Soulless (Starcrossed Lovers Trilogy 2)

“Enjoy your fucking cell,” he told me, then left me in the dark.

I heard the key in the lock.

Weirdly, being alone in this space scared me just as much as he did.

Once his footsteps had left me behind, I finally let myself cry.6LucianI loved driving, but it rarely happened anymore. I was always too busy, with too many drivers waiting on my command. It was a surreal thing to start up my Mercedes from the garage at Kington Peak and head back into NYC. The world was usually a blur of city life to me outside the windows, removed from my engagement, but not tonight. Tonight I was amongst it, senses tuned in to the thrill.

Alto was waiting for me at my City Central suite. I pulled into the underground parking bay and headed right on up to level thirty-two, giving my nod to security on level thirty-one via the security cameras in the elevator.

I’d spent so much fucking time thinking about little bitch Elaine that I’d forgotten just how much like Terence Kingsley I looked tonight. Alto raised his eyebrows as I met him at the doorway, clearly noticing.

“Hey there, Terence,” he said, but I didn’t join in with his laugh.

I opened the door and stepped in, not looking back as I stepped on through to the lounge and the glow of the city lights through the windows.

“What the fuck is so important that you want to see me at half one in the bastard morning?” I asked him.

“News. I didn’t want to tell you on your cell, but there’s been some pretty crazy shit going down. About Elaine Constantine.”

I turned to face him, keeping my expression deadpan.

“News?”

I waited for the tornado of accusations and questions, but they didn’t come.

“Yeah. The Power Brothers. Looks like they’ve taken her. Shit’s going down.”

“The Power Brothers?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Fucked up, ain’t it? I mean, people were saying they were gonna bust her up, but nobody really believed it, ya know? Apparently, her mother’s already kicking shit off about it. Gonna be a war.”

Oh the thrill. I could feel it in my veins, my filthy love of the battle about to go down between such piece-of-shit families. But surely not. Surely the Power Brothers couldn’t be sitting back and taking that kind of accusation.

I looked back out at the city lights. “How do they know it was the Power Brothers?”

“Dunno,” he said. “Still got feelers out for the details.”

That got me frustrated. I was festering with agitation when I stepped up to him and jabbed a finger at his shoulder.

“You seriously dragged me back here at gone midnight just to tell me that the Power Brothers have grabbed Elaine Constantine from her city center apartment with no further fucking details? It could have waited until morning.”

He shrugged. “Thought it was pretty major news. You’ve been hunting the bitch down like some kind of stalker. Thought you’d want in on the action as it happened. I’m still waiting on updates.”

I could see his mind working as he stared up at me, something ticking.

“If that’s all, you can fuck off,” I told him and gestured him away, but he didn’t move.

“Say, boss. Where have you been off to looking like Terence Kingsley? Taken a liking to him, have you?”

“None of your damn business.”

“Your dad’s already been onto me,” he told me. “He’s keen to know what’s going on. More keen than you are, it seems.”

The thought flared in me. Of course he would have been keen – trying to rule me out of the Constantine bullshit no doubt.

“What did you tell him?”

“Same as I told you. Not a lot, just that the Power Brothers have taken her.” His mind was still ticking. I could almost fucking hear it.

“Good for you,” I said. “I’m sure he’s grateful for your outstanding intel.”

My sarcasm was laced with spite. Spite Trenton Alto was well used to, having been my assistant for twelve years straight.

“That’s the thing, boss, isn’t it?” he asked, his eyes still weighing me up. “Intel. Seems you have a bit more of it than I do.”

I got a shiver before I knew what he was talking about, feeling his suspicions through his stare.

“What are you talking about?”

He tipped his head, thinking, thinking.

“How did you know they took her from her city center apartment?”

“What?”

“You said it. You said the Power Brothers grabbed Elaine Constantine from her city center apartment. They could have taken her from anywhere. How did you know where they took her from?”

I kept my eyes cool and calm. “A lucky guess.”

He didn’t believe me. He knew me too well for that. Once again I realized I should have wiped the fucker out a long time ago. His knowledge was my weakness.

“She’s rarely in there,” he said. “One hell of a lucky guess, ain’t it?”

“Spit it out,” I barked at him. “Fuck the hints and talk directly.”