Esai hadn't really known what to expect when he got in the car and followed Phantom.
Definitely not that he'd end up at a charity event for veterans.

And absolutely not that he'd hear him moaning through the mic like a fucking porn star. He'd yanked the earpiece out the second it started—especially since it was a guy Phantom was getting it on with.

But in the end, he'd put it back in. Just in case he missed the one piece of crucial intel he was hoping for.

By now, though, he was starting to suspect there wasn't any important intel. Apparently, Lola's dad was part of some political campaign, and the couple wanted to screw it up. Fun, sure.
But not exactly what he'd signed up for.

And Phantom's big secret? He was starting to believe it didn't go any deeper than him being into guys. No wonder he got along with Raine.

Grinding his teeth, Esai scowled. What a waste of time. He could've been in bed with some hot chick by now.

Well... it hadn't been totally boring. He thought back to the fight he'd just witnessed. Phantom had this gorgeous girlfriend, and he screwed it up. Literally. By banging Lola's brother, no less. What a fucking idiot.

His head snapped up when he noticed movement at the top of the driveway. Ah, there she was.
Maybe she'd be up for some angry sex? She seemed fiery enough. Probably wouldn't mind a real man.

He was about to step out of the car when someone else stepped out of the shadows. Esai narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the figure. The glow of a streetlamp barely reached them.

It took him a few seconds to realize the man was holding her—pressing something against her face. Esai reached for his gun and was already opening the door when he hesitated.
This was a fancy neighborhood. If he showed up with a gun, he'd be the one who ended up in cuffs. They'd twist it all around and make it seem like he was the one threatening her.
No, better to follow them. Wait for a moment when that guy wasn't so alert.

Just to be safe, he grabbed his phone and zoomed in on the attacker's face. Lola's knees buckled, and the guy picked her up bridal-style, carrying her toward a dark corner.

"Ah, fuck," Esai muttered when a van suddenly pulled up from a side street and stopped in front of them. What the hell? This wasn't just some creep with bad intentions—this was a fucking kidnapping?

It wasn't like he liked Lola all that much. Or Phantom. But he wasn't such a dick that he'd just sit back and let something happen to her. And if his dad ever found out, he'd kick him out of the club.

He resisted the urge to go after them on his own. Instead, he scrolled through his contacts and found Phantom's number.

"What the fuck do you want now?" Phantom answered, clearly irritated. And clearly drunk, though Esai had already figured that much out.

"Lola's getting kidnapped."

"What? But we're—"

"I know where you are, dumbass. Get out to the street. I'll pick you up. Without your boytoy."
He grinned when Phantom went quiet—so quiet Esai could practically hear his heartbeat speeding up. "Yeah, I know your dirty little secret. Now move it. Otherwise my dad'll bitch at me for going in alone."

Phantom didn't say anything at first. Then he hung up. Thanks to the earpiece still in Esai's ear, he could still follow the conversation.

"Something's up with Lola. I... I gotta go. I'll call you!"

"What do you mean, something's up with Lola?!"

Static. Esai winced when Phantom shouted that he'd explain later. 

About thirty meters ahead, the white van started to move. He noted the license plate and glanced impatiently toward the driveway. This was taking way too fucking long.

He hit the gas and shot up the driveway, nearly running Phantom over. 

The guy jumped aside just in time and yanked the car door open. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Watching your sorry ass." Before the door was even properly shut, Esai shifted into reverse and floored it. The car skidded as he spun it around and accelerated hard.

The gate was getting closer fast. Someone was walking alongside the driveway. Was that—
Yeah, that was the bastard from earlier.

"Open the door."

"What?"

"Open the fucking door, Phantom!" he snapped.

The booze was clearly still fogging Phantom's brain. He moved slower than Esai wanted, but just in time—the door slammed into the kidnapper, knocking him a good meter backward.

"What the fuck, Esai!" Phantom shouted.

Esai slammed the brakes. Phantom hadn't put on his seatbelt and flew into the dashboard.

Esai shoved him hard in the shoulder, sending him tumbling out of the car. "Grab that guy and toss him in the back seat. He's behind Lola's kidnapping."

That seemed to knock a few brain cells back into place. Phantom scrambled to his feet and staggered toward the man.

This is taking way too long. They'd never catch up with the van now.

Esai kind of regretted not going after it right away. On the other hand—this guy might talk. And if the van had shaken him off, he'd have been screwed anyway.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, flinging open the back door to help Phantom drag the guy inside. The bastard was unconscious.

"Hey! What the hell's going on?!"

Esai glanced over his shoulder, on edge. Shit. Other guests had noticed them now. He yanked the heavy body further onto the seat and slammed the door shut.

"Sit next to him. And hold a gun to his head," he ordered Phantom.

"I don't have one on me."

Esai swore. "What kind of fucking idiot are you." He pulled his Glock from his waistband and shoved it into Phantom's hands. "We need to get out of here."

A laugh came from the backseat. "You guys are throwing your lives away for nothing. Lola's as good as dead, and now you'll be the ones busted for kidnapping."

Esai swallowed the urge to snap back and looked Phantom dead in the eye. "Make him shut the fuck up."

He glanced behind them. People were running toward the car. Old guys, thankfully. Some were on their phones, though—which meant cops were probably already on the way.

Phantom finally got into the backseat next to the bleeding man. His face was a mess—covered in blood, with a nasty scrape running from ear to chin.

Esai climbed back into the driver's seat and threw the car into first gear, taking off immediately.
In the rearview mirror, he saw Phantom holding the Glock to the guy's head.

"Have your boyfriend call the cops and say Lola's been kidnapped. White van."

He pulled out of the driveway and turned right. The van had at least a five-minute head start. No way they'd catch up now. That bastard in the back better start talking.

Phantom had the balls for it—he'd proven that a few weeks back when he shot that cop full of holes. But that was when he was sober. Right now, he seemed barely able to grasp what the hell was going on.

No way he could drive. They'd crash into a tree in seconds.

Esai took a few random turns. Phantom clearly couldn't type one-handed, and when Esai glanced over his shoulder, he saw he was getting way too distracted.

The guy in the back could grab the gun at any moment.

He pulled onto a random property and leaned between the seats toward the back. "Give me the gun. You're screwing this up."

Without a word, Phantom handed it over. Now that he had two hands free, he managed to find the right number and make the call.

Esai threw a sharp look out the window, half-expecting blue lights to appear already.

What a fucking mess.