“It’s not the vodka they’re selling,” River whispered, shaking his head.
“I’ve seen plenty of people being interrogated before, and she thinks she’s telling the truth.” I rubbed my chin and stared at her, and she returned it, blinking innocent-looking eyes at me. “Ask her why she wasn’t afraid of us.”
Ivan and the woman conversed again. “She thought you worked for Brickton’s boss. Her father warned her that he’s cunning and might test her loyalty. She thought that’s what this was.”
“Something’s not right.” River shoved himself to his feet and paced the room. “If that was the case, why is she talking so freely to us? She wouldn’t want to risk his anger by telling strangers, possibly law enforcement, about him.”
“About who?” I stood and blocked his path. Grabbing his shoulders, I held him still. “If she’s telling the truth, she can’t tell us anything that could incriminate anyone. She honestly thinks that this is only about vodka.”
“So we’re at a dead end?” River closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, just below his glasses.
“No, we’re not. She mentioned Brickton. That’s something. Obviously whoever this other guy is, Brickton works for him.”
River hummed and glanced over my shoulder. “What about the paperwork. Does she have it?”
The woman and Ivan spoke, and he shook his head. “The young man she was with last night took it with him. It was the first thing he asked for when she arrived.”
“Fuck,” River hissed.
“One thing I’ve learned about investigating is that it’s never easy. We have information we could possibly use later. So this is what we’re going to do.” I gripped his shoulders tighter. “Look at me, Lamb.”
He raised his eyes to me, and I smiled.
“We’re going to stay here until Slater and Madden get back, and then we’ll go to that meeting with King and Sapphira and that loner. We’ll take one day at a time. We’ll get to the bottom of this, especially if I have you helping.” I lowered my voice so Ivan couldn’t hear. “Whoever asked that Jason bloke to take those photos, and whoever might have them, will regret it, Lamb. I promise.”
River nodded. “I know, Sir.”
My belly warmed. Fuck, I loved it when he called me that.
14
River
Dad gave me the mile-long stare I remembered from my childhood. It simultaneously pissed me off and made me feel like I was an inch tall. His silver hair was balding more than the last time I’d really taken a good look at him, and he had it combed straight back from his forehead. “Solnyshko, walk with me. To the car.”
Groaning, I gave Jayce a little wave. He winced, and I wasn’t sure if he’d picked up on how uncomfortable I was or how irritated Dad seemed. Either way, I followed Dad outside. “You haven’t called me that since I was ten,” I grumped at him.
He grunted back. “Don’t start.”
The sun was warm on my face as I trooped down the stairs after him. I wasn’t sure what the hell I thought was going to happen, but I knew I didn’t want to put up with this shit right now. There were too many things going on for me to get chewed out by my dad, too.
He held on to whatever bullshit had driven him to ask me to come with him until we were all the way outside standing next to his car. He went around to the other side and with a flourish, for him anyway, he turned and stared at me. His hands came to rest on the hood of the car, and he sort of looked like he was trapped somewhere between leaning and pushing the car away from himself. He’d always had this way of making me feel like I was doing something wrong, even when I wasn’t, and today was no different. He shook his head like he was afraid it would fall off if he moved too fast.
“You look like shit, son.”
“Gee, thanks, Dad,” I fired back, getting ready for a fight. Not that I wasn’t always ready to get into it when he was around. He always managed to push my buttons.
“No, you do.”
I ran a hand through my hair and watched a woman nearby walking her dog along the sidewalk. She had a high ponytail and workout shorts that were practically nonexistent. When she noticed me looking she sped up. I turned back to Dad. “Again, thanks.”
He dropped his head and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Is it this man? I don’t get it and I never have, the boy thing, but no matter who you’re with, you shouldn’t look the way you do right now.”
“I should be happy like you and Mom?” I asked as nastily as I could.
He lifted his head and met my gaze with his own. “Exactly.”
“For the love of—no, Dad. Jayce is helping me, believe it or not. I’m not really helping him. It’s complex.” I wanted to shake him because he just gave me that slow-eyed blink again, like he didn’t believe a fucking word I said. I could feel myself winding up to let loose on him even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good.
