The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,79
one would dare voice when I went back inside, but I didn’t give a fuck. Exiled may have had no qualms destroying lives, but I did, and anyone who had a problem with that could see me.
As I started back inside, my phone rang, and for the first time, I debated answering.
“Harlan.”
“There’s a snake in my grass that I need taken care of,” Fox greeted in code.
“I’ll call maintenance,” I answered, referring to our team of hitters. I had no idea why he was bothering me with this shit when Shane was his enforcer, but questioning Fox wasn’t something I did often. I learned early and painfully to pick my battles carefully.
“That’s already been taken care of,” he said, earning my frown, “but this is a delicate situation, and it requires a personal touch.”
I sighed, knowing my day had just been highjacked. Fox rarely stepped out of hiding, but when he did, my presence was always required. I was his eyes, ears, and his human shield if it came to that. “When?”
“Now,” he said before hanging up.
I started for my car parked around the corner, not bothering to offer my team an explanation. Craven and Jackal, two of my foot soldiers, could handle the recruits.
By the time I hit the corner, my game face was firmly in place. However, my phone rang again, and the moment I read the name on the screen, it felt like someone had punched through my chest and seized my heart in their fist. I quickly answered, knowing it wouldn’t beat again until I had answers.
Even though I already knew the reason for the call, I somehow still feared the worst.
“When did she leave?” I snarled while my strides became longer, quickly carrying me to my car.
“Last night,” Mrs. Henderson rushed to answer. “She left a note. She never leaves a note.”
“What did it say?”
“She told us not to wait for her.”
“Jesus.” I stopped short. My feet became heavy like lead, and it felt like someone had snatched my heart right from my chest. “What the fuck happened?”
She went on to tell me about some job in Texas and their offer to adopt her into their family. I’d already checked out of the conversation. I knew without a doubt that Lou had no intentions of going back and that scared the hell out of me because, for the first time, I wondered if I’d even be able to find her. I’d drag her back even if it meant I’d never see her again. Did Lou know? Did this mean she was running from me, too?
I swallowed down the string of curses rising in my throat, knowing the woman babbling frantically on the other end wouldn’t approve.
Lou was too blinded by the pain her parents had inflicted to see what could be. That was where I came in. My insistence on doing what was best for her, however, meant never completely having her trust, and that fucked me up more than any of the bad shit I’d done. It was also the reason I indulged her recklessness more often than I should. I couldn’t handle it if she ever turned away from me.
“I’ll find her,” I promised, but it felt empty. When I finally reached my car, my will was torn between what it needed to do and what it had to do. However, when I settled behind the wheel, all doubt was erased.
AS THE MORNING STRETCHED, THE sun rose higher and brighter in the sky, making the day a beautiful one. For me, it only ignited my frustration. I now had a new appreciation for Wren. Hunting him down wasn’t as easy as he made it seem. My feet hurt, I was hungry, sweaty, chafed, and tired. Of course, Wren had a car while I only had my legs and public transportation to carry me from place to place.
The house on Long Island turned out to not only be a dead end but a brothel. An older woman sporting an elegant dark bun and red cat-eye frames had answered the door, and when I asked for Wren, she couldn’t contain her surprise. To her credit, she didn’t bother denying she knew him, and after assuring me that he wasn’t there, invited me inside anyway. In hindsight, I wished I’d turned her down, but Irma’s offer of fresh coffee after a long night and my persistent curiosity made the invitation too tempting to resist. Irma was curious too, but she didn’t pry—much—and when she offered some