resumed its
course, disappearing down the road.
V refocused on the forest and in quick succession received the rest of the vision like a movie.
With numb disregard, he watched himself take actions that were arguably unconscionable,
witnessing the future as it unfurled, taking notes. When no more was revealed, he took off with a
desperate purpose, heading out away from Caldwell proper at twice the speed limit.
As his cell phone went off, he reached into the backseat, where he'd thrown his leather jacket,
and took the thing out. He turned it off, then pulled over to the side of the road and cracked the
back of the Razr open. Taking out the GPS chip, he put it on the Audi's dash and crushed it with
his fist.
«Where the fuck is he?»
Phury hung back as Wrath paced around his study, and the other brothers stayed out of the male's
way as well. When the king got all bulldozer like this, you got out of his path or he'd mow you
into the carpet.
Except apparently he was looking for response. «Am I talking to my fucking self, here? Where
the hell is V?»
Phury cleared his throat. «We don't really know. The GPS conked out about ten minutes ago.»
«Conked out?»
«Just went silent. Usually it'll nicker when he's got the phone with him, but… yeah, we're not
even getting that.»
«Great. Fucking terrific.» Wrath popped up his wraparounds and rubbed his eyes while wincing.
He'd been getting headaches lately, probably from trying to read too much, and it was obvious
that an AWOL brother was not helping the sitch.
Across the way Rhage cursed and hung up his phone. «He hasn't shown up at Havers's still.
Look, maybe he's gone somewhere to bury her? Ground's frozen, but with that hand of his it
wouldn't be a problem.»
«You really think she's dead?» Wrath muttered.
«From what I saw she was hit square in the chest. By the time I got back from killing that lesser,
the two of them were gone, and so was her car. But… yeah, I don't think she survived.»
Wrath looked at Butch, who had been totally silent since coming into the room. «Do you know
how to find any of the females he used for sex and feeding?»
The cop shook his head. «Not a one. He kept that part of his life very private.»
«So we can't track him that way. More good news. Is there any reason to think he'd go to that
penthouse of his?»
«I stopped there on my way back,» Butch said. «He wasn't in and I honestly don't think he'd land
there. Not considering what he used the place for.»
«And there's only two hours of daylight left.» Wrath sat behind his Louis XVI desk, but braced
his arms against the flimsy chair, like he was going to bolt upright at any moment.
Butch's phone went off, and he scrambled to answer the thing. «V? Oh… hey, baby. No…
nothing yet. I will. I promise. Love you.»
As the cop hung up, Wrath turned toward the fire in the fireplace and was quiet for a while, no
doubt reviewing, as they all were, what kind of options they had. Which were, like… none.
Vishous could be anywhere at this point, so if the brothers scattered to the four arms of the
compass, they'd be doing the needle-in-the-haystack routine. Besides, it was pretty obvious V
had killed the GPS chip. He did not want to be found.
Eventually Wrath said, «The pin's out of the grenade, gentlemen. Now it's just a question of what
gets blown.»
V picked the place for the car accident with care. He wanted to be close to their destination, but
still far enough for discretion, and just when he got within range, a curve in the road offered
itself up for use. Perfect. Putting his seat belt on, he stomped on the gas and braced himself. The
Audi's engine roared, and its wheels spun faster and faster on the slick road. Pretty damn quick it
ceased being a car, morphing into nothing but a fuckload of kinetic energy.
Instead of going with Route 22's sharp turn to the left, V headed straight for the tree line. Like a
well-behaved child with no survival instincts, the car flew off the shoulder and held air for a split
second.
The landing bounced V right off the driver's seat, knocking his head into the car's sunroof, then
slamming him forward. Air bags exploded from the steering wheel and the dashboard and doors
as the sedan pummeled through brush and saplings and…
The oak tree was immense. Big as a house. Just as sturdy.
The Audi's crash cage was all that saved V from annihilation as the front of the car crumpled into
an accordion
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