Chapter Thirty
ENZO
I stare down at Luke, the little prick who was in my sister's bedroom. The catalyst in my head for all this.
What I truly want to do right now is kill him.
Of course, if I go with common sense, I'm not overly sure if he deserves a slow death or not. Definitely torture and death if he laid a finger on my sister when he shouldn't have. Probably not, if it's Dad jumping to the wrong conclusion.
But that is not the point. The point is there is no one else I can take this out on.
And who the fuck knows? Maybe he has an idea of what my sister does or where she goes when she's upset.
After all, she claims they are close.
Close enough to have him in her bedroom and him holding her.
The lava-hot fury comes over me as I look him over again.
My lip curls. "You look like utter shit."
The guy looks like what he is. Beaten to an inch of his life, a few broken bones...I'll give my father's specialists that. They know exactly what they're doing.
They know how to cause maximum pain and damage and keep the victim alive until it's no longer deemed necessary.
Sadistic fucks. The lot of them.
They learned from the best.
My father.
Maybe it's best Dad decided, since I was seventeen or so, not to do any of his dirty work unless he had to.
Dirty work is respected, but a good leader of a powerful family is deemed even more powerful if he only steps in when it comes to special cases.
This is more personal than special.
Luke's nothing.
Him getting his hands bloodied won't be viewed as powerful. It won't be viewed as weak, but...
He's absorbed a couple of families and allies to elevate him.
And elevated men such as my father stay out of the dirty work.
I give him shit for it, but it is in moments like this that I get it.
Personal feelings might get in the way.
It's best to leave it to professionals.
"Absolute fucking shit," I add.
Luke shrivels back a little.
Good.
What I need is to think.
Dad's affiliates and allies are mine, now I'm in charge.
So, who can I use?
Gino... My uncle is a different beast. Gino is affiliated but his own man, as are different factions of the family.
But, and this is a big but, if you're in the fold and not just family, they all come together.
And if I ask, they will.
But consequences always abound with that.
I'll ask when and if I need to, but I don't want to owe favors. I don't want to rule the Marino family.
Luke could be the answer.
Because this kid here, man, really, as his beard shows him to be, is just an employee. One who stepped outside his station. One who is so scared he might blurt out the truth.
If he knows anything.
I'm not going to kill him.
He's fucking lucky I believe Lyndall that nothing happened, or I'd finish the job myself.
I glance around the so-called recovery room. It has the feel of a morgue about it, with the scent of blood lingering along with antiseptic and an overload of stainless steel. Even the bed base he's sitting on is stainless steel.
We're in Gowanus, near the canal, in a nondescript old warehouse.
Fuck only knows how Silas got hold of this place.
Cade is near the door, leaning against it, phone in hand as he works.
Silas is working leads and calling in his own personal favors. He is gunning for airports, bus stations, and even the fucking train.
However, I don't think Lyndall will leave town. I think she will stick to what is familiar to her.
At least, for now.
Which is why I'm not calling family and affiliates.
Yet.
"Yeah, well, I feel a shitload worse." Luke looks me in the eye. "Are you here to finish the job?"
I don't answer, and still, he doesn't look away. "Like I told your father, I never touched her. I hugged her. I kissed her forehead to comfort her because she was upset, but—"
"Lyndall is fucking fifteen. What the fuck were you doing in a child's bedroom?"
"She doesn't act like a child."
I clench my fist, and I catch Cade straightening. But he doesn't take a step forward.
Luke's point has been made, though.
I unclench my fist and stay where I am. "Explain that."
"W-what I mean is she's mature for her age."
These are not the right words.
But again, I get Luke's message. "And that makes it okay?"
Cade clears his throat. "I think what he means is, think very carefully before you put things into words." Cade pauses, then adds, "And if you've got untoward thoughts about Lyndall, I'll fucking help him string you up by your balls."
Luke swallows.
I nod. "And no, it's not a euphemism. We'll do it. Literally."
He breathes out and winces. "I just meant she's a good person. I didn't even think of touching her. I like her. She's smart and sweet and feisty. And she's stubborn as fuck. I escorted her to her room. Look, man, I'm aware she likes me..."
Everything goes tight and cold inside. Because I think he might like her too, and not in a friend way.
He thinks she's pretty. He's attracted. And she's way, way too young for him.
Maybe he needs to be dickless after all.
"But I wouldn't. Ever."
"If I find out differently..." I warn.
