Page 81 of Riordan's Revenge

Pulling free nearly killed me, but I flipped up her visor, putting the finger that had been inside her into my mouth. “Tough. Now hold on and don’t slide off from how slick I’ve made you.”

Cassie glowered, her blue eyes narrowing before she slammed the visor back down and let me get her back into place.

Wheeling out of the lane, I peered into the street then gunned the engine, shooting over the junction and down the lane across from us. Deadwater had started as a medieval harbour town and still retained the twisted, narrow roads and multiple places to hide.

I knew them well. Took us along lesser-used ones and evaded any waiting cops. At the harbour, I followed the river, bumping over the cobbled boulevard, the neon pink-and-black signs of Divine and Divide soon coming into view. People ambled along, some staggering, one yelling at me to get on the road. I flipped him the bird and kept going.

Cassie resumed her torture of playing with me.

I didn’t try to stop her. Soft fingertips caressed my shaft, and I glanced down to ensure I was still covered. I drove us around the back of the warehouse, half out of my mind, parked up, then tapped my shoulder. Cassie understood, clinging on to me when I carried her off, the painting wedged between us. I turned fromthe building and reinstated my jeans, though I could do nothing to hide the bulge.

Once we were inside, I tugged off my bandanna and set Cassie on her feet. She removed the helmet then took the stolen goods back from me with a buoyant grin. Fucking infuriating. Without giving her the chance to speak, I wrapped my bandanna around her face, forcing it between her teeth, then tied it off behind her curls.

The joyful expression dropped to a dark scowl.

At the desk, the guard raised his eyebrows but said nothing. If he challenged me again, he’d regret it.

I propelled Cassie through the inner door. “I’m so fucking furious with you. What you did at that house was insane.”

She stopped dead in the hall. I grabbed her hips and threw her over my shoulder, striding out to the central corridor and to the lift. It was waiting, and I ignored all of the gawping peanut gallery to carry her inside. When the doors closed, Cassie thumped my back with her fist. I didn’t let her down.

On the fifth floor, I paced to her bedroom and threw open the door.

It was empty.

The bed gone. All her clothes missing, my rucksack, too.

All that was left was her detective wall, the map of Deadwater and connecting pieces of string still in place.

What the fuck was going on? Was she leaving? I dropped her onto her heels again, and those furious eyes trained on me. She wrestled with her gag. I snatched her hands away to stop her removing it. If she was walking out, I didn’t want to know.

Cassie pointed back to the lift then freed her hands to show me seven on her fingers.

I dove my eyebrows together. “Seventh floor?”

She nodded, then growled and bucked against me when I picked her up once more. She dropped the painting. I snatchedthe thing up and returned to the lift. Selecting floor seven did nothing until I held up my pass. Then, it lit up and we moved, exiting to a part of the warehouse I’d never been before. Cassie pointed at a doorway, and I held my pass over that as well.

It turned green. I entered an apartment.

Though mostly empty, there were signs of life. A door open. A line of kitchen spotlights lit. I crossed the living area to a hallway, finding myself in a bedroom.

All of our possessions were here. Not just the bed we’d used, but Cassie’s clothing rail. Fucking hell, the bags from my car had been brought up as well. That could only have been my sister’s doing.

Confusion dogged me for several seconds, but an explanation could wait. Pure emotion guided my next steps.

Cassie had misbehaved tonight. She’d gone beyond the pale. If I hadn’t seen her first, if I’d been out of there before she arrived, she could have beenhurt. I needed her to understand just how out of control that made me feel.

Chapter 25

Cassie

Riordan tossed his stolen item to the warm oak floorboards and backed me to the bed. A thrill ran through me. With my mouth gagged, I couldn’t question him about it, but now wasn’t the time.

He tore off his jacket and discarded it to the floor then kicked off his shoes. The rest of his clothes followed until he was down to his boxers. I plopped onto the mattress, unable to stop staring. His body was mouthwatering, the low light showcasing his muscular form. I’d had nowhere near enough time to explore him.

He paced away from me then returned. “The one thing you have to do is to stay safe. Which means never being alone or vulnerable. My last message asked you to stay here. Yet at the very place I absolutely didn’t want you to be, you were there.”

Riordan raked his fingers through his hair, his distress plain in his darting move and the worried crinkle around his eyes.

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