Page 4 of Bad Ruck

"Exactly," I said. "No doubt they've been trying to find a way for years. Everything that's going on now could stem from that. Dominic King might have the connections the Vipers need to provide a new route for them to receive goods."

"If we were to kill Dominic King and Otis Skinner—" Frost started.

"We'd be taking on a whole cartel," I finished for him. Now I was more scared than ever for Dallas. What the hell happened to him?

If he was dead, I'd burn this whole fucking city down, consequences be damned. He was mine. If you fuck with him, you fucked with me. My fear was gone, replaced with ice cold fury. Anger I'd carefully locked away for a long time uncoiled like a snake. When the time came to strike, I was ready. Until then, I'd wait and watch.

"What do we do now?" Frost asked.

"We find Dallas," I said.

Chapter Two

Chelsea

"Well, this shit is freaky."Storm stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around.

"Don't create a bottleneck," Atlas told him. He elbowed past him, through the doorway that led into my brother's workroom.

"Fuck off," Storm snapped, but it was with less heat than usual. He was too busy taking in his surroundings.

"I think this place is cool," Frost said. He grabbed Storm's hand and pulled him forward, out of the way of the rest of us.

'Cool' was one word for it, but I wasn't getting into that conversation right now. I stepped past Atlas and into the workroom.

"Hey, looks like the whole family is here," Ice greeted cheerfully. "Sorry, most of you." He was cleaning the floor with a mop and what smelled like bleach. For once, there was no one hanging from the chains. No dead bodies lying around for us to see. No alive ones either. Just us and my brother, who appraised the men.

"You've met Frost and Storm," I said. "This is Atlas, Jay and?—"

"I've met Ramsey." Ice held out his spare hand for the hooker to shake. "You're also fucking my sister?"

Ramsey shook my brother's hand and said, "Not yet."

"Be good to her," Ice told him. He looked around at the others. "That goes for all of you. Now, Dallas Gregory is missing? I put out feelers, telling people to keep an eye out for him. And to let them know anyone who does anything to him will find himself down here enjoying my company."

I stepped over to give him a hug. "Thank you. You're the best."

He squeezed me back. "I keep telling you, that's what big brothers are for. We'll find him. People tend to avoid pissing me off if possible."

"Do you really kill people down here?" Storm was still looking around. "Just like that." He snapped his fingers.

Ice grinned. "I wouldn't say it's 'just like that,' but yes. That's what generally happens in here. Which is why people try to avoid coming down here against their will.Sometimesit can be slightly unpleasant for them."

I snorted. "Slightly unpleasant? Only sometimes?"

"Okay, it can be very unpleasant for them all the time. But they got themselves into that situation to start with, so they generally deserve whatever happens down here." Ice leaned the mop against a side wall.

"How many?" Storm asked. When my brother raised a questioning eyebrow at him, he added, "How many people have you killed down here?"

"Three hundred and forty-two," Ice replied easily. "I keep records of all of them. I could show you if you like?" He sounded like a kid offering to show a friend his collection of marbles.

Honestly, I was pretty sure he didn't have enough marbles to call it a 'collection.' The glass kind either.

"Can we focus on Dallas for now?" I asked. "You can share your horror stories with them later. If they want to hear them."

"I do," Frost said.

Storm glanced at him but didn't say anything.

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