She looks like she wants to protest but knows me well enough to know when I’m not going to back down.
She pulls out her phone and once again puts it on speaker.
“How is he?” he asks by way of greeting.
“Worried,” I grunt. “Catch me up.”
“Dude, you almost got your brains bashed in. I told you?—”
“If you want me to stay in this bed, tell me everything.” Fuck, my head hurts. “Or I’m leaving.” That’s probably bullshit because I don’t think I can stand on my own, much less drive or think or do anything that requires energy. But it feels good to sound like a tough guy.
Rage sighs. “Tex hasn’t shown up, but we found out something from Nitro. Turns out, Tex was drunk night before last, got to running his mouth. Kept talking about buying a castle for Allora. Luna dug into his finances and discovered he bought a piece of property in fucking Albania two weeks ago.”
“Albania?” I blink, like I didn’t hear him right.
“And she just found a chartered flight leaving John Wayne at six a.m. for Tirana.” John Wayne is the airport in Orange County and Tirana is the biggest city in Albania.
“You have to stop it.”
“No shit, Sherlock. We’re heading out.”
“I have to come.”
“Dude. You have to trust us. Silver and a handful of his guys are here, along with our entire crew.”
“I…” Despite the pounding in my head, I have to be there. “Please. I’ll stay in the car. I can’t stay here knowing she’s about to be taken out of the country. Dammit, Elliott, this is important!”
“You’re a stubborn bastard, you know that?”
“That’s why you love me.”
“We’ll swing by. Be ready in fifteen.”
“Bring me clothes.”
Rage snorts before hanging up.
“Landon, are you crazy?” Courtney stares at me.
“Probably.” I meet her gaze directly. “Do you remember getting hit in the head when they kidnapped Micah? Do you remember threatening to walk out of the hospital with your ass hanging out if Lennox didn’t find you clothes and a nurse to take out your IV?”
She sighs. “Yes, I do.”
“So, help me get this IV out and sign myself out of here.”
“Landon, this is crazy. I had a concussion but not a brain bleed. I didn’t need surgery. You almost died.” Her eyes puddle with tears. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t. I’ll have the whole gang there to keep me from doing anything to make this worse. But I have to be there. I have to look him in the eye before I put a bullet in his head.”
She swallows and then nods. “Promise you won’t do anything stupid. I can’t lose you to prison either.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m positive Silver will make him disappear.”
Our eyes lock and I can see how conflicted she is.
But she gets it.
Six months ago, one of Daniil’s enemies in Limaj kidnapped their son to influence his vote on a bill in Parliament. Courtney got hurt during the attack but she refused to stay in the hospital, insisting she had to be back at the palace and in the thick of things to find him.
