Page 31 of What Doesn't Kill Us

I nod, my heart pounding in my chest as I let the reality of Dare’s disappearance sink into my bones. I laugh, and all three of them give me a look, which makes me laugh even harder. Finally, Lilith asks, “What the fuck could be funny right now?”

I attempt to stifle my laughter but mostly fail. So, I choke out, “Dare got himself kidnapped again. Like, how is that even possible? It’s completely preposterous.”

Lilith stares at me, not saying anything. But I see the glint of humor in her eyes and the twitching of her lips as she forces herself to remain silent. “You have a point. It is entirely ridiculous, and I will happily heckle him about it once we get him back.”

Tony and Matt nod in agreement, and I swallow back the rest of my laughter before it turns into complete hysteria. Because even though I see the humor in the situation, I’m still terrified we won’t get him back.

Matt and Tony are both tapping away on their tablets and now they’re also on the phone, barking orders about camera angles and locations. I take it all in for a few moments, then interrupt their information-gathering mission. “That’s all entirely unnecessary.”

All three of them once again look at me like I’m a crazy person. Tony speaks first. “What the fuck are you on about? How else are we going to find him? Crystal ball?”

I glare at him, pulling my phone out of my back pocket and tapping a few buttons before turning it around to show them the screen.

And the little green dot that’s blinking a merry jig.

Matt’s eyes widen, and he snatches the phone from my hands. “How? What? Holy fuck, how is this possible?”

Tony snatches the phone from Matt’s hands, holding the screen inches from his face so I can see the blinking green dot reflected in his eyes. “This is Dare? Are you sure?”

I nod. “Of course, I’m sure. Unless he managed to lose his fucking watch again, not even an hour after I gave it back to him.”

Matt grabs me by my biceps, swinging me closer to him so he can look me in the eye. “You gave him back the watch? Just this morning?”

I nod again, and he yanks me into him, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me off the ground. “Oh, you wonderful, crazy fucking genius.”

Tony comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around me so I’m sandwiched between them. I glance around until my eyes meet Lilith’s. “A little help here, Lils.”

She smiles at me, walking over and completing the group hug.

I squirm, but it’s no use. I’m a prisoner.

I give them a few moments to enjoy their sigh of relief, then shake them off. I step back, putting some space between us in case they decide to get touchy-feely again.

Matt turns his focus back to my phone, tapping away on his tablet and then handing my phone back to me. “Shockingly, he’s at a warehouse on the other side of the city. A very nice warehouse, but still a warehouse.”

“Of course he is.” I huff, rolling my eyes.

I look around, noting the absence of the two goons in the living room. “Where’d our guests go off to?”

Tony gives me a bland look. “Disposed of.”

I scowl. “Well, did you learn anything from them or what?”

He nods, but remains, so I look to Lilith. “Lilith?”

She yawns and blinks at me, so I yell, “Would someone please tell me what the fuck you learned from our unwanted guests?”

Lilith winces, raising a hand up as she says, “Okay, okay. Jesus, keep your voice down. I’ll tell you.”

I glare at her, crossing my arms over my chest as I wait for her to continue. She glares back at me, mirrors my stance, then walks over to stand beside me. “We’re dealing with some guy named Vincent who apparently runs an underground operation that deals mostly in skin trade but also dabbles in arms and drugs. There are limited details about this Vincent outside of the specific jobs those two had been sent on, mostly being watching Darius, and searching for you. It seems their orders were to snatch Darius and/or outright kill you, but there was a bit of discrepancy on the kill you part. So, I guess we’re lucky the other people took Darius because the alternative wouldn’t have been ideal.”

“Who is Vincent? And what did I ever do to him?”

Lilith shrugs, pulling out her phone and holding it out to me. “Maybe you recognize him?”

On the screen is a blurry photo of a youngish man staring unsmilingly at the camera. I take her phone from her, squinting down at the picture in confusion. He seems oddly familiar, but no distinct recognition jumps out at me, so finally, I hand it back to her. “No idea.”

Lilith puts her phone back into her pocket, then rubs her hands over her face briskly. She looks over at Matt and Tony. “We ready to do this shit?”

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