It wasn’t until I heard a voice that rational thought seemed to penetrate again.
“That’s my girl,” Brio said, making my head shoot up to find him standing in the doorway with several men behind him, his face split into a giant grin at what he was seeing.
Well, of course he would like seeing me being a psycho.
Being one himself.
And it was right that moment, dripping with another man’s blood, that I was sure I loved his crazy ass.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Brio
We were all of eight minutes away from Ezmeray’s ma’s place when my phone rang.
“Emilio,” I said, picking it up.
“Get back to the mom’s apartment,” he barked. “Now.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, motioning to Cesare to turn back.
“Lorenzo and I were just tucking the ma into his car when we saw a familiar face.”
“Berat?” I asked.
“The other one,” Emilio said. “And a couple feet behind him was the pawnshop moron. We locked the ma up and followed them into her apartment. They’re… detained,” he said carefully. “I figured you might want to have some fun with them, given the blood in the apartment.”
“Yeah,” I said, already feeling the familiar darkness trying to overtake me, begging for an outlet.
I would get it.
Just not before I found Ezmeray and her little sister.
Who were likely still somewhere with Berat, going through God-knew what.
They were the priority.
I could bank down the crazy for long enough to get them safe. Then I could unleash it.
On Deniz, yes, but also the motherfucker who betrayed me, a man I’d given too many chances over the years when he was late with payments.
They would both suffer.
Just not yet.
“Figure you need to have a chat with them to figure out where your girl is. The pawnshop idiot is whimpering under his duct tape, so he is probably your best bet. So get your ass back here.”
With that, he hung up, and I tried to calm myself by figuring it was a good sign they were sent back for the mom.
She was probably going to be some sort of leverage against Ezmeray. Same with the sister. Threaten them, so they could get what they wanted out of her.
And what they wanted was the entire Polat empire, without having to deal with the scrutiny of the court. Which they would have to do if she just disappeared or died without signing it over.
I was out of the car before Cesare parked, rushing back into the building to find Emilio waiting for me in the bathroom, where he had my guy in the tub.
“We can’t move them in broad daylight like this,” he said, shrugging. “And you can’t let him scream either,” he added, voice low enough that only I could hear him.
“You and me, man,” I said, moving into the room to squat down near the tub. “We need to have a talk about where my girl is,” I said, reaching inward, watching as he flinched away.
Even if he wasn’t bound in a tub, that was an understandable reaction. I’d needed to knock him around more than a few times in the past thanks to his rampant gambling problems that always made him greedy and stupid, thinking I would let him short the Family month after month.
I grabbed the corner of the duct tape, starting to peel it, but not all the way, needing it right there in case I needed to slap it back into place.
“Where is she?”
“I didn’t mean to do it, man,” he insisted, eyes huge, frantic.
“Where is she?” I asked, reaching upward for the detachable metal shower head.
“He he he… he offered me a lot of money, man,” he insisted, snot starting to drip out of his nose.
“Where… is… she?” I asked, cocking back the shower attachment as far as I could, then slamming it down on the side of his head as my other hand clamped over his mouth to muffle his cry.
“I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry.”
“Where the fuck is she?” I growled, starting to cock back the shower head again.
“The restaurant, man! I swear. That’s where they took her and the other girl. The new one they’re still building. I didn’t bring the old lady,” he added, the truth spilling out in some sad attempt to save his life.
It wouldn’t work.
He would have to pay.
Just not right now.
I slapped the duct tape back into place, then dropped the shower head before turning back to Emilio.
“Give me an address, and we will have half a dozen guys ready to go in with you,” he said. “We’d come, but we have to babysit these fucks now,” he told me, rolling his eyes.
With that, I rushed back out, finding Cesare waiting for me outside.
“There’s blood on your shirt,” he told me as we climbed back into the car yet again.
“I don’t give a shit,” I said, rattling off the address to him, then texting it to Emilio and Lorenzo, then trying to calm myself down, knowing I needed to keep my wits about me.