Hunt shoved his phone back into his pocket with a sigh, expelling the tension in his shoulders. He couldn’t let them rile him up.
When he felt ready and calm, he entered the bar, surveying it quickly. The only exit was through the door he entered. The bathrooms were at the back. A pool table was set next to a jukebox. A scantily clad woman was dancing for the men sitting at the bar. Hunt’s focus zeroed in on the two men, staring at him from across the bar, at a table near the back.
Determined to get this settled, Hunt moved to them immediately. As he took his seat across from her brothers, the waitress asked in a high, squeaky voice, “What can I get you, honey?”
“Nothing for me, thanks,” he said, staring into Leo’s dead eyes. “I won’t be staying long.”
“Suit yourself,” she said, then scurried away to wait on the other customers.
Not intending to be there any longer than necessary, and with the ACDC song playing through the jukebox, Hunt leaned forward, lacing his fingers together on the table. “Why am I here?” he asked, getting right to the point.
“You’re not asking the questions tonight,” Leo snarled, before taking a long drink from his beer.
Hunt snorted. He wasn’t in the mood for a dick-measuring contest. “Then ask your questions.”
Leo leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms. He was muscular, but it was the coldness in Leo’s expression that brought the most concern. Men who looked like him did very evil things. “Do you really think you know Marissa?” he asked.
“I knowLottiebetter than you do,” Hunt declared.
Matteo huffed a laugh, shaking his head slowly. “We’re her brothers. We grew up with her. How do you think you know her better than us?”
“Simple,” Hunt said, leaning in. “You knew the girl who was afraid of you. I know the strong women who isn’t.”
Leo slammed his beer bottle down, scoffing. “The only thing Marissa needs to be afraid of is what she’s hiding from us.”
“She already told you, she’s not hiding shit,” Hunt shot back. “How many times can she possibly tell you?”
A slow-building smile spread across Leo’s face. “You think I believe that bullshit? She became a traitor to our family the moment she left us behind. She is a liar. She stole money to run, and now that decision is catching up with her.”
Hunt drew in a long, deep breath to settle the fire in his gut. “A traitor means, at one point, she was a part of your world. That never happened. She wanted no part of your lives or your operation back then, and she doesn’t want to be a part of your lives now.” He hesitated to reel in the seething anger toward these men who did nothing to protect their sister. “You called me here tonight. Tell me what you want.”
“She’s our sister,” Leo said, teeth bared. “She belongs to us.”
The menace crossing Leo’s face had Hunt rising, pressing his knuckles against the table, leaning in. “She belongs to no one,” Hunt said through gritted teeth.
Leo stood, Matteo joining him, as Leo declared, “She’s coming home with us. One way or the other.”
“Want to bet?” Hunt growled.
Leo snarled, all teeth. “Yeah, I’ll take that bet.”
Hunt inhaled sharply, feeling the tension simmering like an elastic ready to snap between them. He forced himself tothink.“What exactly did your dad have on you?” Matteo jerked his gaze to Leo, a telling sign that Hunt had guessed right. “It all seems a little coincidental that you showed up wanting something after your father died.” He rolled his shoulders, shedding his emotion like he’d been trained to do. “Are you responsible for your father’s death?”
Leo didn’t even flinch as he snorted. “You’re reaching,cop.”
Matteo said, “You need to talk to Marissa. Explain that this is theonlyway out. She needs to give us what she has.”
“There’s no explaining shit,” Hunt said to Matteo, who seemed more uncomfortable in the moment than threatening. “She has told you. Repeatedly now. She has nothing on you. She took nothing with her when she left Chicago. Whatever you’re looking for, she does not have it.”
Leo’s nostrils flared. “Bullshit.”
Hunt leaned forward, getting closer to Leo’s face. “Think about it. If she had anything on you, why hasn’t she given it to me? Why prolong this? If she had something to destroy you, she’d hand deliver it to the cops and you’d be arrested. It doesn’t add up.”
“She’s got her reasons, I’m sure,” Leo scoffed.
Hunt ground his teeth in frustration. To put this to bed, he said, “I could really give two fucks what you’ve done.”But I do care about Lottiewas what he left out. “This is your last warning. She doesn’t have what you’re looking for. Go home and stay the fuck away from her.” He felt his limbs vibrating with anger. “I’m done sitting around and letting her deal with this. It’s time for you to get the fuck out of my city.”
He went to turn away, knowing himself and feeling the splinter in his control, but then Leo said all too calmly, “If she won’t give me what I want, the truth will die with her.”
