Page 5 of Chaos & Carnage
“Same,” Cain states, standing at my back.
Easing my finger off the trigger, I lower my weapon, but I don’t put it away as I continue to critically analyze the empty space. There are a few blood smears on the ground and lower wall close to the door, most likely where Red’s energy finally gave out after making it to relative safety, out of sight from any prying eyes.
Darting my eyes around the surrounding space, my brows scrunch. There’s no further sign of her. No indication that she got up again or where she went next. It’s like she dropped to the ground then disappeared.
“Goddammit,” I hiss, lifting my head to meet Cain’s incensed gaze. “The blood must have dried.” It means we can’t track her, but it also means no one else can either, which is something.
Both Cain and I spin as the door creaks open, our weapons raised as Enzo and Dante storm in, faces of fury and determination. “Where is she?” Dante growls, his eyes darting around the darkened space in search of her.
“Gone.” I jut my chin toward the smears of blood; the last traces that Red was ever here. “Looks like she killed the guy in the alley then stumbled in here, but the trail goes cold after that.”
Dante’s nostrils flare, the only sign that he’s feeling anything at all. The rest of his posture is frozen in stone, his face an impassive mask. Anyone would think he didn’t give a shit. Hell, if it weren’t for the way he blew into the house earlier like a Gail Force wind, ready to tear apart anyone who stood in his path,I’dthink he didn’t care. I’m still not convincedcareis the right word. Not so sure that it’s because he cares for Red, that he’s so adamant about getting her back, or if it’s possession that’s driving his actions. His words in the kitchen earlier make it clear that whatever fixation he has with Red is unhealthy. I do not doubt that if Red wanted nothing to do with him, he’d make it impossible for her to leave. Of course, Cain and I would happily make him permanently disappear, but, for now at least, Red seems to want him around. Still, his preoccupation withmywoman has me wary, and I’m sure as fuck going to be keeping a close eye on him.
On the other hand, Enzo’s emotions are there for me to read clearly. His shoulders droop, his expression shattered as he stares at the blood on the floor. Almost as though he’s not really seeing it, but picturing Red herself, slumped against the wall, hurt and exhausted. It only lasts a brief moment before he re-erects his walls, and when he lifts his head to face us, that broken expression is replaced with one that’s much sharper, more deadly. Fire burns in his eyes, determined grit carved into the hard lines of his face. He’s the spitting image of a true Antonelli, but instead of the usual sneer of disgust that would curl my lip, his toughened resolve bolsters my confidence that wewillfind her.
“He’s one of Giovanni’s scouts. Probably has them all over the city searching for us. This guy just got lucky—or unlucky, I guess.”
I grit my teeth, flicking my glare to Dante. “Thought you had men that were loyal to you?” That’s what Red had said, anyway. “Couldn’t they have kept you informed of this so Red could have avoided them?”
Dante’s lip lifts in a snarl, but no sound comes out. “My men are currently being iced out. My father isn’t taking any chances of a leak, but we all knew his first move would be to send out scouts.” Pinning Cain in his bottomless eyes, he bites out, “You’rethe reason she was on the road at all. If you hadn’t thrown a fucking hissy fit in the tunnels.”
“Me?!” Cain snarls, taking a menacing step forward. “You’re the ones that insisted Red come see you.”
With his own step forward, Dante meets Cain, the two of them standing an arms-width apart. “You’re the ones who let her leave without an escort, without ensuring she would arrive safely, without even fucking bothering to check in with her.”
The nearly imperceptible widening of Cain’s eyes is the only sign that Dante’s strike has hit its intended target, and in a flash of rage, the fist clenched at his side comes up, swinging into Dante’s cheek and landing with a resonating crack.
“You shouldn’t even be a part of this fucking equation!” Cain roars. “Neither of you should. You were a fucking job, but you just couldn’t leave her well enough alone, could you?” he sneers, his churning gaze a chaotic storm of uncontrollable emotions boring into Dante. “You just had to fucking have her.”
Dante’s features are like granite. There isn’t even a red mark on his cheek from Cain’s punch, like he’s made of actual fucking stone. When he speaks, his tone is ice-cold and deadly. “She was mine long before she was ever yours. Before you even knew who she was. That she existed. The only reason either of you is still breathing is because that’s what she wants, but make no mistake, I’d happily take her away from both of you. Hide her somewhere neither of you will ever find her and watch from afar as you drive yourselves insane searching for her. I already warned you, and I don’t care if Sawyer has feelings for you. I will fucking end you with a smile on my face and fuck her until she forgets you ever existed.”
Cain lunges, going for another swing at Dante’s face. My own fists are crying out to feel the smack of his skin beneath them at the thought of him keeping Red from us. I don’t give a shit if she was theirs first or not. She’s fuckingoursnow. I’ve lost too much, survived too much, endured too much, all in the name of finding her. I sure as hell won’t let anyone—and I mean, fuckinganyone—take her from me now. Not Dante. Not Giovanni. No one.
Dante blocks Cain’s punch, but before he can deliver one of his own, Enzo grabs the back of Cain’s jacket and throws him backward. “ENOUGH!” he yells, his voice echoing around the large, empty warehouse. He steps between the two of them, glaring first at Cain before rounding on Dante.
“None of this is helpful. Sawyer isn’t fucking here, and no matter how much we all hate each other, we need to come up with a plan to fucking find her.”
Taking a deep inhale, I slowly unclench my fists. “He’s right. We can kill each other later, but for now, we need to find Red. You saw the bike out there. There’s no way she’s not hurt, and if Giovanni’s men are searching the streets for us, then it’s only a matter of time until one of them finds her. The race is on and it’s us or them. I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell plan on finding her before they do.”
Chapter 2
“She’s not fucking here,” I bite out, spinning on my heel as I run my hand through my hair in frustration. After Cain and Dante’s blowout, none of us could agree on who would search where, so with Cain and Oliver in one car and me and Dante in the other, we ended up racing each other over here, to Sawyer’s apartment.
Other than the clubhouse, or Cain’s house, this is the only other place she could be. If she is injured—which, based on the carnage left behind at the scene of her crash, she must be—then logic dictates that she should be at one of these three locations, and yet She’s. Not. Fucking. Here. Nor has Cain heard from any of his men regarding her whereabouts. So where the hell is she?!
There’s barely enough space for the four of us in this apartment, and I feel like I’m suffocating with all of them taking up what little air is in the room as Cain emerges from where he was searching her bedroom, and Dante appears in the doorway of Luc’s.
“Then where the fuck is she?” Cain growls. His anger from earlier has yet to simmer down. If anything, it’s only getting worse, and he’s not the only one. I can see Dante’s patience wearing thin, along with my own. Even Oliver, who appears to have the best control over his emotions out of all of us, is getting frustrated.
“Are you sure none of your men have seen her?” I question, because I can’t think of anywhere else she could be. I have alarms on the perimeter of my apartment that I gave her the address of, but no matter how many times I check them, none of them have gone off, so she’s not there. And she’s not here. Or at the clubhouse or Cain’s house. So where does that leave? Worry gnaws on my insides. What are we missing?
“Yes, I’m fucking sure,” Cain snaps, one wrong word away from going apeshit. “I don’t know how you Antonellis run things, but I can trust my men to inform me as soon as they have any updates.”
“There must be somewhere else she’d go.” Dante pins Cain and Oliver with an expectant look, and when the two of them share a clueless glance, he shakes his head in disappointment.
Cain’s fists clench dangerously. He barely manages to hold himself back, snarling out, “Fuck this, we’re going back to the house. We’ll regroup and go from there.”
“We’re going with you.”