Page 29 of Possessive

We drove for maybe thirty minutes, before pulling into a side road. Damon stopped the car in front of what looked like an ice cream parlour, and killed the engine.

"According to my sources, this was a front," Damon said.

"I like it," Gianni said. "No one would suspect an ice cream parlour." He steepled his fingers and pressed them to his lips. "Why didn't we think of this?"

"Because we already have a winery, several restaurants and a car wash," Damon said. "Those assets are sufficient and more profitable."

"But much less fun than an ice cream parlour," Gianni said. "Except the winery."

"If I ever decide to invest in one, you can run it," Reuben said dryly.

I wasn't sure if he was serious or not.

Gianni grinned. "Promise? Actually, I don't want to run it, but I will frequent it. Maybe the twins can run it. That sounds more like their jam."

Reuben smirked and pushed his door open to get out of the car.

I followed close behind, anxiety starting to get the better of me. I pushed it down. Reminded myself who I was. Chances were, Kurt wouldn't be here. He'd spent the last couple of weeks lying low, he wasn't going to stick around if he got wind of us coming.

What if he didn't? I asked myself. What if he had no idea we were here? We could walk right through the front door of the ice cream parlour and find him sitting there, eating a sundae. The kind with chocolate sauce and a sprinkling of nuts.

Before the anxiety became a full-blown panic attack, one of the twins stepped out of the front of the building.

Of course. Reuben wasn't walking through the front door without anyone knowing he was coming. The closer we got, the more of his people I saw inside, surrounding several men and one woman, who sat on the floor in the middle of the parlour. Each had a gun pointed at their head.

Reuben was the boss, he would have sent people here the minute he got word of Kurt's involvement. Possibly hours ago. They would have secured the area before he stepped foot out of his house.

That meant two things: I was safe here, and Kurt wasn't present. That didn't mean we couldn't learn his whereabouts.

I followed Reuben and Damon into the building.

Damon slid a side-eye glance at Gianni, when Gianni peered at the tubs of ice cream behind the glass panel.

Gianni grinned and turned his attention to the people who sat on the floor, taking in each one with interest.

It was an act, I realised. Pretending to be more interested in the ice cream than the people who worked for Kurt. He was letting them think he was harmless, nice even. For him, they might let their guard down. The truth was, he was more dangerous than Reuben and Damon. Subtler.

Reuben nodded for an older man to be brought forward. Two of his men grabbed him and dragged him closer.

"None of them have been helpful," Hunter said. At least, I thought it was him.

"Depending on your definition of helpful," Parker said. "A couple have promised to tell us everything, in return for keeping their toes."

"What Parker said," Hunter said. "But if any of them know where Kurt is, they're keeping their mouths shut."

"I swear on anything you want me to swear on, I have no idea where he is." The man at Reuben's feet looked up at him with begging eyes. "He hasn't been here in three weeks, maybe four." He glanced over his shoulder.

"Lionel is right," the woman said. She was the calmest of them all. "He rarely came here himself."

I took a step back. Gianni put out a hand to steady me. I shook my head. "I'm okay. I just…" I stared at the woman. I'd never seen her before, but I knew that voice.

"He didn't come here because you went to him," I said.

She turned a gaze on me that was so cold it was brittle.

Reuben's look was slightly warmer. "She went to him?"

"One of the voices I heard above the basement was hers," I said. "I heard it several times. She worked for him. She knew where that house was."