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Neil recovers first, clutching the butter knife in his hand and knocking his chair over as he stands. “We’re going to find him, of course!”
Bunny lays a hand on his arm. “We will, Neil. We just need a plan first.”
Wait, Bunny wants to plan? That’s not like her. “I’m surprised you don’t want to just charge his penthouse in broad daylight, guns blazing,” I say.
She shrugs. “Well, if Neil’s gonna be with us, we need a different strategy. We can’t charge in if he’s there. He might get hurt.”
“Who says Neil’s coming?”
“I do.” Neil looks me square in the eye, and if it wasn’t a fucking butter knife he wielded, I’d be almost intimidated by the expression there. It’s clear he means to get Keys back come Hell or high water, and I gain a new respect for the man. He saw what Bunny looked like after she was taken by the Cobra, so he’s as aware of the risk as the rest of us. It takes balls to willingly go into the Vipers’ nest knowing the damage they can do.
“Fine.” I set the lollipop down on what was supposed to be Keys’ plate, as though he’d want it back after it had been sitting in the dirt. “We’ll all go; then they can’t snatch Doc while he’s here alone.”
Doc nods in agreement. “Good point. Plus, you might need me for Keys.” He doesn’t elaborate on what we’d need from him, but he doesn’t need to.
Keys … Fucking smartass. Always causing trouble. A thorn in my side from day one.
So why am I so scared right now?
We pack light. Just the essentials: weapons, lockpick sets, bandages, med kit … I hate that the last two are necessary. Keys may be a jerk, but he doesn’t deserve whatever torture the Cobra has planned for him.
Bunny and I agree to wait for nightfall before venturing out. We decide to check out the warehouse that Ramsey kept her in first, then fan out to the other holdings we know about until we find Keys. We try to find Neil’s laptop, but it looks like that got stolen when they took Keys. It’s missing from its spot, though there’s not a sign of forced entry. Did Keys get caught stepping outside for some reason? It doesn’t make any sense for him to venture out in public twice in one day.
I suppose it doesn’t matter how they caught him at this point. The fact of it is he’s in the Cobra’s clutches, and the four of us have to get him back. Hows and whys aren’t important.
Neil approaches me while I’m stretching in preparation for the inevitable fighting I’ll have to do to get Keys back. He’s toying with a knife we gave him—the safest weapon we could trust him with, given that he’s never handled a gun before. I nod in acknowledgment of him and patiently wait for him to say whatever it is he’s come to say.
After a couple awkward minutes, he finally speaks up.
“Thank you, Kendrick. For helping find Keys and rescue him.”
I grunt and switch arms, stretching across my chest. “You don’t need to thank me. He’s part of Bunny’s family; we wouldn’t leave him alone at a time like this.”
“That’s the thing, though: He’s part ofBunny’sfamily, not yours. I know you don’t like Keys very much, so this is really great of you.” He drops the knife and bends to pick it up as it clanks on the floor. “Fuck. I’m gonna get killed tonight, aren’t I?”
Shit. The last thing we need is a nervous Neil stumbling into a Viper’s fist, or worse. “Here. Give it to me. I’ll show you how to hold it right, so you don’t drop it.”
Neil bites his lip and frowns in concentration as I demonstrate how to hold a knife for different kinds of attacks. This way for stabbing, that way for slashing, grip it like so and don’t fucking play with the thing. After I’m done, I have him repeat what I showed him using each of the grips in a mock attack on me. To give him props, he doesn’t accidentally cut me in the process—or himself. He’s learning.
When we’re done, he sticks the blade in his belt on his left side, and I show him how to angle it so he can draw it faster in an emergency. Hopefully he doesn’t slice his arm open on it in the meantime …
There. He’s as prepped as I can get him in such a short amount of time.
“Thank you,” he says softly.
“You can stop thanking me. It’s no problem.”
Tears well up in his eyes, and he wipes them with the back of his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m such a fucking mess right now. When Bunny was taken, we didn’t even know the Cobra had her at first, and she rescued herself from that. Keys wouldn’t be able to do that, though. He’s smart, but he’s not like Bunny when it comes to this type of situation. He’ll panic.” His face crumples, and his voice cracks. “He’s probably so damn scared right now.”
Shit. I wrap an arm around Neil’s shoulders and pull him in for a hug. Poor guy.
“It’ll be okay. We’re going to find him, and we’ll get him back.”
Neil barks out a bitter laugh. “I feel like thanking you for reassuring me, but I’m afraid if I thank you again you’ll deck me.”
I roll my eyes. “Why is everyone so scared of me? I’m not a bad guy. I’m nice, right?” His raised eyebrow is answer enough, and I chuckle. “Point taken.”
After Neil takes his leave, I go to find Bunny. She’s probably just as worried as Neil, but with less neurotic anxiety and more murderous rage accompanying that worry. Just as I expected to, I find her gearing up in one of the hotel rooms. She found a spare Summer City Hare getup somewhere, and she’s got Keys’ flash drive on a lanyard that hangs between her breasts. I’m tempted to harass her about the risk of getting strangled if a Viper grabs the lanyard, but I figure she probably knows exactly what might happen. If I know Bunny, she’s likely betting on that exact scenario, hoping to lure a Viper in close with such an obvious weakness.
