“Sprich Englisch, Klaus. Wir haben einen Gast,” I said.
“Er kann kein Deutsch?”Anson asked, nodding to E, who looked at us in bewilderment.
“Nein. Es sieht nicht so aus, als würde er das tun. Soweit ich zuletzt wusste, tat er es nicht.”I looked at E again.
“Fine.Asshole,” Klaus muttered to Frank.
“I feel like I’m missing something,” E mumbled.
I gave Anson a pointed look. “See?”
He seemed good with that and settled back in his seat.
The interior of the SUV was set up so the back seats faced each other. I took the opportunity to study E more as he pulled out his phone and typed a message.
He really did look good. So much better. I was glad he’d found his way through this hell. He seemed like he dealt with it better than I had. Of course, I didn’t really know the levels of hell he’d gone through. I only knew what I’d gone through and the things I’d seen when we were together.
He glanced up and saw me focused on him. He offered me a quick smile before looking back at his phone again.
He was the same E, yet… wasn’t.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in getting to know him again because fuck, I’d missed him.
When we arrivedat Dante’s estate, we were led inside by two guards. He knew we were coming and was waiting for us in a large study.
His green eyes immediately went to E.
“Why?” he asked in a monotone, sliding his gaze from E to me.
I knew Anson had texted him before we got here to say E was with us and that he hadn’t recognized me.
“Because I make the rules,” I said coolly. “In my group.”
Dante narrowed his eyes at me for a moment before he stood from behind his desk and came around to us. I thought he was going to come straight for me, but instead, he went to E.
“Luka,” he murmured. “Are you well?”
“I’m fine,” E said, his voice strong.
Dante said nothing for a moment as he stared at him before nodding and gesturing for us to take seats near his fireplace.
“Where’smein ballerina?” Klaus asked.
“She will be here in a moment,” Dante said, taking a seat across from me. “We have no word on my sister. This is not going to work for me.”
“Do you think it’s working for us?” Anson snapped at him.
“Excuse me, Archangel, but if you were doing your job, she would not have gone missing.”
“Fuck you, Dante,” Anson snapped. “Where the fuck were you? You’ve been up our ass for a month on tour, but in this goddamn city you bailed.”
“You’re right. I let her down and broke my vow,” Dante replied, his voice shaking. “It is killing me to know she’s gone. I-I have been searching. We all have. I know everything about this city, from its sewer drains and hidden tunnels to its high-rises. And nothing. There’s just fucking nothing.”
If Dante Church was telling us he had no leads, then I knew we’d gone from bad to worse. My heart pounded at the fear of what it meant.
“Do you think whoever took her could have left the city?” E asked. “It started outside of Chicago, so maybe whoever did this didn’t plan to stick around.”
Dante nodded, and my stomach dropped.
