“Eden, get your ass to work,” Cori says.
“But let’s all have dinner together tonight. We’ll go to Paulene’s,” Eden suggests. “I’ll make a reservation for six thirty.”
“I’ll see if Gill can come. I’m not trying to be the fifth wheel,” Selene says. I dig out my phone and send Preacher a text inviting him.
“Okay. I have to get to the shop. I have a shipment coming in today.”
“You told me you had this shit under control. They were supposed to have been handled by now.” My words come out through gritted teeth. I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes.
“I could have done it,” King says.
“That’s not what we do, god damn it.” I gesture at Stone and Steel. “That’s their job. You think I want your wife coming after me if something happens to you, King?”
“Oh, fuck you. We’ll find them today. Calm the fuck down.” Steel never has to raise his voice. “Stone talk to you about that money—”
“No. I’m not going any further with you.”
“We’ll see.” I ignore Steel’s arrogant tone. “In other news, Wolzki’s done. Insulin overdose. Could be accidental or not.” He shrugs. “Whenever they find him. Somehow, his wife found out he fucked her sister.” Steel stares at his brother, who only grins.
“Well, she won’t have to waste her time mourning a cheater. Whoever made sure she found out sounds like a hero to me.” Stone pats himself on the back. “People without family values don’t deserve to be remembered.” These maniacs act like offing people is nothing but a joke. I’m tired of them and this life.
King’s phone rings, and he moves to the corner. From the low timbre of his voice, I know he’s talking to his wife.
“So, now what?”
Steel rises, but my personal vibrates, so I grab it, expecting to see Cori’s name, but it’s my mother.
“Where is Cori, Son?” The question sends a tremor through me. I pull the phone away from my ear and track Cori’s location.
“The tracker shows she’s at the shop.”
“I’m at the shop. I’ve been here for half an hour, and she’s not here. Her phone is, though, and I’m scared. Her car’s in theparking lot, but she’s nowhere to be found. I thought you had someone watching her.”
“I did.”
My blood turns to ice. The men in the room must sense my tension. They all circle around me like a pack of hungry hyenas.
“What does the shop look like?”
“No signs of struggle. Nothing is out of place, but the power was out when I got here.”
There have been no storms that would have wiped out power.
“Get Preacher on the phone,” I order King. “Cori’s missing.”
“Get out of there, Mom,” I order. “Don’t go home. You know where to go.”
“I’m coming to you because if anyone hurts a hair on that girl’s head, they are going to deal with me.”
“I was able to get the footage from the flower shop across the street. The insurance agency had an outage, too.” Preacher pulls out his laptop. The contents on the screen confirm what I’ve suspected. There’s a short clip that shows two men pushing my wife into the trunk of a car. She hits one of them, and he backhands her across the cheek and mouth.
“Fucking dead man,” I hiss.
“Make it hurt.” Stone stands next to me and looks at the screen in disgust.
My phone buzzes.
Unknown number: Bitch in a cage
