“Fuck, yes.”

When we got to the Royal Sonesta ten minutes later, Leon slipped a key across the desk in a little cardboard jacket.

“He’s in 208. You better not make a fucking racket. I’ll lose my job and then you’ll be doing all my shit for free.”

I grabbed the key. “We’ll be quiet.” It might be a lie, but it was what Leon needed to hear right now.

Con followed me to the elevator and I punched the button. “We got a plan?” he asked as we stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

I looked at him. “This ain’t no special-forces op. This is smash-and-grab and get my girl.”

I’d grabbed my .45 before we left Voodoo, and if I knew Con, he was armed too.

“You carrying?”

“Of course.”

“Then we go in quiet and grab her.”

With both of us in agreement, we stepped out of the elevator and walked down to room 208. A DO NOT DISTURB sign hung on the knob. I pulled out the keycard and listened at the door for any noise.

Nothing.

I inserted it into the reader and waited for the light to turn green before moving the handle slowly. When I was ready to push it open, I looked to Con, and he nodded. I shoved the door open and we both drew on the room.

The empty room.

“Bathroom.”

I rushed to the open door and checked inside while Con cleared the closet and under the bed.

“Fuck.”

“Doesn’t look like he planned on leaving.”

It wasn’t until that moment that I looked around and took in the contents of the room. Clothes were tossed over the armchair and the bed was unmade. A small printer was set up on the desk connected to a laptop, and photos were spread out across it.

Eden by herself. With Vanessa. With Delilah.

“He had her under surveillance.” It was obvious, but I had to say something.

There were pictures of Eden with me, but in every one, my face was blacked out.

“That ain’t normal surveillance technique,” Con said, pointing at it.

He flipped through the stack of pictures, some where my face had been cut out. It was eerie, seeing that shit. It also told me that the guy didn’t seem to be the most balanced.

“This guy doesn’t like you much, does he?”

“Fuck him. Let’s search the rest of the room.”

A ten-minute search turned up a burner phone, three pairs of women’s underwear that in my gut I had to guess were Eden’s, and a stack of papers that had been shoved into the bottom drawer of the nightstand.

I was thinking of all the ways I wanted to break this fucker into pieces for touching my girl when Con’s phone rang. He answered and immediately put it on speaker.

“BOLO turned up the car. It was left at Lakefront Airport. Rent-a-cop called it in. Officers are headed out there now, but chances are if he had a jet, they’re long gone.”

“Can you get the flight plans for every plane that has left?”

“Might take me a few, but yeah, I can.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

Con hung up and looked to me. “What do you want to do now?”

“Let’s take the laptop, the burner phone, the papers and photos. Anything that could give us something to go on.”

“Got it.”

Con and I gathered it all up, stuffed it in a dry-cleaning bag, and headed back to Voodoo. My brain was sifting through all the possibilities. If they had a jet, she was long gone. The only place that made sense for them to take her was New York.

But if he was acting under orders, why would he knock her out? I couldn’t imagine Daddy would be too fucking happy to have his girl manhandled like that.

When we got back to Voodoo, Delilah had questions too.

“How do we know if he’s acting under orders or if he’s on his own?”

“That’s a good fucking question, but without calling Dom Casso himself or someone in his organization to confirm, there’s no way we can know.”

I grabbed my phone and kept calling Eden’s number. It went straight to voice mail.

Unease laced the blood in my veins. If this was Eden’s family coming to collect her, what the hell could I do?

But something about it felt all wrong. The woman from the donut shop said she hadn’t wanted to go, which meant I wasn’t going to rest until I was sure Eden was safe and happy.

I hadn’t come this far only to lose her.

MY JAW ACHED AND MY head throbbed. I opened my eyes as someone lowered me into a chair.

I blinked. Not a chair. A seat. On a jet?

Angelo?

“Sorry about that, E. Didn’t want to have to hurt you, but you didn’t want to cooperate. You should know better. When I tell you to do something, you have to do it. It’s for your own safety.”

“Where are we?”

“Going home.”

“Where did you come from?”

“You should know I wouldn’t let you go without making sure you’re safe. Now, buckle up. We’re leaving.”

Even in my pounding head, none of this seemed right. Angelo shouldn’t be here. Why did he have a jet on standby? This didn’t make sense.

“I can’t leave yet. Not like this. I have a life here.”

Angelo’s normally affable features were hard as he reached down and buckled my belt himself. “You weren’t supposed to have a life anywhere but New York. This was always temporary. And you don’t have a choice. You’re leaving.”

I was sick of other people making decisions for me. Calling the shots. Telling me what to do.

“No. I’m not going.” I grabbed the latch to unbuckle it, but Angelo wrapped a meaty hand around my arm and stopped me.

“You’re not going anywhere but exactly where I tell you. That’s how it’s gonna go from now on.”

This wasn’t the kind, easygoing Angelo I’d always known. This was someone completely different. All my instincts shouted that I needed to get away from him. I forced myself not to panic.

“Okay. I’ll do what you say.”

He released his grip on me and stood. “Good. That’s how it’s gonna go. Nice and easy. You want something to drink? We’re taking off in a minute.”

I nodded. “Sure.”