Page 133 of Kai
“The thumb drive was supposed to be in Richard Astor’s office,” the merc said. “Only it wasn’t. We looked every-fucking-where and didn’t find the box that supposedly hid the thumb drive.”
“A box?”Cece asked, furrowing her forehead. “What kind of box?”
“We were told it was a colorful photo box with a family picture, or some shit like it. That it was on the old bastard’s credenza behind his desk and would be easy to find because it was unusual, bright yellow, and decorated with palm trees.”
Cece strangled a sound in her throat. The color leached from her face, and her lips turned into a tight white line. Alarms blared in my head. I’d seen a box just like that aboardSerenity. It currently sat on the windowsill of Cece’s berth.
Chapter Forty-two
Cece
My stomach flipped, tossing around the eggs in my stomach. I pushed up from my stool. Levine had just describedmybox. It had always belonged to me. I’d bought it years ago, when my sisters, Dash, Nix, and I had gone together to Mexico on spring break.
Why the hell had Levine and his brutes gone on a search mission for something that didn’t even belong to my father?
My fingers itched to get my hands on it, but Kai shook his head ever so slightly. Understanding his message, I eased back on the stool and huddled over my plate. To conceal my eagerness to check out the box, I hid my face behind my long bangs and forced another bite down my throat.
We didn’t want this creep to know I had the box. The merc was greedy enough to want it for leverage. I wouldn’t put it past Levine to steal the box and take it back to Li to get back in his boss’s good graces. I had so many questions.
When, if ever, had my box stood on my father’s credenza? It must’ve been when I was away. Who had returned it to my room? And why? Who had spotted it there and reported it to Li? Was the thumb drive still stowed away in the photo box along with the mementos I’d collected as a young woman?
Kai’s honed voice interrupted the flow of my endless questions. “I need to know where she is,Jack.”
No doubt disoriented by the abrupt change in subjects, Levine frowned. “Who?”
“Aphrodite Astor.” Kai’s mention of my sister straightened my spine. “I wanna know where I can find her, andI wanna knownow.”
My fork froze in midair. My heart skipped several beats. At last, Kai had asked the question that mattered the most. He’d been strategic about his interrogation, testing Levine all along. I trusted Kai. His brilliant mind ran circles around the merc. He’d just ambushed the asshole to extract the precise information we needed.
“That bitch?” Levine’s detestable sneer tightened my grip around the fork. “She was all over the map. The broad could be anywhere by now. She’s probably dead. That’d be my guess.”
I bolted out of my seat and barreled toward the merc, clutching my fork as if it was a dagger. “If she’s dead, so are you.”
“Easy now.” Kai reached out and grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “He’s trying to mess with your head.” He returned his attention to the merc. “I didn’t ask you to guess anything. I want you to tell me where Affie was when you last had hard information about her. Did you ever have that specific intel?”
“Yes,” the mercenary replied, eyes dancing with glee.
I studied the merc’s aura, and then, heart pumping, I stabbed the air with my fork in the Levine’s direction. “He’s telling the truth. He knows! Give it up, asshole. Where the fuck is my sister?”
“So reactive.” The man licked his lips, tasting my desperation, egging me on. “So fiery and passionate. You’re gorgeous when you’re all riled up.”
I lunged at him again.
“He’s pushing your buttons.” Kai hooked his good arm around my waist and held on to me. “Don’t play his game. It’s no coincidence that his dick inflated like the damn Hindenburg at your reaction. He enjoys torturing people.”
Kai was right, but I growled at the beast.
“Jack,”Kai spat the name with fresh contempt. “If youkeep this up, I’m gonna forget about our deal.”
Kai pulled on my arm. I eased down on the arm of his chair, mostly because I didn’t want Kai to hurt himself to keep me sane. I really did wanna murder the despicable merc.
“You say you know where Affie was located when you came after Cece.” Kai lowered his chin and stared at the mercenary. “How did you get that information in the first place?”
“Li gave me a choice of assignments.” Levine’s gaze shifted to me. “The information we had on Aphrodite Astor was patchy. It looked as if she was moving around a lot. It was gonna take some work to pin her down. But the intel we had on Cersi was more concrete. I like to succeed on my missions, so I came after her. Now that I know she’s a diamond in the rough, I’m glad I did.”
Kai glanced at me. I took a deep breath and set aside the snide remark about to leap out of my mouth.
Calm the hell down, Astor. Focus on finding out where Affie is.
