You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 176

"No." I tapped the cigarette to my lip and exhaled a ribbon against the glass. "Torontea is a safe place. It's the kind of place someone like her would want to hide." I had a gut feeling she was still here somewhere.

I wanted to be out there snapping the city open with my own hands. Damn them for not having any surveillance cameras in their streets. So far, I'd been hacking into the cameras of restaurants, cafes, boutiques—anything I could lay my hand on. But there was still no sign of her.

We'd been trying to keep the search as quiet as possible. If she felt the hunt, she'd run. She'd think it was Blayne. Her fear was something I couldn't afford. So, I put Katya out there. Had her go into the streets with Rali's picture, claiming to be her sister. Maybe the rumor of family would tug her into the light.

But it's been over three days already. Three days and there was still no sign of her. Fuck, it was starting to feel like I was drowning.

"We'll keep searching. We'll find her," I offered the line to Katya, but I said it to the part of me that needed a leash.

By the seventh day, the voices were starting to whisper. This time, they were worse 'cause they came with hands—clawing at my face, tugging hair, raking the back of my neck.

'You'll never find her.'

'We don't need her.'

'She hates you.'

'Let her go.'

I wanted to hurt them. How do you bruise something that lives behind your eyes?

I got the crazy urge to hit something. Kick something. I stepped on the hard stuff beneath my feet, and the world lurched. A chorus of "What the fuck!?" and grunts bounced around me.

"I should um... probably drive now, boss," Eric said.

I looked into the rearview mirror and found him seated behind me. My brows furrowed as my eyes moved to my hands which were around the steering, then further down to my legs locked in place.

We were in a car. Of course. We were out, looking for Rali. But why did it feel like I'd been dropped into the scene mid-take?

"Fuck," Katya murmured beside me.

I spared her a glance and saw the blooming red at her hairline. She hadn't buckled in, and when I slammed the brake her skull kissed the dashboard hard enough to leave lipstick.

Fuck. What was happening?

"I'd love to give you some time to think, but we should probably get out of the way," Miles said, his tone bored.

Only then did the honks from other cars sound clear to me. This whole time I thought it was part of the show in my head.

I kicked the car back into motion. This time my foot found the accelerator and didn't come up.

"You should slow down," Katya said, but all I heard was Rali. Rali. Rali.

I hadn't seen her in months! Hadn't smelt her.

God, I missed the smell of her hair. That bubble scent that drove me nuts every time she laid against my chest. I missed the smell of her skin. Caramel. A rare kind.

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