Ever threw himself at him, a sob escaping. Arsen’s arms closed around him again. Once the floodgates opened, Ever couldn’t stop the torrent of tears, the low, keening sounds that fell from his lips, the shudders that wracked his body. It was humiliating, but it was completely out of his control.
Arsen just held him, whispering words Ever didn’t understand until he had no more tears. By the time they stopped, Ever’s nose was stuffy, and his head hurt, his ears felt full and his eyes burned. He was exhausted in a bone-deep way he couldn’t explain. He opened his mouth to say so but all that came out was, “I’m hungry.”
Arsen stared at him for a moment then chuckled. “I got you.”
He led Ever to the counter, picking up the bag he’d dropped on the way. He sat him on the counter and handed him his sandwich and the bottle of soda from the bag. “Eat.”
Ever wasn’t sure why he’d said he was hungry. He wasn’t. But it had seemed like something…normal to say. Something to break the tension of sobbing over the dead body of the asshole who’d just threatened to rape and sell him. He watched as Arsen returned to the body, grimacing down at it. He kicked at his badge with his sneakered foot. “Pizdets.”
Ever took a bite of the turkey sub, chewing and swallowing without tasting it.
Arsen pulled his phone free and dialed a number. “Coe. I got a big problem—Yes, bigger than that—Dead police officer in your shop big—He attacked Ever—No, I know—What was I supposed to do?—Yeah, yeah. Okay. Bye.”
“Is Jericho mad at me?” Ever asked.
Arson gave him a soft look. “Of course not.”
Ever nodded, though he wasn’t sure he believed that. He took another bite of his sandwich as Arsen walked to the back door and looked up and down the alley before closing and locking it behind him. When he walked back to Ever, he ran a hand over his bare thigh, then squeezed. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”
Ever swallowed the bite in his mouth without chewing, wincing as it scraped its way down his esophagus. “I-I don’t know what happened.”
Arsen leaned forward, brushing his lips against Ever’s shoulder. “I need you to try to remember. Did you know him?”
Ever might have cried if there was even one ounce of moisture left in his body, but there wasn’t. He just gave a stilted nod, his gaze pulling back to the body like he couldn’t help it. “He was one of the ones who…”
Arsen’s head snapped around, and he looked at the man’s dead body like he was contemplating killing him again. It thawed some of the ice in Ever’s veins. Arsen wasn’t mad at him. Arsen still cared.
“He’s a cop,” Arsen said. “Did you know that back then?”
Ever shook his head. “He said something about his friends wanting me to keep my mouth shut. Said he didn’t know what Jennika had told me about their…operation.”
“Operation?”
No, that wasn’t it. Ever shook his head. “Arrangement. He said he didn’t know what she’d told me about their arrangement.” Ever balled his hands into fists. “I told him I didn’t know anything. That’s when he—”
Arsen went still. “When he what?” he asked, voice frigid.
Ever shuddered. “Started touching me. Telling me that he remembered…things. That he—” Ever couldn’t stop the way his body shook. “I spit on him. That was when he got mad.”
Arsen’s hands closed around Ever’s cheeks, his thumb brushing against his left eye socket. “Is that when he hit you?”
Ever shook his head. “That was before.”
Ever couldn’t even feel any pain, just the distant knowledge that his face felt swollen. He’d learned a long time ago how to remove himself from the physical damage by focusing on something else, like the dead body on the ground.
Ever’s voice sounded dull even to his own ears. “He threatened to cut out my tongue, then said he was going to sell me for sex to the highest bidder.”
“Kusok der'ma,” Arsen muttered. “I kill these people too slowly.”
Ever suddenly remembered the phone call. “Are you in trouble?”
Arsen frowned. “What?”
“Is Jericho mad at you?”
Arsen gave him a reassuring smile. “No,besenok. He’s not mad. Nobody’s mad. We just have to clean up the mess. Sometimes, that involves calling in some friends.”
“Friends?”
