Page 35 of Unbound

“Hey! You gotta get your shit together! We can find her. You’re the best of the best. Pull that motherfucker’s credit cards up. I’ll get the guns and check the ammo.”

He’s right. I have to contain myself—for Eden.

In less time than it takes Duke to pull out the pistols and load them up, I find Michael’s credit cards, Social Security number, and bank statements. His last purchase was at a seedy motel on the outskirts of town, only five minutes ago. He only paid fifty dollars, which means he probably booked the hourly rate.

I clench my jaw, resisting the urge to roar in frustration. I grab my black cowboy hat, and Duke snatches up my straw one as he follows me to the door. I have a feeling I’m gonna want to avoid my face being caught in any cameras.

We’re out the door, ready to do whatever is necessary to get my wife back.

The motel parking lot looks like a scene from the TV show Breaking Bad. Prostitutes and gang members are loitering in front of different rooms. The clerk at the front desk has a spider tattoo covering half of his face. He’s shuffling a deck of cards, and even watching him through the tinted window of my truck, I can only imagine what the inside of the office smells like.

I brought my laptop so I could hack into any potential cameras facing the establishment because I know damn well the motel doesn’t have any. I need to see which room he took Eden into, but I also want to verify what angles are safe for us to be seen from for any potential police investigations.

In theory, the Lucky Mermaid Motel is the perfect place for this to go down. Questionable, unsolved murders are a biweekly occurrence in a place like this.

And one of us is not walking out of here still breathing.

“What do you want to do, brother? Let’s talk through it. You’re not thinking straight.” Duke is in the driver’s seat. He parked on the curb across from the motel instead of the official parking lot.

I survey the area again, pulling up a potential camera feed from a dash cam on one of the vehicles. I have a program that senses when any recording devices are within a hundred yards.

After hacking into it, I’m able to see what room Michael dragged Eden into.

“He must have already had the room booked,” I grit out.

Duke nods. “So, he planned this.”

“Yeah.”

I reach into the back seat and grab my gun case, pulling out the 9mm. I check to make sure it’s loaded before screwing on the silencer.

“Let’s take care of this bastard.”

“What are you gonna do about Eden? You’re gonna scare the hell out of her.”

I blink at my brother, realizing he’s completely right. Eden might not forgive me for this.

“He abused her. When I met her, she had yellowed bruises around her neck. Even if I lose her for this … I can’t let him keep harming her. Her safety matters more to me.”

“Let me do it then. Let her hate me instead.” His face is solemn.

I know he would do it. He would kill for me. As much as I want to be the one to end the bastard’s life, he’s right.

I nod, handing him the pistol. Then we pull our hats down low to help conceal our faces and exit the truck.

12

EDEN

As soon as we walked through the door, Michael told me to sit down and shut up. My knees were knocking together from the anxiety, so I was glad he didn’t expect me to keep standing. He’s pacing back and forth on the dingy brown low-pile carpet, mumbling to himself. My throat is sore from him choking me in the car when I wouldn’t answer his questions about Sterling.

He laughs, shaking his head and smacking his hand against the Sheetrock. “You really thought you were just going to run off, get married, and live happily ever after with my kid?”

I shrug, shaking my head. “I just … I needed somewhere to go.”

He barks out a laugh. “Oh, so you’re not fucking him?”

My cheeks heat, and his eyes darken with rage.