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My head aches, and Drago’s words play on repeat inside my skull as though they are the ones attacking me from the inside out. I search through the fog of exhaustion and fear, letting the splintering rain clear a little bit of both away. It’s not enough.
Damn it.
“Let me take care of this,” Mia insists. Something in her expression softens when she turns to me. “What did he say to you? Just now?”
I let out a bitter chuckle. “He said nothing good. I have to admit, he’s right about me. My skills are rusty, and I find I have no stomach for torture.”
Mia scoffs and says, “You think that was torture? That’s just the start. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for an actual session, so we’re going to have to cut this short.”
Ricardo steps closer and brings his arm down around my shoulder, tugging me close to his side until the heat from his body seeps into me. “He’s been close-lipped about everything, but he kept mentioning Edward being kept somewhere dark and small, saying he was suffocating. He mentioned that we’re running out of time on multiple occasions.”
He’s not the kind of man you give chances to.
“Any other occasion, I might try to pry him open slowly. Get everything he has to give. I’m not feeling generous.”
“Let me go to the properties and see if I can find anything. New eyes, fresh eyes. Please. I might…I might have better luck than I had tonight.” Because right now I’m feeling like a complete and utter failure.
Much to my surprise, Mia sighs. “That’s fine. Rafel? You and Carter stay behind. We’ll keep in constant communication. Iz and Ricardo, get in the car. I’m driving. Now set the fucking place on fire.”
I went silent as I buckled into the front seat, Ricardo taking up much of the space and all of the air from the back seat. The first hints of blazing orange began, barely visible in the rearview mirror, as we drove down the street away from the empty house. With Drago burning inside.
It’s a message, Mia explains. They set the house on fire to let everyone in the city know that to stand with Drago is to have a target painted on their backs. She and the others have done their best to round up all of Drago’s men they can find.
I hold in the tears for as long as I’m able, the hand I keep clenched on the seat belt white-knuckled and shaking.
“It’s not your fault.” Mia has said the same thing several times over, but the majority of the car ride has been awkward and silent.
“What are you going to do about the people who you haven’t caught?” I ask.
“We’re going to hunt them down the same way we always do. None of them will be able to escape. The Balestras cast a wide net.”
I do feel like this is on me. I should be grateful she’s even letting me come with them today. For the longest time all I can do is breathe and work out the puzzle in my head.
Ricardo’s hand is on the back of my neck with a reassuring massage of pressure.
Mia flips on the blinker and heads down one of the winding roads along a finger of the lake. After another five minutes, she comes to a stop in front of a mediocre-looking one-story brick number that matches its neighbors in lack of charm and character.
“How did you find out about this place?” I ask.
“Oddly enough, from your bug. I had Rafel pull the audio. He’s the one who found the address, too.” Mia reached into the center console, flicking open a hidden compartment and drawing out her gun. She checked the weapon before she surveyed the house. “Let’s hope you’ll be able to see something we haven’t, Iz.”
I stop her before she has a chance to get out of the car. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“Don’t make me regret it.” Mia pushes into the rain half a heartbeat later with enough guns strapped to her person to make a professional jealous.
“The only thing she’s missing is a damn grenade launcher.” My voice comes out shaky with the joke but Ricardo, at least, does his best to laugh.
“I wouldn't be surprised if she has one of those hidden, too.” Ricardo grabs me before I have a chance to follow Mia. “Hold on.”
“I can’t hold on. What if he’s in there right now, suffering? What if there are people waiting in the neighboring houses, and they’re going to fire off a shot, and Mia doesn’t know?” My chest goes tight.
“She wouldn’t let you out here if she hadn’t already learned the layout of the property and scoured it clean. Right now, your right is with yourself, baby.” Ricardo angles around to kiss me on the cheek. “This is a dangerous situation. If you don’t get control of yourself, then you’re not going to help anyone. But I trust you. I know you can do it.”
“It hurts so much, Ricardo.”
His eyes go sharp. “Your wound?”
Shit, I hadn’t even thought about the graze. The physical agony has dulled to a low roar and taken a back seat to everything else going on. The pain gains a crystal clarity the moment I tune into it, and I gently palm my arm. “No, it’s not the wound. It’s all of this.”
