29. A Thickening Plot
29
A Thickening Plot
Lilith
Well, this can’t be good.
We arrive at the address of Antonio’s father’s French office to find the old man dead behind his desk. No sign of a struggle. No sign of Antonio. No sign of anything. Nothing.
Just the old man slumped in his chair with a gaping hole in his neck.
Which would be perfectly fine if Antonio was answering his phone.
Not wanting to linger in the office with the dead guy, we have a brief look around and then quickly head back out onto the street, where we stand in a circle staring at each other. “What now?”
Agatha glances up and down the street, and I stand back, waiting for her to decide what’s next. She’s worked far more jobs in the light of day, not being restricted to the more clandestine tactics of the criminal world, so she’ll have more insight on how to proceed.
Turning to the left, she strolls down the street, eying the storefronts as she goes. Stopping in front of an older woman, she asks, “Parlez-vous Anglais?”
She scowls at Agatha, who gives her a patient look and a small smile, and after a moment, the woman nods.
“Did you happen to see an older man come this way recently? Boring but handsome.”
The woman glances up and down the street a few times before stepping close to Agatha, her hand touching Agatha’s forearm. Agatha places her hand over the top of the woman’s, a frown on her face as she leans down. The woman doesn’t say anything; instead, she nods with her head, her eyes staring at the cobblestones a short ways from us.
Just as quickly as she closed the distance between her and Agatha, the woman steps back, shooing us away. “Haven’t seen no one.”
“Sorry to bother you,” Agatha responds without missing a beat, turning away and nonchalantly walking in the direction the woman indicated. The three of us look around, though we’re not entirely sure what we’re looking for, until finally, Antoinette chirps, “I got it.”
She rushes over, holding a cell phone in her hand. Agatha takes it, turning it over a few times. “This is Antonio’s.”
“How the hell can you tell?” I ask. “It’s a fucking nondescript hunk of plastic.”
Agatha smirks and turns the phone over, showing me the back where scratched into the otherwise shiny surface is ‘Lilith 4-eva.’
“What in the fuck is that?”
Agatha cackles, running her fingers over the scratched words fondly. “Yeah, that’s exactly what he said when he saw it.”
“You are such a child,” I respond dryly, doing my best to hide my smile and failing. “But all this tells us is that he’s in trouble.”
Agatha hands Antoinette Antonio’s phone, and she shoves it in her back pocket, then stands there watching her sister impatiently. Agatha takes out her own phone, quickly typing out a message and then staring at the screen. Antoinette taps her foot impatiently, then jumps out of the way of a group of pedestrians as she asks, “What the fuck are we doing, Aggie?”
“What is Dmitri’s mother’s name?”
Frowning, I respond, “Irina Petrova. Why?”
She goes back to typing on her phone, ignoring the two impatient people hanging out on the sidewalk with her. I tap my foot, sighing loudly, and finally, she explains, “Matt is getting us a location.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket. With a heavy sigh, I fish it out, turning it over to see a message from an unknown number. Sighing again, I consider ignoring it, but a glance at Agatha tells me I have time to deal with whatever spam awaits me.
Clicking on the message, I squint at the dark image that comes through, quickly realizing it’s the thumbnail of a video. I touch my finger to the screen, the video pops up, and then I blink at it, frowning. It only takes a moment for my initial confusion to evaporate, steamrolled by a flood of rage as I recognize the man on the video.
“Motherfucking cunt,” I shout, squeezing the phone in my hand so tightly I’m surprised it doesn’t crack. I draw my hand back in fury, but Agatha grabs my wrist, yanking the phone from my grip before I can smash it all over the pavement.
Agatha holds the phone out in front of her, and Antoinette touches the screen, their matching curses confirming my eyes were not deceiving me. Agatha looks at me, her eyes wild. “What the fuck is this?”
I shake my head, the feeling of insanity leaving my words stuck in my throat. Then Agatha shoves the phone back under my nose. “You have another message.”
Unknown : If you want him, come get him.
“I’m gonna gut that fucking bitch,” I spit out far too loudly for a street corner.
Unknown : Come alone.
An address comes through, and I show it to Agatha. “That’s not far from here. Let’s go.”
I grab her arm, stopping her. “I have to go alone.”
“Not fucking happening,” Antoinette responds, shaking her head.
Sighing, I put my free hand on Antoinette’s arm, looking between them as I respond, “I have no choice.”
Agatha and Antoinette look at each other, and I see the unease in their matching blue eyes. My eyes. Conflicted. Worried.
“I’ll be fine. I promise.”
They both stare at me, obviously wanting to refuse. Knowing there’s no other way, Agatha nods, and Antoinette sighs but stops protesting.
“Go back to the hangar and wait for the guys. Once you’re all sorted, come for me, and come in hot,” I instruct before turning to head toward the address sent to me.
“Mama,” Antoinette’s voice behind me has me looking back at her. I raise my brows in question as she says, “Promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“Come back to us.”
I tilt my head, smiling faintly. Because I know exactly what she means.
Then I turn and disappear into the crowd.