Page 190 of The Wicked

“I can’t promise when I don’t even know what it is.”

“Well, come on.” Devil gestured with his head as we went into the kitchen. Milk stopped behind the counter, her gaze on the spot by the fridge and the cupboard a few inches above the ground before she looked at me.

I approached, preparing myself for the worst as I followed Milk’s gaze and looked—

A gasp left my parted lips, and my whole body went completely frozen.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Zahra

We steal, we cheat, and we piss off bad guys, but we don’t usually… kidnap people.

Even if we held someone against their will, we always wore masks and never brought them to where we lived. We didn’t leave a trace of ourselves for the victim to recognize, and we most definitely did not kidnap guys in cream-colored dad khakis and a sky-blue polo shirt with a chef’s hat logo on the left side and a name tag that said “Saucy Chika.”

I blinked, staring at a dark-skinned, brown-eyed, scared man whose head moved frantically between us as he tried to shift further away. His breathing became loud, and he was humming his words because his mouth was covered by a strip of wide silver tape; his legs and hands were tied in what looked like a complicated knot that made it difficult for him to move.

His eyes were wide in fear, and I couldn’t—couldn’t—think of a reason as to… why this stranger was tied up in our kitchen or how the fuck they were able to get him in here.

I nodded slowly and then turned to my people. “Let’s step outside for a bit.” I ushered them with my hands, a smile on my face.

When we were a reasonable distance from the kitchen, I turned sharply to the three people in front of me. “Who the fuck is that?”

“We have no idea,” Devil said.

“You have—” My hand covered my mouth as I looked around as if people would charge in any minute to get us for this. When my eyes settled on Street again, I leaned in and whisper-yelled.“You have no idea why a guy who looks like a nine-to-five counter boy at an upgraded version of McDonald’s is tied up in our fucking kitchen?”

“Yeah,” Milk answered this time, eyeing me. “Devil just said that.”

I leaned back. “He didn’t—what is happening right now? Did you guys tie him up?”

Devil shook his head, crossing his arms to his chest, his biceps straining against the Henley he wore. “We found him like that at the pickup point under some bridge, very secluded. He was in some truck. Knocked out, and we brought him here.”

“This is bad. What the fuck does he have to do with the chihuahua?” I asked.

“I’m guessing that’s what we need to ask him,” Milk said.

“I personally just want to know why his name tag says ‘Saucy.’ What the fuck is that about?” Dog voiced.

Devil shot him an annoyed frown. “I’m more concerned about the people who dropped him off and reached out to us to pick him up.”

“Yeah, me too,” Milk joined in. “If Saucy Chika knows anything about Arturo’s chihuahua, why would the people who dropped him off want us to decipher it? Why us? And why Saucy Chika?”

“You just love saying ‘Saucy Chika.’” Dog smirked at Milk.

“What? It’s a sexy combination and flows well with my accent, and now I think everyone should have at least one sexy—”

“Guys, can we focus on the real matter here?” I cut in. “We gotta find out who he is and let him go before Marino finds out and this all goes to shit before it even starts—”

The front door opened, and Upper walked in, attention on his phone as he closed the door behind him. He looked up in a double take and slowed to a stop as he peered at us, his brows furrowed.

“What did you fuckers do now?” he asked as he reached us, pocketing his phone.

“Kidnapped someone,” I informed.

“We didn’t kidnap anyone,” Devil injected immediately. “He was already kidnapped before we… took him from the car where he was tied up and… brought him here.”

Silence befell us as we stared at each other.