Page 85 of Dangerous Games

The only sound that can be heard is music softly playing throughout the store.

Items on the counter near the register are thrown around. Video games lie scattered all over the floor in the back corner. The shelf they were on is barely hanging on for dear life.

My nails dig into my palm, causing pain that I’m numb to now as I clench my fist. She struggled.

She fucking struggled, and I wasn’t here to help her.

“You couldn’t have waited two fucking seconds for me? What if this whole thing was a set — oh shit.” Matteo comes to a stop behind me.

I walk around the store but there isn’t shit here.

No Bronwyn in sight.

I walk into the back, stepping over the games scattered across the floor as I enter the breakroom.

“I know you’re thinking the worst right now, but I need your head on straight so we can find her.”

“How can I when her purse is sitting right fucking there,” I point to her bag that looks untouched on the table. “And she isn’t here.”

Matteo already has his phone out. “We’re going to find her. She told you her dad was here?”

I nod. “Fuck!”

“Try calling her.”

I pull my phone out, find her contact, and hit call. I listen to it ring until it goes to voicemail. “Nothing.”

“Alessio is going to swing by her place and check it out. Has she said where her dad has been staying? When I looked into him, no known address was listed. I know he spends most of his time at the casino.”

Fuck, I can’t think. “Uh, no,” I say, shaking my head as I try to focus on everything that’s happening around me. “She told me he would always pop up wherever she moved to ask for money.”

“I wonder if that’s why he showed up here. He probably needed more.”

The piece of shit probably did.

“I’m calling in a favor with Wiz,” I say as I grab Bronwyn’s purse off the table. I don’t see anything else that’s hers. “And then I’m marching my ass back into that fucking casino and they’re going to give me answers.” If they don’t, I’m blowing the whole place up.

Matteo curses. “Gio, listen to me. I’ve been in your shoes before. Remember Wren’s shit? I was out of my fucking mind. You need to stop for a second and gather yourself so we can figure out our next move. She needs you right now.”

“I know you’ve been in my shoes. But you know what I did when you were? I had your fucking back when you lost your goddamn mind.” I storm out of the store as I find Wiz’s contact.

“Goddamnit,” Matteo says as he follows me out and heads to his car. “You know I’ll always have your back. All I ask is that you don’t do anything crazy without someone at your back. We haven’t had enough time to dig into this whole operation Dimitri has going on at the casino, and I don’t know who is or isn’t involved.”

I open my car door and pin him with a hard look. “Then you better keep up.”

“You and Wren are going to be the reason I die early!” Matteo calls after me as I slam my door shut.

My tires screech as I peel out onto the street.

“Call Wiz,” I tell my car’s system.

“Calling Wiz,” the automated voice responds before ringing is heard throughout the car.

“I swear to god if you’re calling to make me listen to you fuck Bronwyn again, I’m going to come find you and punch you in the fucking dick,” Wiz’s voice sounds throughout the car.

“I’d like to see you fucking try. I’m calling in a favor.”

“Cyrus will do it for me, no questions asked. You seem to be calling in a lot of favors lately.”