Page 107 of Bombshell

“You tell me,” he yells. “I came home late from the office and ducked my head in after Ginny told me what you did this afternoon. She’s not in her bed. There’s nothing on the cameras. You know where—”

I’m wide awake now. Despite that, I don’t hear Sterling until he lifts the phone from my hand. “Malcolm,” he barks, “shut the fuck up and tell me when the last time anyone saw her was.”

For a second, I’m frozen, unsure what to do. He glances at me, his face reflecting in the phone’s light. There’s a sort of cool composure to his features, his jaw set and determined, his attention on the call, but there’s panic in his eyes that mirrors my own. I scramble for my dress, throwing it on as quickly as I can.

“We’re on our way,” Sterling says, hanging up on my brother.

“Sterling…”

He holds up a finger as he tosses my phone onto the bed and strides over to his pants. He takes his own phone out of their pocket and dials someone. Shoving it between his shoulder and his ear, he pulls his pants on roughly. “Nikolai, I thought we had an arrangement.”

“What’s going on?” I ask as I finish tugging on my shoes. I’ve run out of simple tasks to distract me, so I begin pacing the room waiting for him.

But Sterling is right behind me, listening intently, as he digs his keys out of his pocket and tilts his head in the direction of the door. “I’m asking where my daughter is,” he says in response to the man on the other end. “You’re the one who threatened her! I thought we were good.”

“Oh my god.” I think I’m going to throw up. I’d known about most of the Bratva’s threats, but he hadn’t told me that they’d found out about Ellie.

“You swear on your fucking life?” Sterling roars. “If you touched her...Fine.” He pauses to put on his shoes, and I wait.

“What is going on?” I repeat my earlier question.

“I don’t know. Nikolai gave me his word.” He heads toward the door, and I’m beside him, unsure how my legs are even moving. Zeus is sitting next to it like he plans to come along, and Sterling shoos him away.

“And that’s it? You believe him?” I ask.

Sterling turns to me as he holds open the penthouse door, his blue eyes dark and unsettled like the sky on the verge of a storm. “I do. Believe me, he wouldn’t give it lightly.”

“But who would take Ellie?”

We share a look that says it all. If we weren’t here together, we might suspect each other. There’s no accusation on either of our parts. It would be a stupid move, but one we were each likely to understand. It really only leaves us in the dark.

“Are there others like the Bratva?” I ask, somewhat hesitantly, as we get in the elevator.

“I guess,” he admits, his head hanging. “None that are actively pissed at me, as far as I know.”

How could I have thought it would be this easy? Sterling’s been clear with me about his past. I know he’s involved with dangerous men. Why did I think crossing one enemy off the list made us safe?

He calls Luca on our way to the car, giving them instructions and listing off names to track down as he screeches out of the parking garage. Nashville is sleeping, its neon signs calling to empty streets. We barely pass any other cars, but Sterling whips around all of them, reaching the highway with record speed. He doesn’t slow as he merges off the ramp, he just goes faster, still rattling off names to his friend.

“Who are those people?” I ask when he finally hangs up.

His hands grip the steering wheel, his gaze staying on the road ahead, but I catch the slight slide of his throat. “Potential enemies.”

“There are that many?” I ask flatly.

“I tend to leave an impression,” he says. “Some of them are friends.”

I shake free the cobwebs in my head. “They can’t be both.”

“I promise they can. Rivals are as often friends as enemies,” he says darkly, and I know he’s thinking about Cyrus.

Who else can’t we trust?

I don’t ask any more questions as we speed toward Windfall. Instead, I find myself praying to whoever might be listening as I count the green mile markers dotting the highway, each getting me closer to her. I have to believe that. I don’t think I’m capable of considering any other scenario. Dread consumes me when I spot the exit for Valmont, threatening to turn me inside out.

It’s the fastest drive of my life.

It’s the longest one, too.