Dark Wolfe

15- So you wouldn't have tried to cook Ariel?

(Song of the chapter: 'Let's Get Crazy' - Hannah Montana)

RHYS

"Anything?"

I could feel Reggie shaking his head on the other side of the line. "Nothing on my side, little dude."

I ground my teeth, trying to stifle my frustration. "Keep searching," I instructed. "Text me when any of you find something. And make sure not to alarm any of the guests."

I cut the call, slowly blowing out a breath. This could be a bad, really bad situation. I couldn't pause even for a moment, I had to keep searching.

My sister, for some reason, had decided to buy a mega-mansion out in the middle of fucking nowhere. I, of course, was not about to tell her what to do with her hard-earned money, but this place was filled with way too many rooms that didn't really seem to serve much of a purpose.

She probably derived some form of comfort in sticking with the kind of home she'd been raised in, but her nostalgic sentiments were actively working against me right now.

I kicked open another door that opened into a room which was nearly bare except for a Twister mat on the floor. Two people were in there, laughing raucously. They were also nude, and seemed, for all intents and purposes, really involved in the game. They didn't even look up when the door opened.

I shut the door in disgust. Riley was going to need to tip the cleaning service, or whatever she was planning on using to get her home back into some semblance of order, very generously after this party.

Now, if I was a psychotic and possibly sadistic mob member, where would I hide?

When I'd gotten the text, at first I couldn't believe it. Some sick son-of-a-bitch was actually planning to 'stop by' my sister's house tonight, either just to torment me or for some other nefarious reason.

Black had tipped me off about his plans, which was another thing I now owed the bastard for. My list of debts were really starting to pile up.

Finally, a few minutes later I found him. In hindsight, it was quite obvious that this was the first place I should have checked. His gang wanted money, so he'd go where the most valuables were collected.

I fired off a quick text then pushed against the door. It was already partly-open and widened softly at my touch, keeping him oblivious to my entrance. I leaned against the doorframe, effectively blocking the only exit.

"See something you like?"

He turned around, letting go of the priceless mink vase my sister had placed on a pedestal in the center of the vast room. A smirk crossed his face once he saw me.

"See it for yourself." He adopted a posture of fake nonchalance, leaning against the nearest display with his hands placed loosely at his sides. He shrugged his shoulders, the very picture of innocence.

"Here and there I see a new exquisite thing. All very expensive," he noted, his voice gravelly.

He was right. The room was filled with various different collectibles and precious objects. Aside from the vase, there were also paintings from artists that were worth a fortune, rows of necklaces littered with glittering gems lining the fake busts on the wall, and even a jade-green saber with golden engravings written in a foreign language. It was... quite pretty to look at, I guess.

Some of them were stuff she'd purchased from whichever city in the world she'd flown off to that week. The rest, however, had been gifts from famous friends or other connections. Everybody liked Riley.

And now this scumbag was eyeing her belongings like he couldn't decide which to make off with first. I made a mental note to get Riley to put more security up here.