“Someone who has something to hide.”
“Bingo.” He grabs me by the shoulder. “Remember when we used to release those worms and cockroaches in the garden to watch them wiggle and struggle away only so we could catch them? Time to repeat the process.”
“Dad aborted our plan every time, remember?”
His smirk widens in pure imitation of what I assume Lucifer looks like on his throne in hell. “Lucky for us, Dad isn’t here.”
It’s useless to remind him that Dad eventually finds out about everything. But even I am willing to forgo that possibility if it means I’ll get closer to my goal.
We follow the guard, keeping a safe distance away until he’s off TKU’s soil.
His hands are in his pockets and his steps are measured, unhurried, and have a careless rhythm to them. He’s used to this street, despite the fact that it’s hidden.
Considering he’s not a native to the island, like all of TKU’s students and guards, this can only be a learned behavior he’s acquired with time.
“He’s off to meet someone,” Eli voices my thoughts, then grins. “Want to guess who?”
Sure enough, the guard reaches a secluded area on the beach. We hide behind the corner of a building as he does a full sweep of the area before he opens the door of a high-end, and very familiar, black Tesla.
We expected the loud McLaren that Landon treats like a lover instead of a car. He absolutely loathes electric cars, so he would never switch to a Tesla.
“Brandon…？” I voice as the guard disappears inside.
“Brandon’s car,” Eli tells me with a raise of an eyebrow. “That Landon could’ve easily taken for a ride. It goes without saying that he wouldn’t have used his own for this mission. He’s probably used Remi’s and yours before.”
Now that I think about it, Landon did take my car for a spin in the past. He could’ve easily borrowed any of our keys to conduct this operation.
We wait for a few minutes, watching the black car with tinted windows. Then, finally, the guard steps out and starts walking away from us.
The Tesla revs, something Bran would never do, before it speeds down the street.
“We’re getting that guard,” I say.
“My thoughts exactly, baby bro.”
We take our time following the man through all the twists and turns he takes.
When he reaches a secluded alley, Eli and I share a look, then we diverge in opposite directions.
I stand in front of the guard, hands in my pockets, with every intention of blocking his path.
He stops, narrows his mean eyes, and then reaches into his jacket. Before he can pull out whatever weapon he has hidden, Eli smacks him from behind with a rock.
The guard falls to his knees on the dirty ground, revealing the manic smile on my brother’s face.
“Improvising.” My brother throws the rock in the air and catches it. “Can’t say I hate it.”
The man appears to be in his late thirties, has small eyes, thin lips, and white-blond hair cut military style. He slaps a hand on the back of his head where a small wound gushes with blood. I wouldn’t call it fatal, but it definitely needs stitches.
“What the fuck…？” He stares between the two of us. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Judging by the Russian accent, you’re part of the mafia. Check,” Eli muses, appearing to enjoy this a bit too much. “I’m also going to guess you’re on Jeremy’s side, not Nikolai’s. Or more accurately, you’re a double agent who’s crossing Jeremy?”
The guard’s eyes turn bloodshot, narrower, which means we’re getting close. He starts to stand, but I kick him back down with a foot and keep my leg on his chest.
He releases his nape and wiggles, just like those worms back when we were kids. But this time, he manages to get his gun and jumps up. I kick his hand, and it clinks to the ground.
Eli kicks it away, grabs the man’s arms and hauls them behind his back, then shoves him to his knees again. “Now, now, let us not use weapons in this. They’re illegal on UK soil anyway.”
“We’re going to ask you a few questions.” I push the sleeves of my hoodie up. “You’ll either answer them nicely or we can turn your face into a map of destruction first.”
He spits at me and I smile. “A map of destruction, it is.”
I use him as my punching bag, driving my fist into his face, chest, and stomach over and over as Eli holds him back.
My brother gets bored halfway through, suppresses a yawn, and chooses to scroll through his phone. While still grabbing him in a deadly clutch.