Page 40 of Retaliation
“Shit. That was too close.” I stood in the shadows of the dimly lit hallway as my heart settled.
“No shit. You need to get out of there, Nova. Your father’s not here. I got into the security cameras and went through the feed. He was here, though. Three days ago. Their cameras were shut off, and there’s been no new feed since then.”
I wanted to scream. I missed him by three days. Three fucking days. “Was he alive? My sister?”
Tibby typed away as she responded. “Just him. He wasn’t chained up for long. They took him out of the cell, put him in a car, and drove off. It wasn’t the Princes who grabbed him. Or Laszlo. But Ty and Levi’s fathers were there. They…hurt him.”
My blood boiled, and I rested my head against the wall, willing my nerves to settle. “Any audio?”
Tibby sighed. “No, but we might be able to read lips. I’ve got it all backed up. Time to go, Nova.”
“Alright. See you soon.”
I took off down the hall just as the lights went out. Shouts and screams from the ballroom echoed down the hall as Tibby whispered directions to the side of the house where we were set to meet. I hurried down a set of servant stairs and nearly ran her over as we arrived at the exit door at the same moment. I slipped off my heels and stepped into the boots Tibby handed me as she grabbed the hem of my dress and tied it up with a scrunchy. This would have to do for now.
“The power will come back on in three minutes,” she murmured.
I didn’t respond, we just ran. Tibby kept pace with me as we darted out into the night and toward the fence line. She pulled out a remote and within moments another car exploded on the far side of the estate. Shouts and screams carried on the wind as we sprinted for the fence. There was a small gate used by the staff that led out to the dumpsters, and Tibby tapped a few keys into her phone as we got close. The gate unlocked, and we slipped through, unnoticed. We didn’t stop, not wasting a moment as the electric fencing zapped to life and the gate locked. We raced through the woods into a small clearing where Tibby had an unmarked SUV waiting. I jumped into the front passenger’s seat as she darted around to the other side.
“Well, that was fun,” Tibby grinned, her chest heaving as she tossed her backpack into the back seat.
I laughed breathlessly, bracing my hands against the dashboard as we raced over the uneven gravel and out to the road. “Mission accomplished—sort of. At least we know they have him somewhere. But if they were hurting him, it was likely for information about me or my sister.”
Tibby nodded. “Yes. I’m in the system now. And even if they find my hack, their entire system will self-destruct before they can trace it back to me.”
“Tibby you’re a fucking genius.” I gave her shoulder a squeeze as she sped down the highway.
She grinned. “I know. MI6 ain’t got shit on me.”
I laughed and whole-heartedly agreed. I pulled out her small laptop from her backpack to look through files linked to The Obscuritas. There had to be information somewhere that I could use to find my sister. Every time Tibby hacked her way into their computers, we found just enough information to keep going, but not enough to find my family. It was infuriating. I opened a folder and clicked on an unnamed file. A list of names appeared with rankings beside them. I noted Bullseye and some of the others I killed at that mansion a few weeks ago, followed by a name I did not expect.
“Tibby.” I frowned, and she turned at the uncertainty in my voice. “Your father’s name is on this list.”
“What? Why?” Her voice was shaky, and her hands tightened on the steering wheel.
My frown deepened. “I don’t know. We need to look into it more. Do you think he’s one of them? Part of the cult? As far as I know, there’s no connection, right?”
Her lips thinned out, and she shook her head. “No. I would know if that piece of shit was involved. It’s got to be a mistake.”
I looked at her, noting her nervousness, but didn’t say anything. Her response confused me.
“That would be one hell of a coincidence if he wasn’t, and I don’t believe in those. We’ll figure this out. Now that you’ve got us into their systems, we’ll find out exactly what’s going on with that piece of shit.”
She shrugged. “I’m not worried about him. I’ll look into it but I’m sure it’s a mistake.”
Her words sounded like a lie, but I knew how awful her stepfather was, and she hated talking about him. After deciding it was safer to stay separated for the night, we rode in silence for the remainder of the trip. Tibby dropped me off a couple blocks from my apartment, promising to meet me tomorrow.
I walked the rest of the way, tired and wired all at once. We were one step closer to finding my family, and it felt like a significant turning point. My skin buzzed with adrenaline, and I sent a wish out into the universe that something would finally work in my favor. Finding Tibby’s stepdad in the mix was a surprise, but if I had to fly to England and kill him myself for what he did to her, I would. And if he was involved in the destruction of my own family, his death would be incredibly, agonizingly slow.
I could hear Tibby’s voice blaring out of the earpiece that was on the floor. I had finally fallen asleep, and that bitch decided to ring me up? I squinted into the darkness searching for my phone. Why was she calling me at 3 a.m.? I snatched up the earpiece and shoved it in.
“What the fuck are you calling me for?” I grumbled, snuggling my cold pillow.
“Fucking fuck, Sara, get out of your apartment right now. Ty is in the bar with Dev, and they’re coming for you,” Tibby shouted hysterically into the microphone, and I bolted out of bed.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” I mumbled. I ran across my bedroom into the hallway, but the creak of boots on the stairs leading up to the apartments made me freeze.
Tibby’s long nails clicked against her keyboard as she picked up the cameras we’d installed in the stairwell. “You won’t make it to the fire escape in the kitchen.”
