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“What about tracing the call?” Bones would call again tomorrow.
“We can try,” he answered. “But I doubt it’ll do any good. I’m sure Bones has covered his tracks like a pro.”
How did he capture Cane to begin with? What was Cane doing? “When was the last time you saw my brother?”
“Ten days ago,” he answered. “He was at work like normal then went home.”
“Did he say he was going anywhere?” I asked. “Florence? Rome? Or just home?”
“He didn’t say,” he answered with a shrug. “Cane doesn’t talk about his personal life much.”
I kept hitting one dead end after another. “Fuck.” I rubbed the back of my neck and felt the anxiety take over. I always remained calm around my men and Button but now I was losing my resolve. The lack of sleep and the terror were getting to me.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“No, I’m sorry.” I wouldn’t be able to find Cane in time and I knew it. If I hadn’t been on my honeymoon I may have noticed he was missing sooner and I could have done something. But now it was too late.
Cane was going to die.
***
The second I came home, Button smothered me.
“Did you find out anything? Do you have any leads?”
I ripped my shirt off as I walked into the bedroom, feeling suffocated by the fabric. “No.” I bowed my head in shame. After everything I learned in my line of work my skills didn’t help when it mattered most. Bones killed my parents, Vanessa, and now they were about to take Cane. That man had ripped everything from my life and I was powerless to stop it. I sat on the bed and bowed my head, feeling like a failure.
Button sat beside me. “There has to be something we can do.”
“If there was, I would have found it.” I clenched my jaw and tried not to snap at her. She was only trying to help but her insistent questions were only reminding me of my inadequacy.
“Can you offer him money?”
“He won’t take it.”
“Well, you should try.”
“I offered twenty million for you and he still didn’t want it,” I snapped. “You don’t understand how this guy works.”
Her eyes narrowed on my face. “Excuse me?”
It was a stupid thing to say and I knew it. “That’s not what I meant.” I rubbed the back of my neck because I didn’t want to fight right now. Arguing would get us nowhere.
“What are you saying? There’s nothing we can do? That we give up?”
I stared at the floor and tried to ignore her hostility.
“Crow?”
“Hmm?”
“Please don’t tell me we aren’t going to do nothing.”
“Button…I don’t know what to do. I’m out of options.”
“Agree to the trade—”
My words came out as a roar. “I’m not going to do trade you. That’s final.”
She backed away at my hostility. “If you would let me finish, I was going to say we should agree to the trade and try to break Cane out without actually going through with it.”
I shook my head. “Too risky.”
“This is your brother we’re talking about. Risky is okay.”
“No. That means I have to bring you and show you to him. Unless he sees you he won’t cooperate.”
“Then bring me.”
“No.” I ground my teeth together. “He’s setting us up. I know how he his. He’s going to kill Cane anyway. He’ll never make the trade freely. When we tried to get Vanessa he took our money and killed her anyway. I can’t trust him.”
Her shoulders sagged under her grief. “Crow…we have to think of something.”
I left the bed because I didn’t want to be close to her anymore. “Button, if there was something I could do I would do it. If I could forfeit my own life to save his I would. But none of those options are available. I can’t proceed with the trade because he’ll cross me. I know how he is.” I dragged my hands down my face because my eyes were dry and exhausted. I hadn’t slept in so long I couldn’t even think. “I just…leave me alone.” I walked into the shower and turned on the warm water and let the grime from the afternoon wash away. Every time I closed my eyes I saw my brother’s face. He was cold, alone, and bleeding to death. Images of our childhood replaced the existing ones, and I felt the urge to cry. I hated myself for allowing this to happen, but the hatred wouldn’t make it go away.
I dried off then walked to bed. I set my phone on the nightstand and pulled back the covers. I was too exhausted to talk to Button or make love. All I wanted was a few hours of sleep so I could start thinking clearly again. Maybe when my brain had a rest I could come up with a decent plan.
