can see everything. But the guys are getting picked out of the lineup before there's even a lineup. The idiots don't realize they look like they've arrived for the strongman competition." The women laughed, nodding.

"I can see that," smirked Erin. "That's a lot of meat in that room."

"Don't we know it," laughed Mary. "And the best part is, it seems to be meat with no expiration date."

"Ladies," yelled Ace shaking his head. "Please. I'm begging you. Stop now before I get sick to my stomach."

"Aw, poor baby doesn't like our conversation," smirked Faith.

She walked toward him, patting his cheek, then kissed it. The others all did the same, knowing that Ace was tolerant of their touch now but still not fond of it. When Grace noticed the grin on his face, she stopped.

"I thought you didn't like us touching you."

"I didn't. A while back. But with the help of my beautiful wife and my amazing therapists, it's not so bad."

"You little shit. You like the kisses on the cheek," laughed Erin. Ace scooted by the women and down the hall, giggling like a little boy all the way. As they entered the room, Lauren spoke first.

"Okay. We'll go to the circus." Nine stared at them open-mouthed.

"ACE!!!"