One
Forge
Present Day
It had taken a full five minutes before my heart rate returned to normal.The way my older brother’s body had tensed as he listened to whoever had called him triggered immediate panic.
I hated fucking phone calls.My biggest fear was that it would be one bearing bad news about my mom.
I’d just left my parents’ house an hour ago to have breakfast with her, and she’d eaten more than she had since returning from treatments she had undergone in Texas the past six weeks.She’d looked so frail and weak though.It was jolting every time I looked at her.
The diagnosis of her liver cancer had been a horror none of us had been prepared for.
Christmas had been very different this year.All of us under one roof, pretending for her, making memories—it had been hard.
“Yeah, we can do that.If she’s that important to you,” Oz said to whoever the fuck had him scowling.Which was something he did regularly so you never could be sure if it meant anything or not.“Get a burner and text me from it.I’ll send you the address, then destroy the phone.Don’t keep yours on you, and if she has one, get rid of it.She brings nothing of her own with her.Trackers can be placed in anything.In fact, go buy her new clothing, shoes, even fucking panties and bras.”
What the hell?I sat up in the chair I’d plopped down in when arriving and paid closer attention.It sounded like there was a female being tracked by someone who knew what they were doing.But what woman would Oz be agreeing to help?Was she related to Winslet, his wife?
I really fucking hoped it wasn’t another political cleanup.The last one had been a disaster.Than Carver had been fun before that shit went down.We’d enjoyed late nights, shared females, and lived the bachelor life.Not anymore.He was so fucking obsessed with the illegitimate daughter of our former governor that he’d become like my brothers.Boring.
Oz ended the call and sighed heavily while running his hand through his hair.“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Who was that?”I asked him.
He rolled his head from side to side, cracking his neck, then glanced at me.
“Calvin,” he said.
I knew a couple of Calvins.He needed to be more specific.
“Calvin who?”
“Calvin Sawlan.Our cousin.Mom’s only nephew,” he said, sounding annoyed that I’d not immediately thought of him.
That Calvin hadn’t even come to mind.Hell, we rarely saw the guy.He lived in Memphis with his dad—or he had the last time we saw him.I wasn’t sure where the fuck Aunt Jianna was.She sure as shit hadn’t been by to see Mom.
“What does he want?”I asked, pissed off that he’d called Oz for help with something.
His mother was a bitch.Mom had always checked in on her, helped her when she was struggling financially, never held it against her that she had left her kid to run off with some country singer.Which hadn’t worked out for her.I think that had been husband number two.It had been short lived.Last time Mom had mentioned her, she was getting married again.
“His best friend—a girl he has been friends with since childhood and he considers family—both her parents were murdered,” he said, leveling his eyes on me.“Her dad was involved in a sting operation and was working undercover to weed out Telos Kris.”He said the last word in a slow drawl.
“Telos Kris, as in the head of the biggest drug ring in the US?”
Oz nodded.“Yep.Seems they had a lead, but like always, Telos was one step ahead of them.The three cops who were working closest to his men were all found dead in their homes, along with their families.Happened last night.It’ll be released to the media soon enough.”
“And this friend of his wasn’t killed like the other family members?”I asked.
“She was with Calvin and other friends on a ski trip to Colorado.She was contacted and told to stay put until law enforcement got to her and put her in protective custody, but”—he shrugged—“he knows well enough that won’t guarantee her safety.He asked if we could keep her safe until Telos was found and this was over.”
I let out a short, hard laugh.“They aren’t gonna fucking find him.Ever.”
Oz nodded.“I know, but we have a connection.If we can talk to him, offer some trade-off for her to be left alone to live her life, then that’s her best chance.”
I stared at him.Had he lost his mind?Why were we helping some chick for a cousin we barely knew?We had our own problems.While Calvin was calling to ask us to take in his friend, he sure as shit hadn’t asked about Mom.
“Why do you care?This ain’t our problem.”
