"I'd blow myself to smithereens before I did it to her," I assured him.
Her absence was taking a toll on me, like a piece of me was missing. The ache got stronger and stronger. The longer it took, the less chance we'd ever see her again.
That was how things like this went down, especially in Dusk Bay. They might decide to move her out of the city. They could take her just about anywhere.
There's nowhere in the world we wouldn't go to find her, but as soon as she left, tracking her would become more difficult.
We had to do this right. If we screwed it up, she'd be dead. So would we. Possibly literally, but definitely on the inside. She was the glue that held us together. Kept us more or less sane. Without her, we'd be no better than wandering around a dark forest in the middle of the night.
"Don't," Mannix said to me.
"Don't what?" I asked.
"Don't start getting morbid. There's no world where we don't get her back today. None. Not a fucking chance." He glanced over at me and gave me a faint smile before turning his attention back to the road and driving too fast around a bend.
"That's a first," Ares remarked. He was still sitting too far forward, clinging to the backs of our seats so he wouldn't get thrown around. The back seat had perfectly good seatbelts, but apparently he felt the need to be closer to us right now.
"What is?" I asked.
"Mannix telling you to chill the fuck out." He smirked.
"It had to happen at some point," I said. "If it wouldn't happen on a day like this, when would it happen?"
We all knew the answer to that. If anything was going to pitch me over the edge into full-blown insanity, it would be this. I hoped like hell Mannix was right. If I didn't have her back with me soon, I was going to go completely bananas.
Okay, okay, more bananas than I already was. I turned my face to watch out the window, partly to see Dusk Bay fly past, partly to watch for anyone watching for us.
They were out there. I just had to see them before they saw us.
They were ready.
We'd be…
Readier.
SEVEN
KENNEDY
I know patience is a virtue, but lying there, waiting, started to get boring after a while. It could have been worse, of course. They could have taken me to a place like Ice's workroom and tortured me. They could have killed me.
Still, lying there with the hood over my head, listening to Chuck and Tony come and go, talking about nothing in particular? I wanted to stab them myself.
"They're coming," Tony said finally.
"It's about fucking time," Chuck grumbled. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for payday."
"About that," Tony started.
That was followed by a shuffle, a grunt and the sound of a single gunshot. Something heavy fell to the floor with a thud.
Chuck, I presumed. Tony wasn't down for sharing payday. Zero surprise there. Or that Tony would betray his accomplice.
Rule number one, don't turn your back on people like this. They only cared about two things: money and their own skin. If Tony hadn't killed Chuck, Chuck probably would have killed Tony.
I wouldn't have minded if they took each other out, as long as someone found me before I died. Possibly of boredom. Maybe hunger.
"Come on." Tony's footsteps drew closer.
