Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 72799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
I stomp on the custom lever seat, bending the metal, warping it as it bounces between my shoe and the concrete.
Since it’s metal, there is nothing else I can do to it, but I enjoy staring down at the warped metal. Even if it’s not ruined, he’ll have to do some work to make it rideable again. If he’s alive once I’m done with him.
Soo clears his throat. “You good man?”
I spin and glare. “Do I look fucking good? I’m about five seconds from finding the nearest loaded weapon and stalking the streets until I find her.”
Instead of arguing, Soo holds his hands up in surrender. “I get it. You want to find her. You’re worried about her. Like I said, I don’t think Lucas will hurt her. I think more than anything, more than revenge even, he wants answers.”
“Answers to what?” I stare down at the addresses again and stalk to the nearest SUV. Soo climbs into the driver’s side, of course. It’s his own way to exert control in our partnership, plus he fears for his life when I drive.
“Your brother is a walking fucking question mark. Your opposite. Where you’re resolved, he’s unsettled. You made yourself a Diavolo when you lost family. He’s still that little boy watching his mother be slaughtered and needing to know why. It’s not Celia he wants; it’s her father.”
He pulls away, no doubt having already memorized each location on the list. I ignore his comment about Lucas because it’s something I already know. And Lucas’s disquiet has always felt like a failure on my part.
But as we make it to the garage gate, his phone chimes. He answers, and I stare at him impatiently, waiting to find out what information he’s found.
“It’s one of my sources. He thinks he saw your brother buying food in one of the areas he sells his product.”
Something surges in my chest, demanding freedom. “Where?”
“A Chinese restaurant. It’s not near any of the addresses on the list. Let’s head there and see if we can get more information. If he orders delivery to where he stays over there, then the restaurant might have the information on file.”
He pulls away, and I squeeze the handle above the door to keep myself from venting my rage on the vehicle. When we get to my brother, it will not be good. Especially if he hurt her.
She better not have a single mark on her pale skin. Or I’m going to—
I shake off the violent thoughts trying to force their way into my mind. Think rationally. He won’t be unprotected in his safe house, and I’m in no condition for strategic planning.
As if he can read my mind, Soo says, “What’s the plan when we get there? Maybe you should let me talk, so we don’t end up having to buy a Chinese restaurant to cover anything up.”
I glare, even though his eyes are fixed out the windshield. “Not in the mood for jokes.”
“Who’s joking?”
I release my death grip on the handle and rub my face. It’s sometime in the morning, and I glance at the clock. Four a.m. “Is this restaurant even open right now?”
“Twenty-four hours, according to my source, but he’s not sure if the same workers are on duty that saw Lucas.”
Instead of engaging my asshat friend further, I stare out the window into the dead city streets. I’ve always liked this time of morning, but now, I can’t grasp the calm it usually brings me. Not with my gut roiling, and my brain running over everything Lucas could have done to her in the hours he’s held her captive.
We stop outside a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant with neon lights on the window. Soo climbs out, and I follow, but he slams the door in my face. With a growl, I yank it open and stand on the threshold, waiting.
He doesn’t see me lingering, and that’s fine because the moment he learns what I need to know, I’m leaving his ass here and finding my brother on my own. Even if I have to tear apart this entire street to do it.
While Soo is waiting for the manager to come out of the kitchen, I glance up and down the block. It’s not upscale, but it’s not exactly low-end either. There are a couple of new high-rises on the corner, and I’d bet good money Lucas is in one of them. He may like to play the bad boy, but the man is a sucker for his creature comforts.
Soo’s voice drifts from the restaurant, and I tilt my head to focus on what the little old lady is saying. And it sounds an awful lot like she is saying she can’t give Soo the information he wants.
I step into the shop, ready and willing to extract what I need. Hurting a grandma isn’t at the top of my favorite things list, but it doesn’t mean, for Celia’s sake, I won’t do what is necessary.