“A little less than two years.” He shifted in his chair, then reached for her hand again and gently drew her onto his lap. “You remind me of Lina,” he said, his voice roughening slightly. “She always made sure everyone was included too.”
“Lina was your sister?”
Thorn nodded, and for a while they sat in comfortable silence. The soft hum of the refrigerator filled the kitchen, the only sound in the stillness.
“Well,” Evie said at last, “Tommy’s an orphan, my parents have basically disowned me, and you’re alone. I think we should just make our own family.”
Thorn’s lips curved into a small, genuine smile. “I would be delighted to call you my sister.” He squeezed her gently, resting his chin on her head. She wondered sometimes if he saw her as a child, acknowledging that she was not an overly mature nineteen-year-old, and her constant need for affection was very childlike, stemming from having parents who weren’t openly affectionate with each other or her. The only people who regularly showed her physical affection were Tommy and his parents.
“And I would happily call you my huge brother.” She smiled as she settled more comfortably in his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. She would have liked more than a sibling relationship with him but knew it wouldn’t happen. “How do you say brother in Serbian?”
“Brate,” he told her, loosening his hold so she could get comfortable. “You know, maybe you are just very tiny.”
“I’m average height for a woman,” she protested, laughing. “You’re the one who’s way above average.Bra-tee?” She confirmed the correct pronunciation ofBrate, trying to match the way he said the word. He looked delighted again when she got it right, beaming as he nodded.
“Would you like me to teach you Serbian?”
“Yes, please.” She sat up, nodding eagerly. She had done Spanish in high school and continued to do courses at university. It was a bucket list item to learn at least five languages; Serbian wasn’t originally on her list, but having a live-in tutor was too good of a deal to pass up. “Will you take me there one day?” She wanted to see where he grew up and learn more about his culture to help him feel more comfortable in the US.
“I would love to.” He hugged her tightly, his voice soft and husky, and she knew her interest in his life had touched him deeply. “It would be my pleasure.”
Chapter Seven: Foundations
Tommy groaned and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach as he watched Evie clear the breakfast plates. He loved having her around, but if she kept cooking like this, he was going to gain twenty pounds before she went home. The apple pie pancakes with vanilla maple syrup had been too good to stop at two.
Getting to his feet, he walked over to refill his coffee mug and nodded at the dishes. “I’ve got those, Princess. Why don’t you have a seat?”
“Thanks.” She smiled, running a damp cloth over the table while Thorn carried the rest of the dishes to the counter and pulled a deck of cards from the junk drawer, dealing them out between him and Evie.
“I was wondering.” Tommy began casually as he loaded the dishwasher. “How does a mercenary network work, exactly? It must be the kind of thing that would get attention from authorities.”
Thorn glanced up, brows furrowing like he was trying to decide if Tommy was joking. “Need a business rival taken care of?”
“No, of course not.” Tommy chuckled. “If I want to beat my competition, I’ll do it by being smarter, not bloodier. I’m just curious. How are the jobs distributed? How much does someone get paid? It must run through the dark web or Interpol would have shut it down by now. And I’m guessing whoever runs ittakes a cut, because Oscar coughed up a lot more than the hundred grand he was supposed to pay you.”
Thorn shrugged, playing a card. “I don’t know much about it. A friend brought me in when I said I was struggling to find work after the military. He vouched for me, gave me a website and an encryption key. The site listed jobs and their rates. If I wanted one, I flagged it, and they’d message me in a few hours if I was chosen.”
“Oscar chose you?” Tommy raised an eyebrow. “Based on what? A profile? Like a dating app for hitmen?”
Thorn smirked faintly, still focused on his cards. “Sort of. I listed my skills and reported every completed job, how long it took, how clean it was. The more jobs I finished, the more I was offered. I think clients could see stats, because success meant more work.”
He shrugged again, unconcerned. “I don’t know what buyers paid to use the site, but once we were connected, everything went through encrypted messages until the first meeting. Payment was always in cash and was a minimum of a hundred thousand U.S.”
Tommy nodded thoughtfully, filing that all away in his head for later reference and changed the topic before Thorn or Evie could question his reasons for asking.
“Evie, I'm thinking of buying an apartment complex near the tower and offering living quarters to employees for a set rent amount that can be taken directly from their paychecks. What do you think?”
“That’s a great idea, Tommy! Rent’s insane around here, and a lot of people commute an hour or more from cheaper areas.” She smiled at him, the kind of bright, proud smile that made his chest tighten a little.
He wasn’t sure her pride in him was deserved. It wasn’t altruism driving him, it was efficiency. Happy employees meant fewer resignations, less sick leave, better productivity and a company known for taking care of its people had first pick of the best hires. In the end, it all came back to profit.
“Yeah,” he said aloud, nodding. “That was the plan.”
“Thorn, you’ll be staying here, you can have the entire top floor of the tower, so you'll have your own space. Evie usually stays in her apartment on campus, but she has room here that she always has access to.” His eyes flickered back and forth between them, a small knowing grin on his face, making her blush. He’d picked up on her little crush on the Serbian and while he’d never tease her about it, he did think it was adorable. “That I think she’ll probably make more use of now.”
Thorn frowned, drawing a card from the pile. “The entire top floor?” He shook his head. “I do not think I will need so much space.”
Tommy smiled into his mug. That was Thorn in a nutshell - grateful, unassuming, completely unaware of how much he’d already earned his keep. The man’s loyalty would probably last a lifetime, and it was nice to know someone besides Evie would have his back no matter what.
