Page 185 of Dance With A Devil
Two guards stand post. One of them, Carlos, shifts uneasily when he sees us.
“Wyck. Wells. What’s the occasion?”
“Oh, you know.” I shrug. “Family bonding. We’re here to ask my dear old dad a few questions. If he resists…” I step closer, smirk cold and wide, “I’ll rip his fucking throat out. You standing with us? Or dying for him?”
A pause. Just long enough for tension to snap taut.
Then Carlos breathes out slow. “I got a wife. Five kids. I ain’t dying for nobody.” He smiles. “I’m with the Devils.”
Smart man. But his next words gut me.
“You won’t find him inside.”
I step in, voice venom. “Where the fuck is he?”
“Gone. Hasn’t been here in days.”
“What’s your name?” Wells asks.
“Carlos.”
“Well, Carlos, welcome to a real job. First order of business, find out where the fuck my father’s gone. Donotdisappoint me.”
He nods, already dialing someone. We move past him, into the house that built me.
It reeks of old power and rotting secrets.
We tear through the place like a storm. Room after room. Empty bottles. Fading photographs. Nothing that screamstruth. Nothing that explains the sickness dripping off the nameKrewe.
I head straight to the office, the black heart of the house. If my father hid anything, any truth, any sins, this is where they’ll bleed.
We tear the place apart. Wells overturns every drawer. I punch holes in the walls, hoping to hit a hollow echo. Nothing.
Hours pass.
Frustration crawls under my skin like maggots.
Finally, I collapse into his leather chair, exhaling poison. “There’s something we’re missing.”
“This place is a fucking wreck,” Wells mutters. “We’ve torn it limb from limb.”
“I don’t care. There’s somethinghere.I can feel it.”
My leg shifts, bumping into something beneath the desk. My instincts flare. I pause, flashlight on, crouch low.
My fingers brush cold metal.
A fucking safe.
“Bingo,” I growl.
Wells leans over, eyes narrowing. “What do you think’s inside?”
“Only one way to find out.” My hands grip the edges. “And if it’s anything like my father’s lies… it’ll be covered in blood.”
I drag the safe into the light.
Let’s crack this bastard open and see what monsters fall out.
