Page 50 of Cage the Storm
Carlo doesn’t just vanish without a reason.
If someone grabbed him, we would’ve heard by now—there would’ve been demands, warnings. But we’ve received nothing. Which means one of two things: he’s in trouble, or he left on his own.
Neither possibility sits well.
“Find out where he was last seen. Who he talked to. What deals he was working on before he went dark. Christ, have someone pull up his phone and credit card records if need be.” Knowing him, he’s using a burner and hiding behind an alias we don’t know about.
“You got it. I’ll have the car waiting.”
Grabbing my jacket, I push up from the chair, focusing on a single goal. If Carlo won’t show his face, then I’ll force the fucker out myself.
Not long after, I’m sliding into the passenger seat as Mateo starts the car. “Our first stop is the club since that’s where he was last seen.”
“Good, let’s get this show on the road.” I grip the door handle, ready to pull it shut, when I see someone rushing down the stairs.
“Wait.” Luna strides toward me. “Where are you going?” she demands, eyes scanning me and Mateo like we’re a bunch of teenagers going out to raise hell on a Friday night.
I’m fucking pissed that she felt the need to check up on me. I try to ignore the hurt in her eyes when I say, “Someone needs to flush out Carlo, and I don’t have time to sit around and wait.”
“You barely made it through the last attack,” she scolds. “And now, just like that, you’re ready for another bullet.”
Mateo fidgets in his seat. He’s uncomfortable, but I don’t give a shit. If she meant to hurt me with that remark, she missed by a long shot. All I can see is red, and the only way to wash that red away is by covering Carlo in it.
“Stay out of it, Luna. Carlo and I have history, and no one disappears without consequences.”
“History? Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this, Nico?” Her words rip through the air, but I refuse to acknowledge them.
“Didn’t I warn you that you didn’t really know me at all?” I try to shut the door in her face, but I’m still weak, and she easily catches my arm before I can.
“Funny. I thought standing by your bedside while you almost died meant I knew you well enough. Apparently not.”
“I don’t need a damn lecture.”
Her fingers tighten around my wrist before I can pull away without hurting her. “You promised to let your men deal with this,” she begs. “That’s what they’re here for.”
“I’m not a fucking coward.”
“That’s not what I’m implying.”
I meet her stare. “Then get to the damn point.”
“You don’t have to play martyr every time. You lead them, you don’t have to prove anything.”
A smirk pulls at the corner of my mouth. “That’s not how this works. I’m theBoss.” My fist hits the center of my chest to prove my point. “I refuse to sit back and do nothing. I make things happen, and I won’t fucking hide in the dark.”
Luna is frustrated because she knows she can’t stop me, no matter what she says. Not now. Not when my pride is on the line.
She studies me for a breath, then lets her hand fall away. “Fine,” she says, “Go. But don’t be a damn hero.”
Shaking my head, I yank the door shut. “I’m far from a hero. I’m just a man trying to protect what’s fucking mine!”
I motion for Mateo to leave, and she watches us pull away, her expression impenetrable through the rearview mirror.
Luna challenges me in ways no one else does. Without hesitation, even when she knows it’s not her place. My mother never questioned my father, never made him justify himself in front of his men. She understood her role.
But Luna? She has no fear and doesn’t hesitate to remind me that she won’t just sit back and let things unfold.
How much leeway do I give her? How much of this is just her being who she is, and how much of it is a line she can’t cross?
