Chapter 44
SILAS
It takes me less than an hour to find him.
He’s at Supernova, a high-end strip club where a lap dance can cost you north of seven hundred. Yes, he’s certainly loyal to Nessa.
The moment the bouncer sees me, he unclips the rope and steps aside so I can walk through.
Inside, the club throbs with bass and bodies. The low lighting glows blue from the bar’s neon lights. Everywhere you look, beautiful women in lingerie are walking around. On stage, women twirl on dance poles, and men make money rain.
I move through the crowd toward the back of the club. The VIP section is separated from the main floor by closed doors and a bouncer guarding the entrance. This one knows me by name and gives me a friendly nod. “Mr. Vescari. Welcome.”
He opens the door, and I walk into the private lounge, which is where clients enjoy the company of beautiful women in private booths while drinking glasses of expensive champagne.
In the far corner, I find Ben.
He’s slouched in a booth with a drink in his hand and a dancer on his lap, still with his hand in a sling and cast from the last time we had a friendly encounter. She’s blonde and naked, and rolling her body against him while he leans back like he’s the king of the club.
I approach the booth, and when the dancer sees me, she stops grinding. She reads my expression and quickly makes herself scarce.
Ben blinks up at me, drunk. “Hey, what the…”
I grab him by the throat and haul him out of the booth, then slam him against the wall. His eyes bulge, and his hands fly to my wrist to claw at my grip.
“What the fuck?” he chokes.
“Do you know who I am?”
I ease my grip just enough for him to breathe. Not that I want to. Slimy assholes like him are a pet peeve of mine. But dead men can’t answer questions.
“I asked you a question.”
His wild eyes find mine, and I watch the recognition hit. He knows who I am and remembers what I am capable of, and he knows he’s just landed in a world full of hurt.
“Y-yes,” he stammers.
“Good. Then you know that the next few minutes of your life are going to be determined entirely by the quality of your answers.”
When I drop him to his feet, he gasps for air.
“Where is Nessa?” I demand.
The confusion on his face is immediate. “I don’t know … home with her kid?”
“She was taken from her home this afternoon. What do you know about it?”
He looks confused. “What do you mean, taken?”
“This is a time-sensitive matter, asshole. You lie, and I break bones.” I make a pointed look at his cast, and I can see the quick math happening in his mind that he’s not going to be able to wank with two broken hands. “Now who the fuck took Nessa?”
"I d-don’t … I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t spoken to Nessa today. We’re taking a break because her cunt best friend is my ex, and because she has her panties in a twist about us, Nessa broke it off with me.”
The sudden blinding rage is a firestorm inside me. He just called Leonore a cunt, and because of it, I have my gun in my hand and the barrel pressed under his chin within seconds. He suddenly seems to remember who the fuck he is speaking to and learning how important she is to me.
“Call her a cunt again. I fucking dare you,” I growl, clinging to the last of my restraint.
He holds his hands up in surrender and pisses his pants.
Fucking coward. “Please don’t kill me.” Part of me wants to kill him just because he touched her.
How that ever happened, I’ll never fucking know, but I put personal preference aside and focus on the task at hand.
I can come for this piece of shit anytime.
“You call Leonore a vile name again, and I’ll put this in your mouth then pull the trigger and make it look like you did it yourself. In fact, you don’t get to say her name or even mention her ever again, do you understand me?”
He nods. “Y-yes…”
I shove him away, feeling disgusted just by touching him as I remove my gun from his chin and shove it back into my waistband.
“Now let’s start this again. Nessa has been kidnapped, and I have a feeling you might know something about that.”
“What do you mean someone has kidnapped her?”
“They took her from her apartment, and I think you know why.”
“I don’t. I swear. I’m not involved in anything.”
“Leonore says you work for some powerful people.”
His face drops, and he looks like he’s seen a ghost.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I demand, and then he avoids my gaze.
“I might have bent the truth a bit,” he says quietly.
I grow more irritated. “About what?”
“Leonore is one tough cookie to crack. I might’ve made up a few things.”
“Like fucking what?”
“The people I work for.” He looks embarrassed.
“They’re not big players like I might have told her.
I’m an accountant. Not a financial adviser.
She’s intimidating. I wanted her attention, so I might’ve made up a few things.
I wanted her to like me. You’ve seen her.
So I lied to impress a girl. I’m not the first guy to do it, alright? ”
For fuck’s sake.
I’ve just wasted an hour on this loser, and it’s a dead end.
Of that I’m absolutely sure.
I’ve spent most of my life reading men. It’s a skill that’s kept me alive and my organization strong. And my gut tells me he doesn’t know why Nessa would be abducted.
This isn’t Ben’s mess.
Fuck.
I step back from him.
“If I find out you’re lying to me, I will come back here, and our conversation will be significantly less friendly.”
He nods frantically. “I’m not lying, I fucking swear to you, man.”
I don’t answer him. I’m already walking away and removing my phone from my jacket pocket.
If this isn’t Ben’s mess, then it’s got to be about Leonore.
Alarm crawls into the base of my spine.
Nessa wasn’t taken because of who she is. She was taken because of who she’s close to.
This is a trap.
And it’s set for Leonore.
Cutting through the club, I hurry toward the exit, my phone pressed to my ear, and my jaw clenched so tight I can feel the pressure in my temples.
“Pick up,” I mutter. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”
Leonore’s phone rings and rings and then goes to voicemail.
The panic bursts inside my chest, and I start running.