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CHAPTERTWENTY
I take a deep breath as I give myself one last once-over in the mirror. The past week has flown by and we’re still no closer to finding Dimitri. Somehow, he got wind of his unofficial blacklisting and has been doing everything he can to evade capture.We’ll find him.I’m sure of it, and tonight, I’m excited that they’re finally letting me in on some of the action.
“You almost ready?” Cyrus asks as he gently knocks on my door.
“Yeah, just about.” I reply as I finish lacing up my boots. I’ve learned through trial and error that it’s always good to have shoes I can run with if needed.
Cyrus steps through the door and gives me an appreciative once over. “You look good, P.” He says, cocking his slightly with a grin.
“I don't want to look good.” I say, sliding the billowy fabric of my red dress up and revealing the loaded holster around my thigh. “I want to look intimidating.”
Cyrus laughs as he shakes his head. “Fine, then let me correct myself. You look like a badass that could beat the shit out of me. Better?”
I laugh. “It’s an improvement.” I adjust my blond wig one last time before adding a pair of aviator sunglasses to complete the look. “Thank you for letting me come with you tonight. I’ve been going a little stir crazy staying locked up in the house.”
“Of course.” He says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “Just make sure you keep the sunglasses on and we should be good. And for the record, we don’t like having to keep you cooped up in here either. But we’re still having a hard time tracking Mitri down and I don’t think any of us will feel good about you being out in the open until we catch him.”
“I know.” I nod, trying not to get creeped out at the mention of his name.
Dimitri has become this ever present dark cloud over us. It’s like he’s always there, seconds away from pouring down on us, but we have no clue when the storm will hit.
Cyrus leads me out to the driveway and when I spot which bike he’s pulled out of the garage I let out a little squeal.
“We’re taking the freaking Ducati?”
Cyrus tries to fight the smile that tugs at his lips. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a drive so I figured we could at least have a little fun with it.” Cy loves this bike more than he loves most people and as much as he tries to hide it, he’s totally eating up my excitement right now.
He hands me an extra helmet. “Whoa, this actually fits pretty well. I was expecting it to be too big on me.”
“I, uh, ordered it a while back for you. You know, in case you ever wanted to ride with me again.”
I can tell he doesn’t want me to make a big deal about it, but I have to say something. He’s always so thoughtful and I want him to know how much I appreciate that. “Hey,” I say, grabbing his hand before he hops on, “thank you for thinking of me, Cy. Seriously.”
“It’s not a big deal.” He says, brushing me off with a shrug. But it is, especially to someone who grew up in a household where my needs were the last thing on anyone’s mind.
We hop on his bike, and I settle against his back as he starts the engine. We fly down the hill and the ride down is as exhilarating as it is terrifying. Once we hit the freeway, I grip onto his body for dear life. I know I’m probably squeezing the life out of him, but it’s as if my muscles are paralyzed in fear.
About an hour later, Cy finally pulls off of the freeway and I’m able to breathe again. Once we slow down to a normal pace, my muscles relax and my hold on him finally loosens.
“You okay?” He asks, turning his head slightly to check in on me as we pull up to a red light.
I give him a nod. “It was a lot faster than I expected.”
“I may or may not have been driving a little crazier on purpose.”
“What? Why would you do that?”
“So you’d squeeze me tighter.”
“Dick move, Cy.” I joke, shaking my head. “Dick move.”
We pull up to an older single story office building with a fading exterior and the most boring boxy architecture I’ve ever seen.
“You sure this is the place?” I ask, hoping off the bike as I scan the barren parking lot. “It doesn’t look like anyone else is here.”
“I’m sure.” Cy says with a nod. “Most of the people that come to this place don’t want anyone to spot them, so they’ll usually have a car drop them off. High stakes underground casinos like this aren’t exactly legal.”
“How do you know so much about this place?”
