Chapter 19
We have been asking her all night, but she refuses to tell us who has our brother or where he is.
It’s irritating me, but she says she has a plan, and we need to go along with it.
I don’t trust anyone but my family, but I don’t seem to have another choice.
We aren’t getting far in our investigation when she clearly is.
My brother’s life is on the line, so we’ll go along with it.
She eventually got tired of our questions and took a nap before waking up and demanding to be fed.
I watch her demolish the food our chef made.
Father is away on business, which is the only reason he doesn’t know about Kane yet, and I want to keep it that way.
We need to get him back before Father finds out.
“Another serving?” Zayn asks, watching her closely. He has a weird smile on his face. “It’s so hot watching you eat.”
“You have issues,” she says as she shoves another bite of omelet into her mouth. “Kinky, but I’m into it.”
“At least let us know how we can help your plan,” I tell her, and she sighs, shooting me an irritated glare as she cleans the last of her plate and drains her mug before standing.
“Come on then, let’s get moving before you piss me off so much I hurt your pretty face again.”
“Wait, we’re going now?” I leap to my feet.
“Yup. Unless you have yoga or some shit,” she scoffs as she stalks out of the room, expecting us to follow, and we do after we grab our boots and jackets.
She’s leaning into one of our cars when we find her, wearing sunglasses on her face, and I frown, wondering where she got them before I see one of our guards clutching his nuts and leaning into the pillar.
“Where are we going?” I ask, but she just climbs into the car.
“With us,” I tell Dodge and our guards. He nods and climbs in the driver’s seat as we get in the back, Zayn squished between us.
The radio comes on, and she hums. “I love this song. Turn it up.”
“Karma!” I snap. “Where are we going?”
“So rude. Drive toward the Meatpacking District.” She hums along with the tune, and Dodge looks at me. I nod, and we set off. She ignores us the entire way, singing with the radio until she randomly shouts, “Stop here!”
Dodge slams on his brakes, and we hear cars honking behind us, but we ignore them as she turns to us.
“Okay then, let’s do this.” She rips her jacket off, and we just gape as she starts piling weapons on our laps, pulling them from places I didn’t even know you could hide them.
“What are you doing? Not that I’m not enjoying the show,” Zayn mutters.
“I can’t take anything with me. I don’t want to give them a reason to touch me more than they have to.
” She shrugs as she puts her jacket on and looks at us.
“It’s your lucky day because the man that has Kane hates me just as much as he hates your family, so I’m going to walk into one of those shops where I know his men are and let them take me.
He’ll keep me close to your brother, and I’ll get him out. ”
“That’s fucking insane. You’re going to let yourself be kidnapped?” I hiss.
“It’s the fastest way.” She shrugs. “Your brother is still alive for now.”
“How do you know?” I whisper.
“Trust me. He likes to keep his victims alive, but we don’t have long. We need to find them quickly, and this is the easiest way,” she explains.
“This is a trap.”
“Well, duh,” she mutters. “I want it to be a trap, but he only has one day left.”
“What do you mean?” Zayn asks.
She considers something for a moment before blowing out a breath.
“My uncle raised me after my parents died. He was a good man, at least to me, but he worked in this . . . industry, providing services, and the man who took your brother didn’t like that.
He thought he was a threat, so he kidnapped my uncle and me as insurance.
He tortured my uncle for five days before executing him on the sixth.
It’s his habit. Always the sixth day. I have no idea why; it’s just who he is.
Tomorrow is the sixth day, so if he doesn’t have whatever he wants from Kane, then your brother is dead, so I’m going in there, and I’ll get him out. ”
I stare at her, unable to process what she said until it clicks. “The guy who has my brother, he . . . had you too?”
Her face closes down, going so cold I swear I shiver. “For many years. Nobody knows him better than I do, and luckily for you, he’s been looking for me for a long time.”
“Why?” I ask.
Her smile is evil. “Because I’m the only one who ever escaped him alive. He can’t have that.”
Jesus Christ.
ZAYN
“This man, he’ll hurt you,” I state.
“Nothing I haven’t survived before.” She shrugs, but I see her body tightening.
What has this woman been through to have that kind of reaction?
“Besides, it’s the only way. Before I could even get close any other way, he would know, and we’d lose our only advantage.
This is the only way. Trust me, if there was another, I would take it.
I escaped that hell once before, and I’m not too happy about walking back in. ”
“Then don’t. We’ll find another way,” I offer. “Right?” I glance at Neo, but his face is twisted.
“Are you sure you can do this?” is all he asks.
“Neo!” I snap.
He ignores me, and I stare incredulously. Is he really willing to let her walk into who knows what? Are we really that kind of people?
“I’m the only one who can. One way or another, one of us dies. I’d bet on him.”
“I’d always bet on you,” Neo murmurs. “Okay.”
“But what if you don’t come back?” I whisper.
“Then your brother and I are both dead.” She softens as she looks at me. “I can do this. I know this man better than anybody. I’ll finish what I started back then and kill him, and you’ll get Kane back.”
“At least tell us who it is,” I whisper.
“No,” she protests. “You’ll go at them like a force of nature, and it won’t solve anything. If a time comes when we need you, I’ll get word to you. You’re just going to have to trust me.”
I share a look with Neo and Dodge, but both see no other option. “This is crazy!” I argue. “Bexley, don’t do this.”
“This man took everything from me,” she tells me, letting me under her guard for a moment.
“I thought I killed him, but I didn’t, and because of that, I don’t know how many people have suffered.
This is my fight more than yours or your brother’s.
” Taking a deep breath, she forces a smile onto her face and looks between us.
“See you on the other side. Is there a code word for me to tell your brother so he knows I’m with you?” she asks.
“Whiskers,” I tell her softly, and she blinks.
“Okay then, whiskers.” Opening the door, she climbs out and looks back at us. “See you soon, or maybe I won’t.” She leaves.
“She can do it,” Dodge murmurs. “If not, we’ll keep looking.”
“If she’s right, it won’t matter because he’ll be dead,” Neo retorts. “She’s our only hope.”
We watch as she crosses the road and, without a hint of hesitation, plunges past the gang members at the door and into the butcher shop, something about it all niggles at the back of my head but I re-focus on her. She doesn’t look backwards even once.
“What the fuck do we do now?” I ask.
“We wait and hope she’s as good as everyone says she is,” Neo responds as he glances at me. “And we hope she and Kane make it out alive.”
“That’s an awful lot of hope,” I sneer, hating everything about this.
“Sometimes it’s all you have,” he replies.