Page 175 of Invisible String
“Stay behind me,” Johnny commands.
I sneer. Like I’m going to hide behind him. He shakes his head at me, gun drawn.
“Put the gun down,” I tell him. “Let me handle it.”
He huffs, putting his gun away.
My knuckles rap harshly against the cold, dented metal door. The same burly guy with the buzz cut and permanent scowl swings it open, his beady eyes locking onto mine with suspicion. “I need to see Daniel now,” I declare, shoving past him with a determined stride. He stumbles slightly before leveling a glinting gun at my chest, his hand shaking ever so slightly.
“Hand me your guns, knives, or any weapon on you,” he demands, his voice quivering like a leaf in the wind.
“Where is she?” I bark, my eyes scanning the room for any sign of her.
“Who?” he retorts, glancing nervously around, the gun still trained on me as if it’s the only thing anchoring him in this tense moment.
Either he doesn’t know because they didn’t bring her here, or he’s playing it off. Another man, Gilbert, walks up. “The Master of Disaster. Did you come back to make some real money?” He laughs, then takes a hit off his joint.
“Where is he hiding her, damnit?”
Gilbert smiles smugly. Some of his other guys appear from the shadows. Then I see them dragging a man. “Rainey is safe,” he says, turning from me to the man with his mouth taped.
“Hand her over, or I’ll tear this place down piece by piece until I find her.” My steps close in as I push the gun away, pointed at me. Not a smart move, but getting her back is all I can think of. This is all my damn fault. I showed them my weakness.
His phone rings. With a smirk, he answers it. “Hey, boss, we have company.” I can’t hear what they are talking about, but he looks up at the camera. Daniel can see us. “Boss wants a word with you.” His brow rises, handing me the phone.
“We had a deal.” I grind my teeth.
“I kept my word. I don’t do that often. The thing is, I like you, Max. You have ambition. You are a lot like me.”
“Where do you have her?” Doors creak in the background.
“She’s safe at my house in the basement. She’s been fed.” He clears his throat. “Drop the guns, Max, along with your men. That would be the smart thing to do. Your girl wants you alive. It seems you’re the only one who can save her.”
The men drag the man toward me. It’s dark here. I can’t make out who it is—the size and shape of a man. I drop my gun on the table, and so do the guys.
“It’s Rowan who broke the deal.” The fluorescent lights flicker to life, casting a harsh glow over the dimly lit warehouse. In the center of the room, Rowan sits slumped against the cold floor, his mouth sealed with a strip of silver duct tape. His hands are bound tightly behind him with rough cords that bite into his skin. The sharp creases of his normally immaculate pants are now wrinkled and stained, betraying the chaos of his capture.
“What the fuck?” I yell. “What did he do? You took Rainey because of him? She has no part in this bastard’s shit.”
Rowan’s head snaps in my direction. Almost as if he’s pleading.
“He owes me money. He broke a deal. I took his daughter. I didn’t know at the time that your girl is connected to him. Anyway, the dick has no money to save his daughter. The dickhead attorney here has been giving his whore money. It seems she stole from him, leaving him broke.” Daniel’s voice muffles, papers shuffling around him.
“What did he do? What was the deal about?” My jaw tightens, and my fists pump, ready to punch the old fart in front of me.
“He’s a shady attorney, but he helps me. I help him. Of course, it comes with a cost. So, if you want your girl back, I need the money he owes me.”
“How much?”
“250k.”
My breathing comes in waves, a bull ready to strike.
“What did you do, Rowan? What shit have you done?” I ask him, stripping the tape from his mouth with a rough pull. “What did you get yourself involved in? I swear if something happens to Rainey, I’ll kill you myself. Fuck the consequences.”
“That’s why I like you,” Daniel adds.
The times I’ve encountered him he’s never had a face displaying he’s going to shit his pants. I crave the look on his face. “I…I… would have Daniel ruffle up a witness and threaten them.” So that’s how he’d won his cases. Rowan is known as the best attorney in Vegas.
