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And I have no plans to shield her from the reality of our lives.
Stroking my hand up her back, I grip her hair and pull her into a kiss before letting go. “I need you to go sit on the sofa and keep quiet for a bit.”
“I—”
“Be a good girl,” I order. It’s not in my nature to be very dominant, but that dark shadow inside of me comes out at the sound of Alice’s voice, the one that wants to tame her brat. I stroke her jaw, feeling the warm skin under the pad of my thumb. “Right now, we just need patience, and I think you can give me that.”
“I can.” Her voice is smaller now. She slides from my lap, and I listen as she crosses the room, then sinks onto the worn leather.
A small, needy part of me wants to join her and curl up as we wait, but I have shit to do. There are hundreds of thousands of cameras in the city, and since I can’t be there with James and Ari to follow the trail on my own, I can do this.
It might not be everything, but by the time I’m done, I will have a target. And we will bring them here.
And we will make them pay for ever giving their allegiance to Guido Romano.
Chapter2
JAMES
It’s onlythe fact that Ari is with me that keeps me from losing it entirely. He jumps behind the wheel and takes off, his face a stoic mask of determination as we leave the property and follow the GPS to the site of the crash. His single-minded focus is exactly what we need right now in order to locate Kane, but I’m well aware that whoever took him isn’t going to be easy to find.
When we get him back—and I mean that,when,notif—he’s going to be a mess. Guido isn’t going to let him walk away unscathed. Not after he was robbed and humiliated. And it’s not like we weren’t expecting retaliation, and I know that Kane can take care of himself.
He’s been in this position before, and he can withstand pain like no one I’ve ever met—including Ari. And I think it helps to know that Kane has someone new to fight for. He’ll survive for us, and I’m hoping that for Alice, he’ll live.
I don’t say that aloud, though. Ari’s gone into full shutdown mode, which means he’s feeling nothing other than the need to complete the mission. I envy him sometimes, with his ability to detach from all feeling.
He’s not going after Kane because he loves him. He’s going after Kane because he’s our leader, and those are the orders.
I stare at him as we tear up the open road, and I see a line of tension in his jaw.
“There’s going to be cops,” I say.
He gives me a short nod, his fingers twisting on the wheel, making the leather creak.
“I don’t think there’s any point in stopping. We need to follow the trail into the city and—”
‘I know.’ The sharp tap against his temple might as well be a shout, and my jaw clicks shut.
I run my tongue along the roof of my mouth, letting the barbell clink against my teeth. I count each little tap to distract myself as I focus on what lies ahead. Ten minutes go by, and then twenty before we’re instructed to take the first exit, and as Ari eases off the freeway, my phone buzzes. It’s from Phoenix, and the first message is an address. The second is instructions.
Phoenix: Romano, low rank, but possible information. He’s with his girlfriend. No witnesses.
He didn’t need to type out the last part, but I know it probably makes him feel better. “I’m putting in a new address,” I tell Ari before I tap it into the GPS, and then I lean forward and pop open the glove box. There’s a little black kit, and inside are all the things we need to get this done quickly and quietly.
I hold it in my hand, using my teeth to pull the zipper around the edges, and then I take inventory. We have five syringes because one’s missing, and I don’t bother asking who used it last. We have three vials of ketamine—enough to kill the woman if we need to, but my focus isn’t on whether or not she lives.
My focus is on the Romano piece of shit who’s going to wish he was dead by the time Ari’s done with him. I check our vials, then fold the case back up and glance over at my lover, who seems even more tense now.
“Phoenix got a lock on one of Romano’s lackeys. Low level, but he thinks he’s got some information. He’s with his girlfriend. I’m going to take her out, and you can take care of him.”
Normally I wouldn’t trust Ari to be able to get anyone home alive when he’s like this, but he knows better this time. He knows we need this man capable of spilling any and all information he’s got before we put him down for good.
Ari glances at me as the GPS takes us down a side street, and then he lets out a breath and lifts one hand. ‘I want to take care of this quickly.’
“Trust me, love, I’m not in the mood to hang out.” I very much doubt we’re being monitored or followed. It’s likely they saw their chance with Kane and took it. I don’t know if he was arrogant enough to assume Guido wouldn’t make a move against him so soon or if he planned this, but we know the protocol.
It’s the same no matter which one of us falls into their hands. We tear this city apart until everyone is home safely.
