“What did he say?” I demand. “Which Cross is he talking about?” My legs are moving before I know what I’m doing, and I’m in front of Kurosaki in a second. “If you touched one of my brothers…”
Kurosaki lifts a hand.
At first, I’m confused until I see his shadow guards standing down. My eyes dart around. Where did the security team come from? He had so many people watching us in secret?
“You’re afraid of me.” I look down into his wrinkled face, realizing that I’m towering over him. Or, more accurately, he’s starting to hunch with age.
He fought for all this power, all this influence, but he’s going to die eventually and leave it behind.
It’s all futile.
“Ignore them.” He points to the path. “Breakfast?”
Rather than follow him, I call Dutch. I’m sure I heard that guy say “Cross” when speaking to Kurosaki. I need to make sure my brothers are okay.
The line rings and rings.
Dutch isn’t answering.
An oily sensation coils around my neck. What if Kurosaki has him? What if my brothers are being tortured? What if they’re already dead?
The line connects.
“Hello?” Dutch whispers.
“Where are you right now?” I growl. “Is Zane with you?”
“Yeah. Dad sent a location pin early this morning, so we’re about to meet him.”
“Where?” I ask desperately. “Tell me what you see.”
“A gazebo and some Japanese style buildings, I think…?”
My stomach rolls to the size of a skipping rope, and bile rises to my throat.
I turn to Kurosaki.
He points, the smile never leaving his lips. “This way.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
FINN
Kurosaki takes me to a dining room inside the compound, and I push in ahead, eyes scanning every inch of the place. Large windows. Wooden table. China closet.
No Dutch or Zane.
My head whips back and forth, frantically searching for my brothers. I check for adjoining rooms, but there are no doors.
The room is empty except for us.
I call Dutch again.
He doesn’t answer.
I call Zane next.
Nothing from him either.