And he shifts a little, moving back, like he's scared of me.
I know he's scared shitless of Dad, and the way he's trying to be helpful and reverent tells me he's just as scared of me. But I really want to do some more facial rearranging.
I take a step forward.
"Enzo." Cade's soft warning reaches me, and I bite back a sigh.
Yeah, I need to stick to the point here. And stick to this spot. Killing him, or even doing more damage at this point, isn't going to help things.
I just want to find my fucking sister.
"I wouldn't. I'd protect her, but I wouldn't touch her like that. I swear," Luke says.
"Did you guys have plans to run off? A secret place?"
"What the—" He shakes his head, wincing. "I told you, we didn't do anything. We were friends."
Then he seems to realize what he said, and his eyes grow wide. "Are...are...I—I only meant were as in I didn't think you'd let me be her friend anymore. If I get out of here."
I narrow my eyes. "That's not the topic."
But I file his answer away.
He wasn't planning on running off with her. That's one point for him.
But I press on. "Secret places? Did she mention any?"
"No."
I raise a brow. "No? I thought you were great buddies and talked."
"We didn't talk about that. She'd complain about school, talk about music.
.." He pauses as he looks at me. "When Lyndall was home, she had no one, and all she did when your father let her out was see a couple of friends.
Movies. Shopping. Nothing wild. Honestly, a lot of her free time at home was practicing the violin. "
"And that was it?"
"We didn't do anything. Not together. Not romantic, nothing."
It clicks. "You were her protection."
"That doesn't mean I touched her. N-not like your father thought." He frowns. "Is she okay?"
"Lyndall's missing. She ran off. If you have any idea where, it would be a good time to tell me."
"We should get going soon," Cade says softly.
Luke coughs, wheezing.
And a tiny part of me flickers with concern.
I can't take Luke with us, but he won't be alone.
There are a few people here if he needs help or food. Hacker types. And a guy I know in passing who does work for the Syndicate. But this isn't Syndicate, this is a space that's all Silas.
Being a Silas place, this is under his watch.
The hackers?
Syndicate guy who was on a computer when we came in.
And...it's also clear since there's no lock on this door, Luke can go if he wants. The fact he's choosing to stay, to lay low, says he'd prefer this little tin box over my father's wrath.
Still, I hesitate.
We'll put him to work if we can trust him. But a part of me thinks he might be better off somewhere nicer.
Where am I putting him?
Not at home.
"You okay here?" I ask, voice gruff.
"Y-yeah, it's fine. I'll pay you back. Any work you need done."
"My concern right now is finding my sister."
He pushes himself up. "Oh, God. Can I help? I have no idea where she'd go. Usually, she just goes to your place."
"That's where she ran from."
"Then I don't know. D-do you need help?"
Cade comes over. He's calm, and it gets the guy to sit again. "Not in your state. And you'd just be nice fodder for Mario. Stay here."
There's real concern in Luke's eyes, and I realize he cares for Lyndall.
Realizing that makes my murderous urges flare up again.
I remind myself I'm not about to win points by killing him or hurting him. Because she cares, too.
Fuck.
I push my urges down. "Don't worry. We'll find her."
With that, we make our way outside.
There are clouds overhead, and I stand on the street, unsure what to do.
Cade stands between me and my car. "Dude, what are you doing?"
"What the fuck do you think? Looking for my sister. I don't know what to do. I didn't plan this!" I want to punch something, and he's looking pretty fucking good right now.
"I know. But here we are."
I glare at him because the fucker is frowning at me. "Out with it."
"Out with what?"
"Out with whatever the fuck is on your mind."
"Okay. You should have told them. Lola and Lyndall."
I frown at him. "Told them what? A suspicion that had the power to destroy everything? To upend all our lives? I only just found out it was true. But what if it wasn't? Was I supposed to just put that out there without having all the facts?"
"Maybe." He pushes his glasses to the top of his head.
"What would that have done?"
He shrugs. "Maybe it could have prevented this. Maybe things would be easier because the option was already there. Maybe your sister wouldn't have—"
"Apparently, she's not that. My sister, that is. She's not my sister." And I make myself say it.
The words are bitter and vile on my tongue as my heart squeezes hard.
"We both know she is. Parentage changes zilch. So, drop your fucking bullshit."
I glare at him, a snarl on my lips. "What fucking bullshit?"
"This fucking bullshit. Come on, bro. You're better than this shit."
"And what should I have done, genius?"