João crouched by the guy and pulled a knife from his boot.“He’s got about thirty seconds before I find another way to make him speak.”He drew his knife down his throat.“You want to see your sister again, don’t you?”
His laughter stopped completely.“Fuck you.”
“We have eyes on her right now.She’s finishing up her hot yoga class, isn’t she?”
The guy twitched, blinked, and clenched his jaw.“You fucking wouldn’t.”
“She’s about to go pick your youngest sister up from dance too,” João said.“They both can make a little bit of a detour here, don’t you think?That wouldn’t disrupt their night too much.”João looked up at Landon.“How do you think it’d feel for him to be forced to kill them both?”
“Don’t fucking touch them,” he growled, his voice cracking.“Please, don’t touch them.”
“Then tell me where she is.”
“Shipping yard.Pier 8.One of the old containers.”
João peered up at me.“See if it’s true.We’ll wait with him.”
“Fuck no,” I snarled.“As soon as they fucking find her, I’m killing him.”
I wasn’t leaving this in anyone else’s hands.As soon as she was safe, I was ripping this fucker limb by fucking limb.He didn’t deserve to be alive for a second longer than he had to.Nobody was going to kidnap our girl and get away with it.
“We’ll go,” Calix said, heading to the door with Frasier by his side.“We’ll find her.”
CHAPTEREIGHTY-EIGHT
FRASIER
I racedthrough the town at over a hundred miles an hour on a back road.Calix had just gotten off the phone with Cairo and Kai, who had paid off the cops and were heading toward the shipping yard.
“Arch should’ve come with us,” Calix said, running a hand through his hair.“She’s definitely not alone.This is probably a setup, and they have guys waiting at the shipping yard for us.She’s not going to be there.”
“Relax,” I growled.“She’ll be there.”
But honestly?I was just as worried.Astrid might not be there.She might not even be in Redwood, or the state, or the country at this point.I didn’t know what the fuck they were planning to do with her, but she wouldn’t be left alone if it was anything big.
“How the fuck am I supposed to relax?!”Calix snarled, hitting the dashboard with his fist.“Between my sister and Astrid, I …” He stopped mid-sentence, his voice cracking.“What she did to her … I … I don’t …”
Slowing down just enough, I placed a hand on his shoulder, peered over at him, and squeezed.“I know.I know.But we’re going to find Astrid alive.She’s going to be here, and she’s going to be safe.Landon is right behind us.”
Calix ran a hand over his face and nodded.“I fucking hope so.”
I did too.
Once we hit the shipping yard, I turned off my lights and parked toward the front.Several cars were parked sporadically around the lot, all empty—at least the ones that I could see into.Calix and I exited the car, meeting Landon behind us.Cairo and Kai pulled in next.
“She’s here?”Cairo asked quietly.
“Sure fucking hope so,” Calix said.
“Yes,” I said, not knowing if it was a lie or not.
Who knew if Astrid was here?Who knew if we’d all get out alive?All I could do was be strong, not only for her, but for Calix too.Knowing that his own sister had ratted Astrid out to these fuckers … was taking a toll on him.
Kai opened the trunk of Cairo’s car and tossed Landon a machine gun.My eyes widened when he threw one my way too.After peering at Calix for a second, Kai handed the last one to Cairo, which was probably a smarter idea than giving Calix, in his state, a loaded weapon.
“I don’t know how to use this,” Cairo whispered.
“Aim and shoot,” Kai said.“You’ll learn quick.”
