Page 104 of Sardonic Burn

“Kalina doesn’t leave the house often. She went this morning to check on Noelle—who, by the way, still hasn’t contacted us.” He throws me a pointed look, which I ignore. I delivered his message. That’s what he asked me to do. “She never made it to Noelle’s. She ran into Leah, and, well, Leah brought her here.”

“So that pissed you off enough to draw weapons? We’re supposed to be civilized. Why isn’t that extended to them?”

“Because your father is a cunt,” Ray grunts, reaching for his glass. “Some words were said from his side, and I’m not generous enough to let it slide.”

“This is why I’ve been called on a Sunday morning? The two of you should grow the fuck up.”

“Now, that’s a little harsh,” Henrick grunts. “But where the fuck were you? I couldn’t reach you for the past week.”

“I couldn’t reach Noelle, either.”

They exchange a glance before both of them turn their focus on me. I try not to let it show. No father wants to know that their daughter had her brains fucked right out of her head for a week straight. Especially not by the man he despises.

“I’ve been focusing on trying to find The Silencer,” I point out with a harsh stare. “Which is what the two of you should’ve been doing instead of fighting.”

“Did you find anything?”

I raise a brow. “Did you?”

In fact, in between fucking the shit out of Noelle, I kept in touch with Mika and Lyla. The two of them are going above and beyond to help out. Mika isn’t someone who often wants to helpbut since he’ll be paid generously, he’s been working day and night.

After Noelle killed the bullet maker, The Silencer went into hiding, it seems. No new victims, no new bullets found, and, most importantly, no one is coming after Noelle and me. It looks like we made it clear during the gala that the two families aren’t on good terms, which means he has two angles to look at.

“Nothing much,” Ray grumbles. “Looks like he went into hiding. But with the auction approaching, I don’t think he’ll remain silent. If he does, it means that he found enough victims way before Noelle took the bullet maker’s head.”

“And if that’s the case,” Henrick chimes in, “there’s only one way to resolve it. You two need to go directly to that auction and burn it from the inside out.”

That’s Noelle’s plan, too.

But the thought of putting her in danger makes my blood boil. She’s a very capable woman and would never go down without a fight, but she’s still lacking. I don’t doubt her resolve to save those people and kill those who deserve it, but her hand-to-hand combat needs work.

Serious work.

I’ll be by her side at all times, but it’s not enough. The two of us will be against God knows how many of them, and one little mistake could cost us our lives. I don’t give a fuck if they kill me, but I will never allow them to even touch a strand of her hair.

Noelle is too stubborn.

She’ll never agree to let me handle it. If I lock her up, she’ll crawl her way out of it and go on her own, which is a disaster waiting to happen. That’s the only reason I’m allowing her to go. It’s easier to keep an eye on her when she’s close to me, but it doesn’t make it ideal.

“That’s what we will do,” I agree. “Both of you form teams of your best people and have them train relentlessly before theauction. As soon as it starts, I want that place surrounded. Not a single fly should be able to escape. Do you understand me?”

“I’m working on it already,” Ray says. “You’ll have backup on standby. It will be a rough fight. Are you prepared for it?”

“Yes,” I say without missing a beat.

I only hope that the gut feeling in my stomach doesn’t prove to be right. Somehow, I’m convinced it won’t go as smoothly as we’re hoping. And it’s fucking annoying the shit out of me.

TWENTY-SIX

“Woah, take it easy. The food is all yours, Noah.”

I throw Niko a nasty glare.

I’m on my seventh pizza slice, my fingers are coated with grease, and I’m pretty sure this white shirt is no longer white. For the first time in a long time, I can’t bring myself to care. I continue to devour the food until it physically starts hurting to eat more.

“How long have you gone without eating? Jesus Christ,” Niko mumbles, eyes wide. He brought two pizzas, and he and Dylan were forced to share one while I grabbed the other one all for myself.

“Why are the two of you even here?”

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