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“There’s going to be time to focus on it later. Right now, we’ve got to find your dad.”
I feel like he left clues for me, pieces for me to put together, and I’m not in a position to do it. The breadcrumb trail is there, something not even the rain can destroy.
“Take a second,” Ricardo says, squeezing me. “I’ll help Mia. A third pair of eyes can’t hurt anything, either.”
The door slams shut behind him, and then all goes silent underneath the driving rain. I trust him, and I trust my sister, to do their jobs. They are the best in the business from the limited scope I have. Drago would have known it when he chose to go up against us. He would have done his research on us. He showed it when he chose to target me.
Taking Daddy was a big step up, though. The head of the organization?—
No, I mentally correct.
Not anymore. Mia was the head of the organization now, with Edward turning over all but the most important proceedings. The bulk of the daily operations has been run by Mia since her wedding.
Which made Edward more vulnerable, although how in the world Drago managed to get his hands on my father, I’ll never know.
Focus!
What had Drago said? He said we were running out of time. Small, dark places. Running out of air. Making waves.
Why would my father make waves if he were being suffocated to death?
The lake ahead is barely visible through the driving sheets. The pounding rain made whitecaps on the water’s surface. Oh, shit.
“The boathouse!” None of the others were close enough to hear me. I scrambled out of the car, taking two long steps before I lifted my voice to shout louder. “Did anyone check the boathouse?”
Ricardo grabs me on my way around the side of the house. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying he’s being kept in one of the boats! That’s where we need to go first.”
Mia steps up, looking me over. “I had two men on it, but they didn’t think to check the boats themselves for hiding compartments.”
“Then that’s where we start. Come on.” Ricardo links his hand through mine, and together, the three of us jog across the sodden lawn.
I hope I’m right.
I better be right. Because as it stands, I’m running out of ideas. Tonight, if I’m wrong, my father might die.
31
RICARDO
They found Edward folded up in a small ball in a compartment barely big enough to hold a handful of lifejackets. The space had been locked with a deadbolt, but, as usual, Mia came prepared. A trip back to the car produced a pair of bolt cutters, and the moment she pried the lid up, we saw him.
I pull Isabella back away from the melee as our men move into place to get Edward into a waiting car. The old man is refusing to go to the hospital, and who can blame him? I’ve had enough of that fucking place to last me a lifetime.
“You did it,” I murmur, tucking Isabella against my front and squeezing her like it will somehow stop her shivering. “Are you going to let someone look at your elbow now?”
She shakes her head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. I want them to focus on Daddy. He needs help more than we do.”
He needs an oxygen mask and a full tank, and then he should be fine. The man hadn't been mangled in any way.
Which is more than we can say for Drago when they find him. If anyone finds him. I have a gut feeling Mia isn’t going to allow anyone to scour the remains of the charred husk of housing until she’s had her people, our people, on the matter. That’s what I would do anyway.
And thankfully the police in our rockets have managed to keep the others on the force away from the area while we conduct our business.
It pays to have people in high places.
“Come on.” I gently tug Isabella in the direction of the car. “Let’s get out of here.”
