Underground Legends: The Hunt (BWWM)

Chapter 9 - Abella

Abella Sterling (Female P.O.V)

October 14, 2074

Over the last three days, I searched casinos, bars, and wherever else my dad would go to gamble. At each place, I came up empty. And every person I spoke with swore they hadn't seen him in months, if not longer.

Somehow knowing that gave me a smidgen of hope that he hadn't reverted to his old ways and ended up in trouble. Yet the longer he remained unfound, it slowly flickered away.

I eased my car into the only parking spot left on the packed street. It was fortunate I found it. The patrons visiting the local bar, Rusty's, tended to keep them fully occupied. After checking the side view mirror for oncoming traffic, I got out of the car and went towards the entrance.

It was my last stop before calling it quits for today. And hopefully, this one would yield promising results, unlike the dozen other places I previously visited.

"Abella!" A familiar gruff voice shouted, snapping me out of my reverie.

Softly groaning, I stopped and faced the alleyway. Graffiti covered every inch of the brick walls while cigarette butts and trash spilling from the full bins littered the floor.

My nose curled in disgust as the wind blew the foul stench of decaying trash and hot urine in my direction. However, the stench wasn't as rotten as the piece of trash striding toward me. I masked my features while taking in Luther Reed.

A cloud of smoke obscured his face, leaving only the burning end of his cigar visible. He lowered it from his mouth, drawing attention to the crucifix tattooed on the back of his palm. Written underneath it were two cursive words, but the fading ink made it hard to read.

He stopped in front of me with a broad grin that raised the hairs on my arms. It contrasted greatly with the stony expression the two men trailing behind him had.

My eyes raked over the three of them. All wore custom three-piece suits and patent leather shoes, overly dressed for their current surroundings. The slight bulge of their jackets hinted at the weapons they concealed. Why they even needed guns was a mystery to me. Their tall beefy builds were intimidating enough.

When the two goons surrounded me, my fingers tightened around my keys.

I had zero chance of beating them, but I could scar them for life.

"I thought that was you, Abella." My flesh crawled as he tilted his head and gave my body a thorough once over. "I must be special to receive two visits from the Sterling family in one day."

Special?

I mentally rolled my eyes and tamped the urge to tell him there wasn't anything special about him. Deflating his massive ego might momentarily make me happy, but I had more important matters to tend to.

Suddenly the rest of his words sunk in.

Two visits?

That meant my dad was here. And if not, maybe he knew his whereabouts.

"Where is my dad?" I asked.

He shrugged one shoulder before taking a long drag of his cigar. "Why? Are you here already to pay what you owe me?"

"I paid you in full. I don't owe you a single red cent."

He released a deep guttural chuckle. "I take it you haven't talked to your father recently."

"Talked to him about what?"

"Thorn."

My heart stopped briefly before resuming its frantic pace.