Page 49 of Hell Hath No Fury

“All right. You have your laptop. Search trucking companies and identify the one you saw Nell get into.”

Emma considered his words. As much as she wanted to go with him, sitting with her computer might be as productive or more so. Especially if Nell wasn’t at the Highlander. “Fine,” she muttered.

“One more thing you might want to do. Cancel the credit card she stole.”

Emma thought about it. “No. If I keep the card active, I can track where she uses it. I’ll set up an alert to notify me the minute she makes a purchase. Besides, I don’t want her out there broke and doing God-knows-what to get her hands on more cash.”

Matthias’s mouth pressed into a contemplative scowl. “All right.” Then he leaned in and brushed her lips with a kiss. “Get some rest while you’re at it. You’re still recovering from last week. Trust me to take care of Nell.”

Emma watched as he turned, crossed the lobby, and left the hotel. “Get some rest,” he’d said. With her sister once again on the run? Not very darn likely.

* * *

Matthias was glad it was midday. The graffitied exterior of the Highlander Club looked sketchy enough in the daylight. He wouldn’t want to venture near the place in the dark of night. Not without backup.

He’d already taken a nonchalant stroll around the exterior of the building, noting it had two points of access: the steel and blacked-out glass front door, and a solid steel one set in the side of the structure near the rear. As he returned to his Jeep parked across the street, he found a trio of teens circling it like vultures seeking a meal.

“Hey,” he barked at them. “Shouldn’t you boys be in school?”

They whipped around to face him, unsure whether to bolt or maybe add him to the menu.

“Who you callin’ ‘boy’, boy?” the tallest of the three, and apparent leader of the pack, said with a wolfish sneer.

Matthias didn’t slow his approach, which, if their expressions were any indication, wasn’t what they expected. “All three of you. Why aren’t you in school?”

Two of them slunk back. The cocky one held his ground, but after assessing Matthias, he seemed to decide his height advantage didn’t come close to countering Matthias’s muscle mass. The kid didn’t retreat but appeared on the verge. “School,” he said with a disgusted grunt. “They can’t teach me anything I don’t already know.”

Matthias drew to within inches of the smart ass. “So you’re a genius, huh?”

He puffed his scrawny chest. “Yeah.”

“A real idiot savant.”

He grinned. “Yeah.” The grin faded. “Wait. What? Did you just call me an idiot?”

Matthias didn’t respond, didn’t react, letting the kid figure it out on his own.

Which took way longer than it should’ve. His expression turned rebellious. He reached one hand behind his back.

The move didn’t surprise Matthias. He spotted the gun well before the young gangster brought it all the way around. With speed developed through years of training, Matthias snatched the wrist wielding the weapon and twisted.

The kid let out a girlish yelp. The semi-automatic pistol hit the pavement with a clank. He writhed in an effort to keep his shoulder in its socket as Matthias continued to crank his wrist and arm. Whimpering, the young genius fell to his knees.

The other two boys were already gone, pounding down the street and around the next corner.

“You’re hurting me! Let me go! I’m gonna call the cops!”

“Good. You do that.” With his free hand, Matthias snatched the gun from the street before releasing the teen.

The kid staggered to his feet and cradled his arm, still whimpering. “Gimme my piece back.”

Matthias released the magazine from the weapon and ejected the cartridge from the chamber. “You have a permit for this thing?”

The kid’s face reddened. “Maybe. Give it back.”

“Let me see some ID.”

“What? You some kinda cop?”