My phone ringing out into the room ruined the rest I was getting. The sun was streaming through the curtains of my rented penthouse, but the beauty of it was ruined by the incessant ringing of my phone.

But it was the emptiness of the bed beside me that caused my eyes to shoot open.

I rolled over and grabbed my cell phone as I sat up in bed. I searched around for any sign of Joanna as I stood from the bed. I looked down at the number calling me and I felt my blood run cold.

I recognized that number. What the hell did he want?

And where the fuck was Joanna?

I answered the call and the crying immediately began. Sobs were pouring through the phone as my eyes widened. Joanna. She was on the other end of the line crying.

I rushed into the kitchen in search of her clothes and they were nowhere to be found.

“You aren’t making decisions quick enough.”

“There’s no decision to be made,” I said as I barreled back into my room. “I’m not helping some former street thug I ran with to dictate what I do now that you need something.”

“You don’t get to kill my brother and get away with it,” Slate said.

“Your brother killed himself,” I said.

“Silence!”

“What are we, in seventeenth century England?” I asked.

“You killed my brother the night of that fight. You slaughtered people who brought you in as family in cold blood because you couldn't handle the life you had chosen. You drove away with bruises and broken knuckles, sure. But you fired bullets at us. Bullets that landed on people I loved dearly.”

“All you had to do was let me out. The only thing I asked was for the freedom to go to college and make something of myself. And you threatened my life, Slate. You told me I had chosen my path.”

“You did!”

“No. A scared little boy who had lost everything in his life picked his path. An angry teenager with C-average grades on a good day picked his path. But the man I grew to be hadn’t discovered the full potential of his abilities. And the man I am today would’ve never chosen that path,” I said.

“It wasn't your decision to make, Robert. You took an oath and we took you in as family. And you left my brother lying in the street because you were scared.”

“No. I left him lying in the street because he tried to put a bullet in my head.

“Robert! Help me!”

I could hear Joanna’s muffled cries as I hopped into a pair of pants.

“You drove away beaten and battered, but some of them didn’t walk away from that firefight. My brother saved your life, Boulder. Twice. He saved your life and you left him to bleed out in the middle of the street!”

“Then he should’ve let me out. You all should’ve let me out,” I said.

“I spent years climbing the ranks. Scaling and hopping from one ally to another. I slaughtered innocent human life to get where I am today, just so I could stare you in the face before putting a bullet between your eyes.”

“Sounds like we’re not so different then,” I said.

“Please, no…” Joanna said with a whimper.

“Shut up, bitch!”

I heard a resounding crack on the other side of the phone and my blood started to boil.

“I’ll kill you for this. For every mark you leave on her body, I will backtrack your entire network and kill them as penance,” I said.

“You didn’t even have the balls to look my brother in the eyes as he died,” Slate said. “You don’t have the balls for anything close to that.”

“If you lay another hand on her, everything is off the table,” I said.

Slate started to laugh as I pulled a shirt over my head.

“You really thought I needed your protection? I don’t need anything from you, though it didn’t hurt to ask. I’ve protected myself for years. Guarded what was mine and kept steady towards my final goal. I have to admit though, I was curious to see if you would fork it over.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“You took someone from me I loved And that means a score needs to be settled.”

“I will find you, Slate. And when I do, this will all end. I will make sure you never see the light of day again. Do you hear me? I was a boy when I fought for my right to have a life of my own, but I’m a man now. I’ve got resources you could only salivate over,” I said.

Silence fell on the other end of the line before I heard sniffling.

“Joanna?” I asked. “Joanna, can you hear me?”

“Who are you?” she asked breathlessly.

“Joanna, I promise you. I’m coming for you and I’ll explain-”

But the call went dead before I could reassure her.

I roared into the empty space of my bedroom. I gathered up my things and ran for the door, ripping it open as I strode out into the hallway. I looked down at my phone and clocked the area code, recognizing the district of Chicago the phone had called from. I hopped into my car and told my driver to head south, then called the head of my security team. A quick look up online forced me to call the head of my security team, and thankfully he was at his home.

“Mr. Cargill?”

“Maynard, thank fuck. I need you to do something for me.”

“What’s going on, sir?”

“I need you to use whatever equipment you have at your disposal and see if you can get into my phone.”

“You want me to hack your phone,” he said.

“Yes. I do. I need you to try and help me trace a call that’s already taken place.”

“What?”

“I need you to stop asking questions and do what I’m asking you to do,” I said.

“You can’t trace a call that’s already taken place, Mr. Cargill. What's going on?”

“I got a call from someone and I need to find him. Now.”

“Do you have his phone number?”

“I do, yes.”

“Give it to me,” he said.

I rattled off the number Slate had called from and waited. We were entering the part of Chicago where the area code would’ve originated from, but there was no guarantee that was where Slate was. I heard Maynard grunting and sighing as his fingers typed away, and every second that passed I was growing more and more worried.

“Come on. What are you doing?” I asked.

“Giving you what you want. But it takes time. Hold on,” he said.

I heard him typing more in the background as my driver pulled over on the side of the road. I held up a finger telling him to wait, but my patience was wearing thin.

It had been fifteen minutes since that phone call.

Which was plenty of time for Slate to kill Joanna.

“Got it,” Maynard said. “The cell phone with that number is sitting at an address on the southside of Chicago. I’m sending you the address now.”

My phone lit up against my cheek and I held it out for my driver to see.

“That address. Now,” I said.

“Mr. Cargill. Are you okay? Do you need one of my men to fly out to Chicago?” he asked.

“No. I’m okay. I want everyone at the company. How are things going there?”

“You received another letter.”

“I know. James has already called me about it twice. Whatever it is, it can wait.”

“Are you sure, sir?”

“Yes,” I said. “Because the asshole sending the letters is the number I just asked you to track.”

“I’m sending my guys out there.”

“It’s not necessary.”

“No offense, but you hired me to protect you, Mr. Cargill. Had I known you were chasing down this idiot yourself, you would’ve never taken off the ground in that jet of yours without me there. Where are you stationed?”

“My secretary has all that information. I have to go,” I said.

“Mr. Cargill. Wait-”

But I shut off the call before Maynard could finish.

As we approached the address, I could feel my gut