should have been frustrated with the job given to me. I should have been chomping at the bit to get into the field, to throw my weight around.
But all I felt was relief and anticipation.
My father threw out more orders, but I scarcely heard a word, inwardly making a list of shit we would need at the house if we were going to be there for any length of time. Bedding, plates, food. All the essentials.
She had been staying in a shitty hotel, so it wasn't like she was expecting the Ritz, but I couldn't deny her the basic shit she'd need to get through a couple days, a week. I couldn't imagine this going on any longer than that.
"Alright. I am going back to bed," my father said, nodding at all of us. "You all have your jobs. Keep me posted as you learn anything."
"Will do, Unc," Lucky agreed, crushing out his cigarette.
With that, everyone with orders set out to work on them, leaving me waiting for the men and Romy to come back.
About forty minutes later, they did, a defeated looking Romy flanked with my men.
"Where'd everyone go?"
"To work on this issue," I told her.
"Oh, well, that's good, I guess. Right?" she asked, eyes looking puffy, tired, making me remember that while I had stolen a few hours in one of the bedrooms, she'd likely been pacing the basement, trying to figure out a way to escape, trying to calm her anxiety.
"We are going to work to find your sister. If she is in one of those containers like you've been told."
"No, you're looking to punish whoever dared to disobey you. Don't try to make yourself sound more moral than you are."
"You're not going to like the next part of this."
Her arms folded over her chest. "You can't stick me back in the basement just because they weren't here tonight. I told you I didn't have an exact date."
"You're not going back in the basement. But you are going back to the house."
"Why?"
"We need to keep an eye on you."
"I have a hotel room. And I am not going anywhere without finding my sister. I'll give you my cell number."
"I have orders, sweetheart. Just think of it like a different hotel."
"Where I'm surrounded by armed guards, and am not allowed to move freely?"
"The food will be better than that shitty continental breakfast you had back at your hotel."
"I don't know why you're trying to sell me on it when it is clear I don't have a choice," she grumbled, plowing into my shoulder as she passed, making her way to the SUV, climbing in.
"Trust me, I know," I told my men when they tried to hold back smiles. "Andy, you're coming with us right now. I need Michael to run to the all-night store. I will send you a list of what we need. Throw in some extra shit for you and Andy, since we are all going to be spending a lot of time there until we figure out what happened to her sister."
"I'll meet you back at the rental," Andy agreed, nodding, shuffling off.
"You could put your ego aside for a moment, and realize that this is good that we are taking over."
"She's my sister. I can't blindly trust someone I just met, someone who would kill me without blinking if that was what his boss told him."
I couldn't argue with that.
It was true.
Family over everything.
When they opened up the books and you got made, you swore it. That even if your grandmother was on her deathbed, if your boss needed you, you went. Case closed.
"I'm not saying you can't be involved in some of this. I am saying we have the experiences and resources to make sure this is done right. What were you going to do if you found yourself caught by these guys? You had no backup, no weapon. We are better equipped. But that doesn't mean you can't be involved."
"You just need to keep your thumb on me, so I don't screw up your plans for revenge."
"You don't want revenge? Even if you get your sister—and whoever else was in that container —out, you don't want them to pay for what they've done?"
I knew I had her there.
I didn't have a sister.
But if someone grabbed one of my aunts or little cousins? There would be a fuckuva lot of pain before they were granted the sweet release of death. I couldn't imagine Romy felt anything less than that.
"I figured I would call