“Just that they’ve seen him around. One person even said he was out there selling it!”
“We knew this.”
“Yes, I know, but it’s confirmed. Henry must be connected to this Maverick group. He was working with more than just the Sirens.”
“It seems so.” Anthony mulls it over and then meets my gaze. “Good work, Bane. I should bring you along more often.”
“Oh, anytime. I’m happy to help. I mean, it is my fault?—”
Anthony cuts me off. “No. Don’t blame yourself. If it hadn’t been you, it would have been someone else. That man is a menace. We’ll find him and you’ll get first dibs on his eyes.”
I clap my hands and bob my head.
“Ready to head home now?”
“Yeah, I think I am. I’m kind of tired.”
“Could be the concussion. I’ll have Doc take a look at you. Come on.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I snuggle in, feeling vulnerable in this moment.
I’m mad Georgiy isn’t here, that he left without telling me. That he held me all night and promised me he’d keep me safe.
And he’s gone. He left me. He hurt me.
Just like the ghost in the shadows did all those years ago.
It seems men aren’t so different after all.
Evening arrives, and Georgiy makes no appearance. Of course he doesn’t. He’s abandoned me. My obsession was misplaced. Once again.
I sulk and even Agatha’s homemade cake pops that look like eyeballs don’t make me smile. I just take a few and stalk out the back door, moving into one of the sheds and making my way underground to the small house on the periphery of the estate.
Doc’s place.
Anthony had this built when he grew tired of continually having to call Doc back to the property—which was often with the amount of trouble Anthony and his men found themselves in. Now he lives here full-time. Kind of like Georgiy does with Mikhail.
Has he gone back home to New York?
I don’t know where he is. He hasn’t tried to contact me.
I pop out of the shed closest to Doc’s house and make my way to his front door. I use the key under the mat and let myself in, moving toward the bedroom. Doc usually has an eight p.m. bedtime. He only ever misses it if someone is in trouble.
The bedside lamp is on, and I see Doc in his pajamas. Glasses rest on his nose as he reads a medical book.So much like Georgiy and yet so different, I think as his eyes move up from the text in front of him, lips twitching.
“You know, you could knock,” he says as I pull a cake pop out and hand it to him.
He eyes it and then shakes his head. “I’m good.”
I shrug and stuff it in my mouth, chewing on it as I kick off my shoes.
“You need a snuggle?” Doc asks.
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
“I made Georgiy a ring, and when I went to give it to him, he’d left.”
