Page 87 of Edge of Control

“Put the gun down, Dad.”

Chapter 33

Theo Glass

Marielle’s wasa small brick-faced and narrow spot crammed between two tall buildings in Brooklyn. My sister’s name was scrawled in white across a blackboard above the red door. I could hardly believe this was real.

A Closed sign hung on one of the windows. I looked inside. The bar was dark, but I spotted a shadow moving in a far corner by one of the booths.

I slammed a fist against the locked door. They were inside. Jace was inside.

Myfatherwas inside.

If I had to break through the window, I would. I wasn’t going to let a locked door stop me from rescuing Jace and from getting even with the man who’d made my life a living hell.

The day of reckoning had come.

I could have chosen a different path. Jace had given me a solid head start. I had apassport; I could have been on a plane to a different country by now. If I was really heartless, I would have left Jace to his fate. I knew my father’s intentions for Jace weren’t to keep him happy and healthy—they were to torture and kill him. That could be the only reason why he’d abducted him.

Then again… what if Jace wasn’t even abducted? I was making a few leaps in logic here. It made sense that my father would want to hurt me now that he knew I was the one dismantling his lucrative blackmail operation, but I was beginning to learn that life rarely ever made sense.

“Open up!” My voice came out raw, hoarse with rage. No response.

Inside, the shadow moved again, and I knew I couldn’t wait. One way or another, I was getting through this door. I palmed the crowbar I’d found in the alleyway. No one else was on the street but me. I had to take this chance.

I lifted the crowbar and drove it hard against the windowpane next to the door. The glass shattered with a sharp crack, shards falling like lethal raindrops. I reached through the jagged hole and unlocked the door.

It creaked open, revealing a dimly lit room filled with stale air and the faint scent of liquor. The bar’s interior was even grittier than I’d imagined: mismatched red and blue leather chairs, peeling green wallpaper, and a long counter lined with empty bottles.

I can’t believe he named this piece of shit after you, Em.

But none of that mattered.

One man stood near the far end of the bar, looking upin alarm. Before he could react, another man appeared through a back door.

It was Gio, my father’s right-hand thug. He’d been friends with my father since they were in the navy together. He was a piece of shit, and he was the first to react, drawing a gun from his waistband. The second man—a hulking brute with a shaved head—grabbed a bottle from the counter, his muscles tensing like a coiled spring.

“Look who finally showed up,” Gio sneered, aiming the gun directly at me. “Daddy’s little disappointment.”

“Where is he?” I barked, my voice slicing through the tension like a knife. “Where’s Jace?”

“Downstairs,” Gio said, his smirk widening. “But you’ll have to get through us first.”

Before he could fire, I moved. I launched the crowbar at Gio’s wrist, the heavy metal connecting with a sickening crack. The gun clattered to the ground, and he howled in pain, clutching his arm. The second man came at me, swinging the bottle like a club. I ducked, the glass narrowly missing my head, and countered with a punch to his ribs.

He grunted but didn’t go down. Instead, he swung again, catching me in the shoulder. The bottle shattered. Shards of thick glass stabbed through my shirt, digging into flesh. Pain exploded down my arm, but I gritted my teeth and grabbed the nearest stool, slamming it against his side. He stumbled, crashing into the counter.

Gio recovered enough to pull a knife from his boot. “You fucked up by coming here, Theo.”

“You’ve got it backward,” I snarled.

He lunged, the blade glinting in the dim light. Isidestepped, grabbing his wrist and twisting until the knife clattered to the ground. A sharp jab to his jaw sent him sprawling onto the floor. The bigger guy was on me again, his massive hands wrapping around my throat. He slammed me against the wall, and for a moment, stars burst across my vision. A searing hot pain flooded down my arm, stealing my breath.

But I wasn’t done. I brought my knee up hard, catching him between the legs. He roared, releasing me just long enough for me to grab the crowbar. With all the strength I had left, I swung it into his temple.

He sputtered out blood and fell to the floor like a spineless jellyfish.

Breathing hard, I turned to Gio. He was still conscious, dragging himself toward the fallen gun. I kicked it away and pressed the crowbar against his throat. “Stay down,” I growled. He froze, his eyes wide with fear.

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