Goodbye, Hope.
“Tell one of your goons to open this fucking door, then. I got places to be.”
Rage sighs, walks back to his big leather chair and lets his body drop. He cups his chin with his right hand, thinking for a few seconds. I still can’t read him, and it bothers me, a lot.
His eyes are as black as the night, they are so black that you can’t even tell the difference between the iris and the pupil.
“Last time I saw that guy was duringthatnight.” His words echo throughout the room. “I never saw him that jittery before.”
Well, he changed his mind…
Wait, jittery?
“What do you mean? When we picked up Carter I didn’t notice anything,” I say while I sheathe my knife.
“No, not there. We went to eliminate the mark later that night.”
His story makes sense, and this gives me a rough idea of the timeline. I’m guessingthe markwas Asad. “But still, it doesn’t explain why he was nervous.”
“I didn’t say nervous, I saidjittery, and kiddo, there is a big difference. Don’t get me wrong, when he was working on his mark, breaking his mind, he, or should I say,The Professor, was as cold as ice.”
That sounds more like him.
“I was in the other room when I heard his primal scream.”
I’m completely still, my palms are sweaty, and my breathing is still a little shallow. I don’t want anything to distract Rage from his story.
“When I went to check what had happened, the mark had a hole in his forehead.”
“What about Bruno?” The words slip from my tongue, and I notice the irritation running across Rage’s face that my interruption causes.
“He was on his knees, weeping, inconsolably.” He’s waiting for my reaction after those words, as if he is trying to read my emotions. “I questioned him about it, and he just said he needed to bolt.”
Bruno was crying. What in the world happened?
“And then what?” I cross my arms.
“He left,” Rage replies.
“Did you let him leave in that state?” I ask, not masking my aggrieved tone.
“I asked. He said I didn’t need to worry about it and left. I know better than to insist. So, take a hint and stop asking stupid questions.”
All this is new information, though I’m still at square one, and nothing of what Rage told me gives me a lead to Bruno’s whereabouts.
“Long story short, a man like Bruno is not going to be found if he doesn’t want to, kiddo.”
“I have to try.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the man I love.”
Rage looks surprised for a brief moment. That was certainly not the answer he was expecting. After a few seconds of silence, he looks at me differently but I can’t tell why yet.
“Okay.” He sighs then he rises and goes to the door. “This is as far as this conversation will ever go.” He opens the door, looking directly at me with a smile.
How? The door was close!
