Letting go of a harsh breath, he shook his head and fished his cell from his pocket. He listened to Inari leave his house, get in her car, and speed off his property while dialing Kong.
“What’s up?” He picked up.
“Where are you?”
“On my way to the hospital. What’s wrong?” Kong questioned.
“Bro, I don’t want to tell you this shit over the phone. I’ll meet you at the hospital.” Moose rushed to the stairs.
“I called Ayla, but her phone is going to voicemail. She didn’t know I had her location. It’s showing she’s still at the Shack, though. I thought you said she left.”
“She did,” Moose replied, assuming her phone more than likely was still in the Snack Shack parking lot somewhere.
“Moose, the fuck is going on?” Even from the other side of the phone, Kong sensed something off with his brother.
“Kong, I’ll tell you when I see you. I’m heading out now.” Ending the call, Moose shoved his phone into his jacket pocket and entered his garage.
He opted for his bike this time, pressing the garage entry button so he could let himself out. Once he’d secured the helmet on his head, he turned the switch to start and revved it up. Backing out of his driveway, he sped down the winding road to his gate. Smashing on the gas, all he could see was the look in Inari’s eyes before she left. The way his heart cracked in his chest was something he didn’t even think was possible again. When Moose whipped his bike into the hospital parking lot twenty minutes later, he spotted Kong’s G-Wagon parked and his brother pacing beside it with his phone pressed to his ear.
Brows dipped in concern, he immediately hung up and flicked the Newport he’d been blowing into the wind when he spotted Moose. Sliding into the empty space beside his truck, Moose killed the engine and placed his feet on the ground. Hekicked the stand down, removed his helmet, and pushed himself off his bike.
“The fuck is going on?” Kong threw his hands up. “Ayla’s not picking up, and Yasmine said she hasn’t been back. What else did she say when you saw her?”
“Bro, something happened.” Moose set his helmet against the bars on his bike.
Kong picked up on his tone and the way his dark eyes flickered with somberness. No stranger to receiving bad news, something about Moose’s piercing stare unnerved him. His heart thrummed loudly in his ears, and he held his breath. People held a certain tone and a desolation that only someone who had been there before can recognize.
“What you mean something happened?”
“I was just with Inari. She got a message.”
“A message about what, Moose? Where the fuck is Ayla?” Kong roared, eyes glistening for reasons unknown.
“She’s gone,” Moose voiced.
His brows cinched together, and Kong turned his ear as if he hadn’t heard him.
“What you say?”
“She’s gone, bro. There was a car explosion. Ayla is dead,” Moose revealed.
Kong rushed him, grabbing him by his jacket and slamming him into a nearby car, with his face only a few inches from Moose's.
“What the fuck happened? Tell me everything!” Fire ignited behind his eyes as Kong grit his teeth.
“It was Inari’s bitch ass baby daddy and his auntie, that bitch Mira who runs hoes for Donahue. They were blackmailing Inari for some shit that happened when her and Ayla were kids. Inari stopped complying, so they went after Ayla,” Moose expressed.
“Why the fuck you ain’t say shit?” Kong spat.
“I just found out. I told Inari I would take care of it?—”
“How the fuck is she dead then, Moose?” Kong’s grip tightened on his brother’s jacket, and his dark eyes bounced over Moose’s red and glossy ones. “Was you too fucking high to stay on point with this shit?”
Moose gathered his strength and pushed Kong off him, a menacing scowl now crowding his face.
“The fuck off me! I ain’t the one who was playing with her!”
“But you knew what was going on, and you sat on the sidelines on some bullshit!”
