Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“Great,” someone grumbled from the crowd.
You had to understand that sentiment. After years of a rivalry with the other four New York Families, it was nice to be experiencing a little peace.
It was naïve to think it would last, though.
“Elian is taking the lead on this case. So unless shit is going down in an emergent kind of way, I want you deferring to him. He will keep me updated on shit, and we will both figure out the next best move. Anyone got any questions?”
“I got one,” one of the men asked, raising a hand a bit, “We getting a break on meat at Rico’s new place?” he asked, making a chuckle move through the crowd, cutting the tense mood.
Renzo and Elian went through a few more minor details before Renzo said the meeting was over, but anyone was willing to hang for a bit. Though I suspected the only reason he offered was because his wife’s brother had swung by to take her out to dinner right before the meeting started. He would always rather be with his wife these days than hanging with us.
I waited until everyone seemed to get involved in conversation before I made my way out of the apartment door, heading to the elevator, then out of the building. After scanning the street, and not seeing Cinna anywhere, I stopped and reached for my phone.
This time, though, I wasn’t texting.
I was calling.
And calling.
And calling.
My stomach churned into knots when it kept going to the machine, thinking of her on my doorstep, beaten, sobbing, broken. Of her in her apartment, having a panic attack after fending off another attacker.
It had been almost a full day since she’d checked in. And while it wouldn’t be something she would normally do, I figured that since we were working this together, and because we’d… gotten closer, that she would at least shoot me an update.
“Come on, pick up,” I grumbled, walking further down the street, not wanting anyone to talk to me if they exited Renzo’s building.
“Hello?” a voice picked up, small, unsure, young. And… male.
“Who is this?” I asked. “Joel?”
“No…, ah, no. This is Lip.”
Lip?
Who the fuck was Lip?
I mean I knew Cinna’s soldiers by name, but not all of her associates. Could this be one of them?
“Who are you? Where is Cinna?” I asked, something about the way my stomach was clenching telling me that shit had just gotten bad.
“She… someone took her. She dropped her phone. I—“
“Where?” I barked, flagging down a cab, and jumping inside, shooting off the address as the kid gave it to me. “Give me more details,” I demanded, feeling dread spread through my veins.
“She got me a sub. And we were talking about some guy who had been hassling me.”
“Did she show you a picture on her phone?” I asked, cursing the red light the cab pulled up to.
“Yeah.”
Chet.
This was about Chet.
It was one more turn before I was hopping out of the cab, running toward the only person standing on the street, looking panicked and lost, a phone pressed to his ear.
“Lip?” I asked, tucking mine away.
“She was taken from right there,” he said, pointing toward the curb I was standing near. “She was just talking to me, and then a van pulled up. I tried to warn her, but it was all too fast. The door flew open, they grabbed her, and she was gone.”
“Did they hurt her?” I asked, adrenaline surging through my system, making me jittery.
“I think they drugged her,” he said. “Someone was doing something to her neck.”
“Fuck,” I growled. “The van. Tell me about the van.”
“It was just black. A black van. Nothing on it. With the sliding door. Like a work truck. No windows. I told the cops all of this,” he said.
“The cops? Are they looking for her?”
I’d never been happy for the cops to be involved in family business. Except for now. With Cinna’s life on the line.
“They thought I was fucking crazy,” Lip said, jaw going tight, eyes looking a little watery with frustration.
It struck me then how young he was. Just a kid, really. Probably not much older than Joel. And living on the street. Then being a witness to a crime and having no one believe him because he was a street kid.
“I know you’re not crazy. Tell me more. What did they look like?”
“I don’t… it was too fast. I saw two men in the back. Maybe three men total?” he said, squinting as he tried to bring the memory back into focus.
Three.
That was how many had attacked her last time.
Who’d done such savage damage to her.
Who now had even more motivation to hurt her since she’d hurt them, fucked with their pride, and likely brought the wrath of their boss onto them.
“Okay. It’s alright,” I said, feigning calm I definitely didn’t fucking feel right then. “What were you talking about before they showed up?”