Page 8 of Pitbull
“Mr. Hunt…”
“Call your local police.” Pitbull advised her. “CIRO is on a hiatus and is not to be deployed for a missing person.”
“I’m not going away, Mr. Hunt.”
“Well, Ms. Fischer. You’ll be waiting a very,verylong time.”
He did hang up then. The urge to hurl the phone into the wall of the Rogers Center across from him was strong. He gritted his teeth and bowed his head even as pain pulsated through his core. For so long, he thought he’d gotten away from Claudia and her mission to destroy herself. He’d known if he stayed with her he’d wind up hurt or worse. But years later—over ten years later—she still had a way of sticking her head into his life and turning it up-side down.
“You all right?” Mozart asked.
“I don’t know,” Pitbull replied, turning to face them. “Something I thought was over, isn’t.”
“What do you need, brother?” Tex asked.
“What I need is for my sister to go away and stop raining destruction into my life.”
Tex arched a brow. “What do you mean?”
“You have a sister?” Mozart asked.
“It’s a long, long story.” Pitbull dragged a palm against the back of his neck.
“What’s going on with her?” Tex pushed.
“Apparently, she’s missing.” Pitbull walked around the two and headed toward the condo. “The cops found a burnt out car that her friend thinks is hers but she isn’t sure.”
“Hey! Hang on a second!” Tex called. “What do you mean missing?”
“And if she is, shouldn’t we go find her?” Mozart asked. “Especially if her friend is right and the blown to hell car belongs to your sister.”
“My sister is one of those determined people on a road to death and she will take everyone with her.” Pitbull snarled. “I warned her the path she was on would lead to this. If she is dead, it is on her. I tried—for years to save her but she wasn’t interested in staying alive and I wasn’t interested in dying!”
“So, you’re just going to leave her?” Mozart asked.
“Claudia is not Avery, Mozart.”
“Jesus, Pit!” Tex exclaimed. “Da-fuck is wrong with you?”
“Tex.” Mozart’s voice held a warning.
“No!” Tex frowned. “I know you’re angry, Pitbull, but that’s not cool. That’s actually very fucked up!”
“It’s all right,” Mozart said, softly. “Look at it this way. Avery is gone and no matter what I do, she can’t come back. Your sister is still alive, we hope, and if there’s a chance—even a remote chance you can save her, shouldn’t you take it? You don’t have to be her friend, you know? You can save someone’s life and walk away.”
Pitbull dragged his hand over his hair and bit into his bottom lip. “Mo…”
“It’s okay,” Mozart said. “You’re angry. I get it. We should get back if you’re going to start looking. Pitbull, whatever your sister did, I’m not going to sit here and tell you not to be pissed. I don’t know the story there. But, if she really is in trouble, who better to save her than CIRO? Afterward, you can go your separate ways.”
Pitbull exhaled long and hard. Mozart had a point—he hated to admit it. Mozart pulled him into a hug then and Pitbull exhaled a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.
“Fine,” he said. “But I can’t interrupt your vacation. The condo is paid up for another two weeks. Stay here and enjoy.”
“You’re kiddin’ me right?” Tex asked. “Like we’d let you walk into this alone. You’re our brother. And like it not, you’re stuck with us.”
Pitbull groaned which only made Mozart and Tex laugh. “Okay—you guys should probably call Wolf.”
Tex nodded but Mozart left the room to make the call. Alone with the computer guru, Pitbull dragged a frustrated hand over his head and faced his friend.
