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The other man, a younger guy who was recently added to our security detail and looks like he’s about to piss his fucking pants, glances between us as he visibly trembles. I make a mental note to fire his ass. “H-he was here a few hours ago and brought company. They took some boxes—”
“Fuck!” I yell. “Those weren’t damned boxes. They were my wife!” Panic like I’ve never felt before seizes me, making it hard to breathe. “How big were the boxes?”
“I-I—”
“How big?!” Fuck! The pressure in my head is building to atomic-bomb levels, and if it explodes, I’m taking all these fuckers out with me.
“Luca, I know what you’re thinking. If they killed and dismembered her, there would be evidence.”
I cringe at Gunn’s callous words, even though I know they’re not meant to be. But he has seen this enough…Ihave seen this enough times that it’s the first possibility that comes to mind.
“But there’s nothing,” he continues. “Carina is alive, or he wouldn’t have a bargaining chip.”
“Bargaining chip,” I repeat almost absentmindedly. While what he says makes sense, the terror that gripped me still has a hold on me. The image of her struggling, of being afraid and being tortured because she can’t shut up and obey an order. “Bargaining chip. What the fuck does Black want with her father?”
Gunn runs his fingers over his beard. “You said Di Persia knows about the Ferryman. What if he doesn’t just know about him? What if he was one of the ones who killed Stephen Black?”
“Then why not go after him himself? Unless…” My brain finally stops reeling, giving me the ability to process my thoughts. “The door was unlocked,” I whisper.
“What?”
“Last night, we went to Di Persia’s house to get Carina’s clothes. The front door wasn’t locked. What if he already went to look for him? If he didn’t find him, he might assume I can get in touch with him.”
“Can you?” Gunn asks.
I shift my gaze to the other men in the room. “Leave us.”
They do as they’re told, but before Hansen walks out the door, he says to me, “Something to consider, sir.”
“Yes?”
“You may also be a target of Black’s. I’m aware you haven’t been in the past, but if he’s gotten wind that you’ve brought the crime families together, you may be now.”
“Two birds, one stone,” Gunn says. “You give him Di Persia, and he takes you down too.”
“Fuck.”
23
CARINA
Awareness tickles the edges of my oblivion. It takes great effort to pry an eye open enough to peer into an orange fog that dances in front of me.
My mind desperately tries to clear the image, but it’s a difficult thing to do when my brain feels as if it’s been steeped in lidocaine.
But when a shadow moves within my periphery, I find the strength to bolt upright. Almost instantly, the foggy room spins, and I fall back onto the soft surface I’ve been lying on.
I attempt to reach for my head, only to find my wrists bound behind me. A sense of dire vulnerability like I’ve never experienced before overwhelms me. Like a lamb awaiting slaughter, I watch helplessly as the shadow comes closer.
“Who’s there?” I scream, hating that my tone comes out broken and afraid.
“Shh, calm down,” a deep male voice says. “The dizziness will pass shortly. Scar, get her a glass of water.”
In the distance, I spot another figure, this one much smaller and slimmer. A woman. She moves out of sight but doesn’t leave the room. I can hear the sound of liquid being poured.
Swallowing hard, I shift my gaze toward the man who’s come so near, the fabric of his pants grazes my leg. He drops into what I assume is a crouch, and he strokes my cheek with the back of his knuckles.
The image in front of me becomes more defined, little by little clearing up. And when it does, I’m shocked by what I see. A dark angel. Or a fucking fae prince, like the ones I read about in my romance novels. At least, that’s the first thought I have.
