Page 49

And their entire quarters wiped clean.

Fuck. That meant they had to be connected to the disappearance, even though they’d served the Bastide family for decades.

We went from room to room, my furious hands tearing apart the beds, the closets, slamming the kitchen table against the wall.

Where the fuck was my wife?

As I stood in the kitchen, breathing hard, I heard a faint banging from somewhere in the building.

What the hell?

I followed it, room to room.

“Léonie? Léonie? Sweetheart, is that you? I’m coming to get you!”

It sounded like it was coming from under the floors somewhere.

Was my wife in trouble?

Hastily, I descended the stairs to the basement, flicking the light on just as I heard the knocking sound redoubling.

It was coming from one of the supply closets!

If someone had locked my wife in a closet, I was going to tear them limb from limb. . .

I opened the door and out tumbled my idiot brother Mano, his arms and legs tied up so he landed hard on his chin on the concrete floor.

Flicking out my knife, I impatiently cut his bindings free.

“What the fuck happened?” I snapped, ripping the dirty sock out of his mouth. “Where is Léonie?”

“How the hell should I know,” he rasped out, rubbing his throat. “Maybe you should ask Hugo.”

I dragged him upright.

“Tell me what the fuck happened to you. Who tied you up?”

“Fucking Hugo knocked me down from behind.”

“You—let Hugo tie you up? Our brothers who reads books all day? Idiot. Where the fuck is my wife?”

“I don’t know,” he groaned. “But she seduced me down to the basement with her. How the hell was I supposed to know it was so Hugo could fuck me up?”

I stared uncomprehendingly at him, yanking him upright by the ear.

“You are telling me that my nine-months-pregnant wife lured you into the basement so our brother could tie you up?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To get information. Damn, I need to piss. I’ve had to piss all over myself.”

“You’ll be fucking pissing through your ass if you don’t tell me where my wife is!” I snarled, shoving him into the wall. “What did you tell her?”

He looked at me, and I felt fear and rage shudder all over my body.

“What did you tell her?”