“Where’s the courier?” I grumbled. “Oh, that’s Alton Bouchard,” I said, pointing at my phone screen as we watched a man in a suit walk onto the elevator from the back. “The courier should be coming.” The feed cut, and I knocked my head against the wall as a fresh round of tears threatened to drown me. “The cameras weren’t working earlier. I forgot.”
RJ put his arm around my shoulders, and I slumped against his solid side. “You got hit, plain and simple. This was a tight job. At least two people were in on it, the man who works with you and the courier. I would guess they had maybe five guys total to clean this place out so quickly, but two organized ones could do it.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “I have nothing to give Madam Winters. I don’t even have her money to refund. I was waiting to make one big cash drop at the end of the month. The only money in my account right now is for the utilities and rent that takes care of this building. I probably have an extra couple of hundred bucks in there, but not more than that.” Tears burned their way down my face. “Van and I decided it would be easier to wait.”
He drew me a little closer, and I leaned my head on his chest. “Van and you? Or you let this person talk you into waiting?”
I shrugged because I honestly wasn’t certain of anything anymore.
“He didn’t text you back?”
“No,” I mumbled and wiped at my face. “You think he had a hand in this?”
“Do fish swim in the sea?” he asked, voice mean, and I flinched. He rubbed my shoulder.
“Damn it.”
He shook me, and I snapped my attention to his face. “You have to do something. I can tell Natalia Winters that I won’t shoot you, but someone else will.”
I clutched at his suit jacket while my mind spun.
“Think,” he growled. “For some reason, I don’t want you dead. Fix it.”
“Alton! I’ve sold a lot of expensive pieces to him. If I beg, he might let me borrow something.” Hope, which I’d thought was long gone, burned bright in my chest again.
“That’s the best you can do? You don’t have a workshop at home?” he asked, giving me another shake.
Laughing, I buried my face against his shoulder. “I live one floor down. I don’t take anything home with me because I’m always here, and I’ve never even bothered doing anything more than put in a bed and rod for my clothes. This shop is my whole life.”
RJ stared down at my face, lips pursed, and the way he was scrutinizing me had my stomach going pleasantly warm. “Here’s what we’ll do. We go talk to Alton because we’re on a clock with the madam. I know him because he used to come into the Courtesan a lot. Then we get you fed. Then I’ll go find this Van guy. Show me what he looks like.”
I took out my phone and went back through the footage. I stopped on a good still of Van’s face. When I lifted the phone so RJ could see the image, he began to laugh, and it didn’t sound nice at all.
“What?” I asked.
He shrugged. “No matter what happens, I’m going to make sure we catch that motherfucker.”
“Why?” I murmured.
He stared at me and his jaw ticked. He shook his head and stood up. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He stormed toward the rear stairwell, and I followed. I was out on the metal steps when I realized someone had even taken the curtain that I’d had hanging over the door to keep out the cold, and somehow that seemed like the worst insult of all.
4
RJ
Winter stumbled,so I wrapped my arm around him as we walked through a light dusting of snow to the front door of Alton Bouchard’s obnoxious mansion on Vert Island. The joint could’ve been transported here from France, with its off-white stone walls and all the pillars. I was fairly sure the hedges to the left of the house were a labyrinth. It was a lot to take in.
The crisp scent of Winter, both the man and the season, were in my nose, and I wanted to bury my face against his hair and inhale—but I didn’t. When we reached the massive, pale double doors, I beat on the right one with the heel of my palm. It was late, past one o’clock in the morning, and while I didn’t think Alton was some teetotaler tucked up in bed at 8:00 p.m. on the dot each evening, it wouldn’t be ridiculous for him to be asleep.
“Oh, I hope this works,” Winter said, bouncing on his heels, and then he blasted me with a trusting smile.
My heart twisted and I couldn’t look away from the sweet expression on his face. Was he playing me? Would he shove a knife in my back later? I didn’t want to believe anything bad about Winter because he seemed so innocent, but a good grifter could make a man believe his own mother was the devil, and I didn’t want to get caught up in some fantasy persona that didn’t exist. But Winter continued to smile, and I gave him a squeeze because fuck me, he was adorable.
“You’ll be fine,” I muttered, even though I shouldn’t have said anything so unrealistic. He was naïve, though, as if maybe he didn’t go out into the world much, and every one of my protective instincts was fired up where he was concerned. I hated to think this way, but I would do everything I could to keep him alive and kicking, even if it meant I had to take him away from New Gothenburg and give up on my revenge.
And the end was so close now.I tried not to think of the rage and joy that had entwined in my chest when I’d seen the face of the asshole on the security footage.
Winter shifted against me and cleared his throat.
