They’re not turning me away. If Ellery didn’t want to see me, they could just lie and probably get these guys to at least try to beat me to death.
“Fuck, why is the lighting so shit back here?” Kit asks.
“All the better to hide the shady stuff with.” I’m so high on finally—fuckingfinally—getting somewhere that I’m positively giggling. “Did you know that aardvarks have a long, sticky tongue that can reach about twelve inches long. Do you know what someone could do with a tongue like that?”
“What the fuck does this have to do with finding Bane?” the Russian says, practically sulking.
“It doesn’t. Just thought you’d like to know.”
The guards at the entrance to the strip club recognize me from before as an associate of Kaitlyn’s and let us all back in without a fuss.
“See,” I point out. “No one had to die to get in. A win-win.”
I’d love a good murder, if I’m being honest, but I absolutely do not have the time for it right now.
“Where are the rooms?” Kit asks, raising his voice over the thumping music.
It draws more attention to us than he should, but I’m not focused on him anymore. I can’t see Colm or the girl. Which means they could still be in a room. Or they could have gotten in trouble and be in a very different kind of room.
“Follow me,” I tell them, heading to the other side where Colm would have gone.
One of the sex workers starts flirting with the tall one, and I barely suppress the urge to start corralling these guys with my knife. We have shit to do.
Clearly, the Russian and I are on the same page, because he knocks the woman over and strides towards the room like he’s got the devil chasing him.
As soon as he steps up to one of the guards, he stabs him in the neck with a syringe. Oh fuck. We’re really in it, now. I start knocking on various doors and listening, trying to identify Colm’s voice, but these rooms really are soundproof.
“Break them all down,” the Russian says, turning to look at all of us. I’m included in this exercise now, apparently. Works for me. “Find him.”
We start kicking down doors without hesitation. More guards get dropped, and every single person we find gets interrogated, with or without their pants on.
No Colm. No hint of the woman. And clearly, as evidenced by how close the sexy Russian is to frothing at the mouth, no Bane.
The very last door is all of our last hopes, but there isn’t a single person inside. There is a lot of blood, and what appears to be a little device of some kind. Like the tracker the Aryans put on our car, but far more fucking posh.
When the Russian starts swearing, I can only assume it means Bane is gone. Shit. I thought I was getting somewhere, but now I only have more people to find.
Chapter Twenty
Colm
Ibarely make it to the parking lot when a suspicious amount of noise seeps out of the strip club door, and the guards outside start to move. Fuck. There’s no way this isn’t Fallow’s fault.
The plan was supposed to be simple, but I knew he couldn’t make it through without a little bloodshed. I can’t decide if I should trust him and wait like he asked or go back in and help. Being apart for this single hour has been strange. Like my body doesn’t want to work right.
I’ve always been deeply independent, just like Fallow, but right now I’m fucking aching for him. The thought of losing him when I just found something I didn’t know I needed is too much.
After a few seconds of hesitation, I turn on my heel to run back, but by the time I do, the chaos has stopped. No gunfire, no screaming. Then several men in suits bust out of the front door on such a mission that they don’t even notice me, running towards a car.
When Fallow wanders out behind them with his hands spread wide and a smile on his face, I finally breathe. I’m pretty sure I just aged a decade waiting for him.
“You look happy,” I say when he makes his way over to me. “Do we need to be fleeing the scene? I heard a lot of noise.”
Fallow’s grin widens, but he seems to think about it for a second before he nods.
“Yeah, actually, we should go. They’re not going to be pleased with my handiwork. Plus, we need to follow my new friends. Quick quick.”
I didn’t know Fallow knew how to make friends. Only obedient companions or murder victims. But he can explain it to me in the car.
