Page 97 of Serpent King's Revenge

"Abby?" My father's voice came through the speakers, a mix of concern and surprise.

"Hey, Dad," I whispered urgently, clutching my phone tightly. "Listen, I need your help."

"Abby, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"Something's come up," I told him, glancing at Nathan. "Kenny, Nathan’s dad…he took his sister.”

“He took Nathan’s aunt?”

Fuck. Of course. This was such a mess. “No, Daddy. He took Lily, Nathan’s sister. And she’s in danger, and if we don’t do something about it, he’s going to hurt her.”

“Do you want me to call reinforcements?” he asked.

I almost laughed. Jesus–at this point, I was just as likely to get arrested as Kenny Zhou. “No, I don’t want you to call the cops,” I said.

"Alright, Abby. What do you need me to do?" he asked, his voice shifting into the calm, focused tone I recognized from years of watching him work.

"Meet us in Chinatown," I instructed, my gaze locked onto the horizon as if I could already see him rushing to our aid. "We'll fill you in on the details when you get here."

My dad sighed. “Okay…just text me the address.”

I laughed. “Thanks again, Dad.”

“See you soon, Sprout.”

The city lights flickered like a thousand fireflies in the darkness as we sped through the night. Nathan's grip on the wheel was tight, his knuckles white from the pressure. I could see the worry etched into the lines of his face, and it made my heart ache. He deserved better than this.

"What are you up to?” Nathan asked.

“Nothing,” I shrugged, playing coy. "I just want to see my dad before we confront Kenny."

His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer before he nodded, accepting my answer without further questions.

Trusting me above all else. It meant more to me than words could express.

The teahouse was up ahead of us on the right, and Nathan pulled over to parallel park. From here, we would drive straight to the suburbs to meet with Kenny–after we’d gotten our friends at the teahouse to go out and set this city on fire. We’d managed to touch base with Alex and Jack as well, and they were all set to raise hell.

There would be a lot of rebuilding to do after Kenny was gone, but I had faith that we could make it happen.

“You ready for this?” Nathan asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go in.”

Nathan got out and came around to open my door for me, and as I got out, I was reminded of the last time I was here. That night, I’d met with Evelyn Zhou, and she’d told me everything. It was the last time I saw her before she died.

I had to believe tonight would be different.

We walked toward the teahouse, the neon sign flickering overhead. Alex was already here, otherwise I would have suspected that we might be walking into a trap. As it was, we found Alex just inside the door, hands in his pockets.

They didn’t stay that way for long, though…because he actually hugged Nathan.

They hugged for a long time, Alex squeezing him tight. Nathan held him back, eyes darting toward me before closing and just enjoying hugging his brother. Finally, Alex stepped back, swiping at his eyes as if he was just sweaty.

“Fuck, man…I thought we were goners back there,” Alex said. “Knuckles…”

“We’re going to get him out,” Nathan said. “And Lily. Is everyone here?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “Just uh…follow me.”

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