River cleared his throat. “No, just a name of the one guy, Xander. He was… pretending to be a Dom. Or maybe he is one. I don’t know how real his act was. He said all the right things. There was a young Russian man there too. Maybe. I think he was Russian? He called himself Dima. I don’t know how real that was, either, but he didn’t want to be there. I could tell.” River shook his head, a vein in his temple jumping. “I think he was a sex slave. Last night while I was heaving up my guts and you were practicing your lock picking, you said they were traffickers, right?”
“Yeah, but they do anything to get money, from what we’ve heard. Even extortion. I suppose it’s no different from what the Kings do.”
He sent me a narrowed stare, the kind that told me he knew what I was getting at. “The Kings don’t allow human trafficking in New Gothenburg.”
“Oh, so they just deal in drugs and guns. That makes itsomuch better.”
“My clients are innocent in any cases that have been brought against them.” River’s heated glare sent a shiver down my spine. “I think it’s time for me to leave.”
He went to move from where he was leaning on the counter, but I grabbed his arm just below the T-shirt, making him give me a long warning stare that I felt low in my gut. His skin was warm to the touch. My insides did a happy dance and I let go of him immediately. “You can’t leave. Madden and Slater are on their way over.”
“He can come see me at my apartment,” River snapped, but his shoulders drooped, and he sighed as though he knew he didn’t have a choice.
“They’re coming here.”
As if hearing our conversation, the doorbell chimed, and I gave River a gesture to stay put. Making my way to the front door, I jerked it open, not getting a chance to say anything before Madden was charging through my short hallway like a man on a mission.
“Where is he?” Madden snarled, spinning on me, and even though he was fun-sized, his stare would have terrified any of the marines I used to serve with.
“Kitchen. Straight-ahead.”
Madden made a face and spun on his heel, and in that moment, I was glad I wasn’t River Demchenko because I didn’t know whether Madden was going to strangle him or hug him, but I was leaning more toward the former—before he did the latter.
Slater let out a whistle. He was the Goliath to Madden’s David, and I never thought much about his muscle and bulk since we were about on par, but seeing him next to his boyfriend always made me aware of it. “Well, fuck. I haven’t seen him like that before. I thought he was going to rip off my balls for taking too long to get ready.”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t want to be River right now.”
“Me either. We should probably check to make sure he hasn’t killed him yet.” Slater shrugged out of his gray jacket, and I took it from him and then hung it on the coatrack. He smiled in thanks.
His dark hair had grown out longer since I first met him, and instead of what I liked to call the cop cut, he had waves that suited him. That wasn’t the only thing that had changed about him, though. Everything about him was brighter, and I was delighted. I didn’t know much about his past, other than Monahan warning me when I first joined as his partner that he’d had a tough childhood, but I had a feeling he deserved this happiness.
We walked toward the dining room together, where Madden and River must have gone, and as we got closer, we heard Madden’s voice, direct and angry as he chewed River out. Much to my surprise, River just sat there taking it. He didn’t look happy about it, but he kept his mouth shut and head down.
“What were you thinking, River? You could have been killed.” Madden crossed his arms and tapped his foot, and I held back the urge to laugh.
River heaved a sigh and stood, grabbing Madden and yanking him into an awkward hug where he patted him on the back. “I’m fine,” he said simply before he nearly shoved Madden back again. “I don’t need a lecture from you.”
Madden slapped him on the shoulder, and River’s eyes widened. “You arenotfine. You’ve been acting like an idiot since that douche broke your heart—”
“He didn’t break my heart!”
“—and I won’t stand for it. This stops. Right now, River, or so help me God I will quit and start my own practice and bring West with me, and you’ll have no one. I’ll even convince the Kings to come with me as clients.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. As far as threats went, I supposed it was an effective one. I didn’t know River very well, but he seemed to love his job and business. I was curious by what Madden meant about getting his heart broken. Had River been with someone who hurt him?
River’s face turned so red it didn’t seem entirely healthy, and he pointed his finger at Madden. “Don’t try to intimidate me.”
“Then stop being a jerk,” Madden said with a loud huff. “Just wait until West hears about this.”
“He’s not going to, do you understand me?” River got in close to Madden and grabbed his face between his hands. “You won’t say a damn thing to him.”
Madden sighed. “Fine, I won’t, but I mean it. This self-destructive behavior stops now, or I will kick your ass. I might be short, but I’m at the perfect height to crotch punch you.”
I nearly swallowed my tongue, and even River’s eyes widened. Turning to Slater, I cocked my head in question.
Slater shrugged. “First I’ve heard that threat. I wouldn’t take it lightly. He’d probably do it.”
River shook his head and his face paled. “I might have acted hastily.”
