The Pain Of The Pleasure

FORTY-TWO - RYTH

I GRIPPED the steering wheel of Tobias' Jeep, wincing as I ground his gears and glanced at the map on the screen of my phone. God, if I broke his damn car, he'd never forgive me. I shoved my foot against the clutch and forced the gear until it clunked. My phone gave a beep. Tobias' name flashed across the screen. I ignored it, and the two more texts that came after it. When Nick's name followed them, I swallowed a flare of pain and drove my foot harder against the accelerator. I'd call them as soon as I got there. Once I explained, they'd calm down.

Would they be pissed? Yeah, especially knowing it was Gio, but if I kept the call open and they heard everything he said to me, then they'd know I wasn't going without a plan. I knew they didn't like Gio, knew they'd rather put him in the hospital than allow him any kind of contact with me. But if he was in a coma, he couldn't tell me what I needed to know, and right now, the need to find out where my dad was outweighed their possessiveness.

My phone started to ring, and Nick's number flashed over the map Gio'd sent me. "Shit." I swiped the screen. "Ryth—" Nick started. "Wait," I snapped, still a little pissed from earlier. "I can explain." "You'd better," Tobias growled in the background as I punched the clutch and geared down around a corner. "Jesus...is that my damn gearbox?" He shouted. "Yes, and if you don't stop talking, I won't be able to tell you I know where my dad is." "You do?" Caleb broke in. "Where?" "Well, not right now. But I will—"

"Ryth," Nick's voice grew cold. "I want you to tell us exactly what the fuck is going on?" I tried to concentrate on the unfamiliar roads and the fact this was only my third ever attempt at driving a stick shift...and I used the term 'attempt' loosely. "Promise you won't get mad?" Nick let out a growl. "Not as mad as I will be if you don't tell us what the hell is happening." "Gio sent me a message—" "Sonofabitch," Tobias snapped. "Goddamn bastard."

"I'm trying to tell you and not crash here," I yelled. "Tell us." Nick sounded panicked. "He said that Lazarus was lying," I explained. "He said that he knows where my dad is." "And he wasn't going to tell you with us there," Nick added. "Not after what Tobias did, no." "Goddamn piece of shit," Tobias growled. "You know he's lying, right? There's no way Laz would tell him a goddamn thing."

"Are you sure about that?" I glanced at the red blinking light on the map, then lifted my gaze to the flickering lights as they broke through the darkness. "Because I'm not, and right now we have nothing else. I can't take that risk, I just can't." The Jeep barely jolted on the lonely dirt road I'd been driving for the past ten minutes. Tobias' growl grew louder. "I don't trust him." "I know." I geared down, slowing the Jeep. "Which is why I was going to call you anyway so you can hear everything he says." "You were?" Nick broke in.

"Yes, I was. There was no way he was going to tell me anything with any of you there, so right now, this was our only option, unless you'd rather I talk to Lazarus Rossi instead." "Over my dead body," Tobias practically howled. "Send us the coordinates, we're on our way." I slowed the Jeep a little more, gripped the phone tight, and took a screenshot, sending it to Tobias' phone with one hand. By the time they caught up, I'd have the information I needed.

"Done." A stampede sounded on the other end of Nick's call. The boom of the front door came barely a second before the Mustang's engine growled to life. "Just hang back," Nick ordered. "Wait for us to get closer." I sought out those glittering lights, sure that if Gio even suspected they were on their way, he'd clam up. There's no way he'd talk to me then. I glanced at the phone, listening to the Mustang's squealing tires as Nick drove it hard.

I couldn't take that chance, not when what I needed was so close. I eased my foot off the brake and let the Jeep pick up speed. "We're right here," Nick's voice came through the speaker, as though he knew on instinct that I needed him. "Twenty minutes from you." "Okay," I whispered, scanning the darkness as the front door of the building opened and Gio limped out, leaving others behind.