Page 53 of Shifting Gears

“Listen, a lot’s gone down today. For both of us. How about we just start with names and go from there?” he asked as I peered over at him.

I nodded.

“Sydney,” I said as he lowered his hand back over to his lap.

“AJ.”

“I can’t really think straight right now. If what you told me is true, it means I’m back at square one. I need to think. I need to get home to my sister. I can’t handle anything else,” I said as I realized just how badly I wanted to get home to Regan.

He nodded. “Go home, Sydney.” He said it in a comforting tone and not a scolding, get-lost way as he opened the passenger door and stepped out.

“Wait!”

He paused and bent down as I grabbed my phone from the holder on the dash.

He knew what I was after and rolled his number off. It was like we had a shared understanding that we needed to talk more about Raven and everything that had happened, but neither of us was ready to do that today. He shut the door, and I watched him walk over to the shop, hands tucked in his hoodie pocket. The other men were nowhere in sight. They must have gone back inside.

I reversed and turned my car back toward the road.

Tomorrow, I could worry about what I was going to do next. Right now, I just needed to get home.

CHAPTER 19

SYDNEY

I drove home in silence,my mind on autopilot as the magnitude of the day’s events hovered over me. I pulled into the garage and locked my car. This day was too much, and I knew it wasn’t close to being over yet.

As I rounded the corner of the house, my blood boiled when I saw a car that belonged to Kaito parked out front. The man who I knew had played a part in killing my sister was here.

Touma was standing outside, and I became worried about Regan.

Where was my sister? Why wasn’t he with her?

I jogged over to him and saw two men once again guarding my front door.

“Sydney, I tried to stay with her, but they forced me outside,” he said.

I walked past him, giving him a nod before walking straight to my door. As soon as one guard stuck out a hand, I pounced.

I was hollow and numb from the pain of Raven’s loss, and that hollow space allowed my rage to consume my actions.

I yanked the man forward by his arm, using his momentum to my advantage. I tossed him over my shoulder and down the stairs behind me. He fell with a grunt, and the other mangrabbed my arm, turning and slamming my back against the wall next to the front door.

“Let her fucking go!” Touma shouted from behind as he hobbled forward, lifting a crutch that I had no doubt was about to come crashing down on the back of this guy’s head if he didn’t listen.

Suddenly, the front door swung open, and another man appeared. He aimed a gun at Touma, which made him stop in his tracks. Then he glanced over at me and the man pressing his arm into my neck in front of me.

“Let her pass. You know the boss said to let her in right away,” he said as he gestured to the man to let me go. “You don’t have to cause a scene, Sydney.”

I shoved the guy away as soon as I felt the pressure lighten, causing him to stumble and almost fall down the steps as well. I didn’t bother to say anything back, just stared at the man with the gun until he lowered it, then pushed past him into my house.

“Regan!” I shouted as I kicked off my shoes before dashing inside.

No one was in the living room today, so I panicked.

Where does he have her?!

I turned and ran down the hall to her room. Nothing. I continued to run through the house before I noticed the lights in Raven’s old room were on. I made my way down there to see two guards standing at the end—a short, scrawny one, who looked more like a run-of-the-mill high school punk than a bodyguard for the yakuza, and one who looked calm and serious.

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