Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
GRANITE
I couldn’t stop pacing. The PC didn’t say whether he was letting us go or not, and I had no idea how long it had been.
It felt like fucking years while I stared at these walls, wondering where she was, whether she was okay.
Whether whoever had her was hurting her.
It was the worst fucking torture I had ever experienced in my life.
Not knowing. God. The not knowing was the worst part.
My mind reeled, and my stomach felt like it had been filled with concrete. The fact that I was stuck behind these bars unable to do shit was tearing me the fuck apart.
“You think he has her?”
I cut my gaze to Onyx still leaning his head against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.
“You mean Slither?”
“Yup.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to, because I couldn’t stomach the thought of that being the case.
But no matter how much I wanted not to think about it, the odds were pretty fucking good that Slither had her.
Who else would tip off the cops, only to create a diversion while they snatched Alyx right from under my goddamn nose?
The steel door creaked open, and Onyx and I looked in that direction. Detective Harrison and the PC came rushing in, the detective unlocking the gates to the cell.
Confused as fuck, I eyed the PC. “What is going on?”
The look on his face made the hair in the back of my neck stand up.
“What the hell is going on?”
“You’re free to go.”
“What? How?” Not that I was complaining.
The PC scrubbed his chin with his thumb. “We got a situation.”
“What situation?”
The detective closed the steel door to ensure we had privacy, and the PC stepped up to me. “Someone called the station saying they know where Alyx is.”
“Where is she?” I didn’t care about the who, or the what, or the when. All I cared about was finding her.
“We don’t know that yet.” The PC started pacing, and the detective leaned against the open gate of the cell.
I threw my hands in the fucking air and was about to rip someone’s goddamn head off. “Who the fuck do I have to kill to get some answers here?”
The commissioner stopped, his face pale and eyes worried. “The person said he’ll only talk to you, and no one else.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. He said to meet him outside the aquarium in thirty minutes. If you don’t show up, he disappears, and we’ll never find Alyx.”
I was still trying to register what the fuck the PC just said when Onyx burst out laughing like a total maniac. “Oh, this has Slither written all over it.”
“What the fuck, Onyx?” I warned.
His eyes beamed with crazed hysteria. “Oh, come on, Granite. Who in his right fucking mind will insist on seeing you face to face before he tells us where Alyx is? No one is that fucking stupid,” he shrugged, “except Slither.”
I ignored my brother and focused on the detective since the commissioner was standing in the corner as pale as a fucking ghost. “Did you track the call?”
He shook his head. “We didn’t have enough time.”
“Give me your phone.”
Harrison stared at me all bug-eyed.
“Give me your fucking phone!” I growled, and Harrison didn’t hesitate this time. My hand shook as I dialed the number. Whether it was adrenaline or fear, I didn’t know. All I knew was I needed to get Alyx back.
“Manic. Listen, get Ink and meet me at the aquarium in twenty. Make sure you’re packing.” I hung up, and Onyx shot me a knowing look. There was a reason I told Manic to make sure they came armed…because I was more and more convinced all of this had Slither’s name slapped on it.
“Commissioner,” I called, “I’m going to find Alyx. The only way you can stop me is with a motherfucking bullet. Feel me?”
He straightened and nodded, his face clouded with agony and worry. I didn’t stick around to chit-chat and hauled ass to the door.
“Granite.”
I stilled and met the PC’s eyes. A silent moment passed between us.
In that moment, he wasn’t the police commissioner, but a father.
And me? I wasn’t a criminal or the president of the American Street Kings.
I was a man in love. A man who would ransack through hell if that meant finding his heart. And that was what Alyx was. My heart.
Onyx slapped Harrison on the shoulder. “Guess you’re giving us a ride, man.”
Harrison rolled his eyes. “Don’t know why I always get caught up in this shit,” he mumbled to himself while stomping to the door.
All eyes were on us as we made our way out. I didn’t give a flying fuck what everyone else thought, and I was convinced neither did the commissioner.
We got outside, the sunset painting the sky with its pinks and yellows. If it was any other day, the sight would have been tranquil, peaceful, beautiful. But not today.
The slight chill in the air felt good against my heated skin but did nothing to quiet the rage or calm the apprehension that had been making it fucking hard to breathe the last few hours.
I rounded the SUV, wanting to get in on the passenger side, when Onyx grabbed Harrison’s shoulder. “Hold up.”
