Not knowing was the worst.
Two days went by without any news. I pounded on Carina's front door, knowing she wasn't going to answer, but at the same time hoping she would. Already at my wits' end, I dialed the number her brother gave me and of course her phone went straight to voice mail. I hung up, not daring to leave a message, and threw my phone into the woods then spent the next half hour trying to find it.
On the fourth day, I went to the Spot to look for Jamie. He'd been my only link to Carina, an ally of sorts. I wasn't sure why, though. No brother in his right mind would allow a guy like me to be with his sister.
"Jamie." I'd found him looking under the hood of his car with a member of his crew. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
He turned and faced me with a scowl on his face, not unlike the one Carina regularly wore. He grabbed a greasy rag from his back pocket and wiped his hands as he approached me.
"Yeah, what's up, Brando?"
"You tell me, man." I felt my reasons for being there were obvious.
"She's fine," Jamie replied, then turned back to his car.
"Where is she?" I followed a few steps behind.
"It's not for me to say." Jamie shrugged and started reaching for something in the engine.
His unhelpful answer and nonchalant attitude had pissed me off so much I wanted to punch something, maybe even him. He must have sensed the tension because he straightened and turned to face me squarely. His scowl deepened, his shoulders tightening as he studied me.
"I'm not the enemy." Jamie didn't wait for my reply as he turned and strode back to his car.
I stared after him, not knowing what else to say and hating that he held knowledge I was desperate to learn. I reached Jamie in three strides, fuming as I lifted my forearm to his neck, pinning him against the car.
"Wrong. Anyone who stands in the way of what's mine is my enemy," I said through clenched teeth, convinced he'd been fucking with my head on purpose. I'd just declared Carina as mine to her brother and anyone else within earshot. I was starting to come unglued. The seams holding what was left of my sanity had been seconds away from busting open, and I thought I would lose my shit right there. "Why give me her phone number? Why give me hope, if you're not going to help me?" When Jamie's mouth curved into a smile, I thought he was losing it too.
"Look around, none of these assholes have the balls to do this." He gestured to my forearm at his neck. "I know you can protect my sister. That's why I gave you her number."
"Is she in some kind of trouble?" I asked, lowering my arm. "Why would she need protection?"
"There's a lot you don't know." Jamie rubbed his neck with his hand and stepped back. "I can't tell you because I'm not willing to betray my sister's trust, but here comes someone who might."
A car door slammed shut, and a hint of expensive perfume drifted through the breeze. A woman walked toward us. She looked rich, mid-forties, well dressed with long wavy blond hair, and diamond earrings that sparkled in the moonlight. She might have even been beautiful if her lips weren't pinched so tightly, and her stare not as frosty. Her gaze went from me to Jamie and then back to me.
"Ah, it's the fool," she said
, lifting an eyebrow. My head snapped back, her words catching me off guard. I didn't even know the woman. What reason did she have to refer to me that way? Before I could address the insult, Jamie started speaking.
"Madelyn, this is Brando King. Brando, this is Madelyn Risto. My mother." It only took a second for me to notice the resemblances. The scowl. The black SUV. The only thing I didn't see was Hunter Knight, which was a good thing.
"I'm guessing all that anger and aggression has something to do with my daughter?"
I shot a look at Jamie, then back to her but didn't speak. I didn't know what to make of her.
"He wants to know where Carina is," Jamie spoke up for me. Madelyn's eyes went wide briefly.
"She didn't tell you? I knew it." Her lips curled into a smug grin, as she clapped her hands together lightly. Their relationship must have been bad if Jamie thought there was a chance their mother would find any sort of joy in what seemed like a bad situation. The late-night meetings with her mother in the back of a black SUV. The fact that nobody had seen Ritchie Risto for years. I thought my family had problems. The Ristos were turning out to be a different breed of fucked up.
"Congratulations." Jamie rolled his eyes.
Madelyn sighed, ignoring her son's comment.
"I'm sure she has her reasons for keeping it a secret from you, but anyone who has time and patience can get the gist from an Internet search. She's a little selfish if you want my opinion."
"Why don't you go ahead and tell him, Madelyn? You're dying to anyway."
"Jamie, I'm not as heartless as you and your sister think." Madelyn managed to look a little hurt. "Nobody deserves to be lied to by someone they trust. If it were you, wouldn't you want to know?" Jamie inclined his head quickly, indicating his agreement. Her blue gaze returned to me. "One thing I can't stand is a liar." The more she spoke, the more worried I became. What was Carina keeping a secret? It must have been pretty major if even her brother couldn't deny it.