Page 25 of Romi

Gracie was apparently due to work a shift at a pub called the Old Bell Tavern this evening, so Ash intended going there after the meeting to ask her out on a date. I smirked. I was sure he was hoping for way more than a simple date. I had never seen him this interested in anyone before. Since losing Krissa he had become cold and almost emotionless at times, the total opposite of how he used to be. He blamed himself for Krissa’s murder and no matter what any of us said, he couldn’t seem to let his guilt go.

It was good to see the effect his Little Miss Hot Mess had on him. Just talking about her had him smiling. They had shared only shared one messy kiss but since then he had been obsessed with her. I hoped Gracie agreed to date him, he needed some happiness in his life. I might have an impossible love life which was depressing the hell out of me, but that didn’t mean I wanted that for anyone else.

Ash had thought he’d likely made a bad first impression on her. After kissing her and running off without even getting her number, I had to agree. So, he was determined to make a good impression tonight and informed me that, between my scowl and the ominous tension coming off me in waves, I’d probably scare her off and wouldn’t let me go to the meeting with him. Ass!

However, he had promised to call straight after the meeting and check in with me. That was the only reason I allowed the bugger to go alone to meet that Somali bastard despite my reservations. I didn’t like the guy. Mohammed had provided us with a few bits of information but nothing that had been all that helpful, to be honest. I didn’t know what it was about him, but I didn’t think we could trust him.

Of course, I never fully trusted informants who would rat out their family, friends, or brotherhood for money. The ones with a good reason, like Juana, I could understand.

Juana had a gripe against her cousin Siri because he had given her sister Jadwa to a Somali diplomat as a sex slave. The perverted swine had then taken her to Somalia with him and she hadn’t been seen or heard of since. Naturally, Juana wanted her sister back. She provided us with information on the Malia Boys because she hated Siri but also because we were helping her look for Jadwa. I could understand her reason for betraying the Malia Boys’ secrets and I even respected her for the risks she took in doing so.

Those trading information simply to make money, like Mohammed, were a whole different type of person. They had no honour and no loyalty and simply couldn’t be trusted. Nevertheless, Ash thought I was worrying too much over the guy and refused to let me go with him. Ash could be very stubborn at times. I rubbed my eyes which felt dry and gritty. I really needed to get some sleep but not until I was sure my cousin was safe.

Worry was making me angsty. I poured myself a shot of vodka, throwing the contents back and downing the liquid in one, savouring the slow burn as it ran down the back of my throat.

Checking my watch yet again, I slammed my hand down on the kitchen counter. Where the hell was he? I should have heard from him by now. It was unlike him to fail to check in, but I supposed with how obsessed he was with Gracie, he might have forgot in his haste to go see her. That was probably it I told myself. Unless something had happened to him the ominous voice in my head said.

Fuck. I raked a hand through my hair and scratched at the back of my neck, as I rang his mobile, cursing when it went straight to voicemail. I gave it a couple of minutes and tried again but got the same result. Shit.

“What’s happening?” I texted him.

No reply. I texted again, “Answer your bloody phone or text me!”

After waiting a couple more minutes with no response, I called him again. Still no answer.

My gut churned, a feeling of dread washing over me. The longer I didn’t hear from him the more I thought that ominous voice might be right. I should have gone with him no matter what he said, or at the very least, I should have followed him. I let my thoughts of Sonia distract me all week and put me in a bad mood and then I let Ash insist on going off alone, something I would never normally do if I hadn’t been so preoccupied with my own thoughts.

How could I have been such an idiot? The Somali bastard wasn’t to be trusted yet I let Ash go to meet him alone. Anything could have happened. Mohammed could have betrayed him, or maybe Ash spiralled out of control after hearing whatever information he had and ended up getting himself into trouble. Of course, I could simply be overreacting. He might just be too preoccupied trying to sweet talk his waitress to think straight. I prayed that was the case, but I needed to be sure.

Feeling desperate, I called the Old Bell Tavern and spoke to some guy there who told me there were no new customers in, just some regulars, when I asked him to check for Ash. I’d asked to speak to Gracie too, but he she was apparently on her break alone, so I guessed Ash hadn’t arrived yet. Which meant there was only one conclusion. Ash was in trouble!

Fuck, this was my fault! There was an unknown enemy out there and I had let Ash go off on his own. What the hell had I been thinking? I berated myself again as I grabbed my keys and headed for the door. If anything had happened to him, I would never forgive myself.

There was no sign of him at the meeting spot and the sense of dread I’d been feeling was now so thick it threatened to choke me. Unwilling to succumb to my worries, I called Sean to have him locate Mohammed.

Sean was one of our best intelligence gatherers on the street. He knew everyone. He also handled our main informants. He was great at recruiting people with grudges, like Juana, who were in a position to provide us with important information on our biggest enemies and he had contacts everywhere. Mohammed was one of Ash’s own informants but even though Sean didn’t handle him, he would be able to put the feelers out for information. If anyone could locate Mohammed fast, he could.

Heading off on foot, I searched everywhere including the Old Bell Tavern. I didn’t even need to walk in, I just looked through the window and could see immediately that there were only two staff inside, one of them was Gracie herself, and a handful of old guys. It was obvious Ash hadn’t made it to the pub.

As I searched the area around the pub, I rang a few of my own informants, but none knew where Mohammed was, or more importantly what had happened to Ash.

After an hour, with no sign of where he could be, I had to admit that it was looking more and more like something sinister had happened. There was nothing left to do but call Miki. I didn’t relish the task, but I had put it off long enough. I’d wasted enough time trying to establish that he was genuinely missing and now we needed to ramp up the effort to find him.

Miki answered after the second ring.

“Ash is missing!” I informed him straight to the point. The bellow of rage in response nearly shattered my eardrum. Fuck!

Crashing and more bellows followed. The minute he calmed down enough to hear what I was saying, I gave him a quick rundown of the situation.

“Marko, with me now!” Miki shouted before mumbling something to someone I assumed was Vlad, then I heard a few more shouts in the background before finally he returned to the phone.

“We’re on our way!” Miki said before giving me the ear bashing of my life. I cringed at his tirade. He was so incensed at both Ash and me I could barely make out a thing he was saying, just bits and pieces… fucking pair of idiots…lose anyone else… kill you my bloody self…

Miki ranted throughout the forty minutes it took to reach me from the Estate. God, he was spitting mad! He had only just stopped yelling at me when a couple of SUVs pulled up and he stepped out with his bodyguard Vlad, and a couple more of our men. Sonia, Marko, and Luca climbed out from the other car and followed behind. Miki strode towards me with narrowed eyes, and I gulped as his fist flew at my face. My head jerked back with the force of the blow, and I tasted blood as my lip bust.

“That’s for being a bloody idiot and letting the other bloody idiot go off alone!” he said before talking a steadying breath as he turned away from me to issue orders.

A second later, a van pulled up as Anton and some of his men arrived to join us.

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