“What?”
With a smirk on his face, Onyx held out his palm. “Gimme the keys?”
Harrison’s cocked a brow. “What? No.”
“Come on. We only have twenty minutes to get there. Driving Miss Daisy ain’t an option now.”
Harrison squared his shoulders. “I’m driving. Or you’re walking.”
Onyx opened his mouth to talk shit when I slammed my fist on the roof of the SUV. “Get in the fucking car. And Onyx, unless you want to fucking walk, get in the back. Now!”
We got in the car, and the second I closed my door, it felt all kinds of wrong. I hated being boxed in. Made me feel like I was about to jump out of my own skin at any second.
Onyx moved in between the two front seats. “So, let’s get this straight. We are about to meet someone at the aquarium, a public place. And this someone might be the one man we really, really want to disembowel before we cut his head off.”
I rubbed my palms together, staring out the window. “That’s why he chose a public place.”
“Hold up,” Harrison chimed in. “You guys are convinced this is Slither?”
Onyx leaned back. “One can only hope.” It was clear in his voice he was already readying himself for battle.
Onyx wanted Slither’s blood, just like the rest of us, and was already psyched up about the prospect of that happening.
But I, on the other hand, wanted Alyx back with me and safe more than I wanted to see Slither’s blood flow into a ditch.
“I don’t care who is waiting for us at the aquarium, but no one kills him until we’ve got Alyx.” I turned in my seat and shot Onyx a warning glare. “I mean it. And don’t fuck with me on this, Onyx. This time, you keep that trigger-happy finger of yours on a goddamn leash.”
Onyx didn’t say anything. Usually, he was full of sarcastic comebacks and arrogant remarks. But today, he knew I was fucking bleeding all sorts of serious.
The drive felt like it was taking hours. I texted Manic, telling him to meet us at the parking lot across from the aquarium. It was only when I saw Ink pacing next to his Harley that I realized things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.
“Ink, you need to calm down.” I got out of the SUV and approached him. “I don’t want trouble from you.”
Ink bit his lower lip, his eyes nothing but wild orbs of turbulent anger. “I’m going to kill him, Granite. I swear to God.”
“No, you won’t. Not until we have Alyx.” I forced myself right up to him, looking him square in the eye. “Do not make me send you away. If that’s Slither waiting for us, you will keep a handle on yourself until we find Alyx. Do you understand me?”
Ink placed both hands on his head, growling like a fucking animal. I could practically feel the rage radiating from him, his entire body shaking with adrenaline. “You know what he did to her, man.”
“Yeah, I do. And believe me, I want this fucker dead as much as you do. But right now, our first priority is getting Alyx back safe and alive. You got that?”
Ink kicked at the asphalt, arms still in the air as he clutched the sides of his head. His nostrils flared, his mouth pulled in a taut line, and the vein in his neck going apeshit.
He sucked his lips into his mouth, stepping right up to me, his face inches from mine. “Remember your promise, man.”
“I do.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “You will get your revenge, Ink. But not today. Now, give me your gun.”
“What?” He stared at me, wild-eyed.
“Give me your gun.” I held out my palm. “Now.”
Ink snorted, his eyes wide and face red. “If not today, then when?”
“We don’t even know if it’s him, man. So calm the fuck down, and give me your gun.”
Manic and Onyx flanked me, and Ink looked from me to them before finally placing his gun in my hand.
“Not today, then,” he sneered, but I knew not to make the mistake of trusting he’d be able to keep his cool.
But I couldn’t chance it by going in another man short since we were already down by one with Dutch being injured.
I tucked Ink’s gun in the back of my jeans and pulled my cut over it. “No one does shit until we find out where Alyx is. Understood?” No one responded, so I glared over my shoulder. “Understood?”
Two ‘yups’ followed, but I didn’t press Ink to voice his understanding of my clear orders.
Harrison stepped in beside us, and I frowned while simply saying, “No.” There was no argument or debate. I didn’t care how long he’d been on our payroll, no cop would ever be allowed close to inside club business.
The streets were buzzing even when it was close to nightfall. Around here, most people only came out at night like fucking vampires. It was a smart move using a public place to meet. We might be savages, but killing innocent people wasn’t exactly our forte.
We stopped in front of the entrance, the place humming with people talking and children laughing. Talk about collateral damage if things got out of control.
“Eyes open,” I said to the guys standing around me.