“Nice to see you too, sweetheart,” Ryker drawls. “Mind if we come in?”
I step back, and Pixel barrels in from the bedroom. My feeble attempts to stop my dog from welcoming the unexpected guests fail miserably, and I barely manage not to step on her. Off balance, I stumble, and Ryker’s arm snakes around my waist.
“Three times in one day?” He arches a brow, and I push against his chest until he releases me.
“I was doing just fine,” I mutter and snap my fingers so Pixel stops yipping and jumping around Dax’s legs. Despite not being able to see her antics, he manages to expertly avoid her little paws as he follows Ryker into my apartment and shuts the door.
“Um. Can I get you…I have beer and uh…red wine and Diet Coke.” Entertaining isn’t…me. I can hang with the guys all night long after a hard job. Drink half of them under the table if I really want to, but only when we’re in a big group. Me alone with my boss and the tank I ran away from this afternoon? Not my comfort zone.
Ryker glances at Dax, then shrugs. “Stick-Up-His-Ass will take a Diet Coke. But I’ll have a beer.”
“Fuck you,” Dax says. “I need a beer for this conversation.”
I can’t move, my mouth hanging open slightly at the venom—and something else—I hear in my boss’s voice. He’s always been a little lost, but seeing him with Ryker is eerie. Like he’s a ghost of his real self. After seeing the photo Ryker carries in his wallet, I think maybe the Dax I know is a ghost of who he used to be.
“Wren? Sit down. Ry, get the beers.” Dax reaches for my arm, coming up just short, and I clear my throat to let him know where I am.
Ryker strides into my kitchen and rummages in the fridge while I take Dax’s arm and lead him to an overstuffed chair across from the couch. “Chair,” I whisper, and he nods, though his movements are stiff as he takes a seat.
Shutting my laptop, I clutch it to my chest when Ryker swaggers over with three beers clutched in his beefy hands. Despite his size, he moves with a grace I’ve rarely seen in men—only Dax and Ford can glide soundlessly across the floor.
“Mind if I sit?” Ryker asks, gesturing to the cushion next to me.
“Uh…sure.”
Once everyone has a beer, Ryker lifts his bottle. “Hooah.” Dax frowns, and silence hangs in the air. “Fine. See if I care.” Turning to me, he arches a brow. “So…tell us about theNevsky Bratva.”
“No.” I take a long pull on my beer as the two men stare at me like I’ve grown a second head. “You didn’t change your mind about Z in the past eight hours, Dax.”
“No. I didn’t. I’ve known way too many guys pulled under by addiction. Zion had the same demons. The need. The craving. The desperation to just…escape. To feel good—or maybe nothing at all. Tonot hurtanymore.”
“You didn’t know him.” The lump in my throat roughens my voice, and I suck down another swallow of beer. “Zion was clean. Going to meetings every day. He got a job. Hepromisedme he’d never go back to that life.”
“Can we start from the beginning?” Ryker settles back on the couch and stretches his long legs under my coffee table. “You did a hell of a lot of dancing in that coffee shop, sweetheart. Tell me what we’re dealing with. All of it.”
* * *
Ninety minutes,another round of beers, and the leftover pizza later, I’m worried I’ve said too much. Or not enough. “This girl’s in trouble. So’s her brother. And Zion promised to get them out of Russia.”
“And how the hell did he think he was going to do that?” Dax asks.
“Me.” I risk a glance at Dax, see his expression, and can’t help the small, frustrated sound that catches in my throat. “Fine. You. Us. Second Sight. Remember when Z called me at work? A month before he showed up at my door?”
“You said he was high as a kite.”
“He was. Kept talking about getting passports for all of them.” Flopping back on the couch, I play with my bracelet. “The next day, Kolya told Elena he was going to kill Zion. She…she convinced one of Kolya’s generals to fake Zion’s death.” I open my laptop and pull up Z’s last message to me.
Firefly, I’m so sorry. When Elena told me what Kolya was going to do, I had to leave her and Semyon behind. I hated it. But…she made me promise I’d never go back to Russia. She begged Misha to give me an overdose—but not enough to kill me. Just…make me look like I’d died. I don’t know why he agreed. He dumped me in a little town a couple hours away, and when I came to…I couldn’t think straight. I took a bunch of pills—I don’t even know what they were—and puked my guts out all over a car. And then this grandma comes out of the house next door and starts yelling at me. I was so messed up, I told her everything. She’s the reason I came home.
When I saw Elena’s video, I wanted to tell you. But…then I got Kolya’s message, and I knew I had to get out of town. He never lets anyone go, and I can’t put you in danger. I’m uploading all this from a little internet cafe in Quincy. I’m going to get as far away from Boston as I can, and then I’ll call you. If he doesn’t find me first. I’m sorry I won’t be there for court. I know I’m letting you down. But this might be my only chance to stay alive. I love you. -Z
* * *
Ryker
Glancing at Dax, I try to get a read on him. But after so many years, I’m lost. So I swallow my pride and ask. “Dax? Tell me what you’re thinking.”
He snorts. “There’s no proof this girl is even still alive. I know you want to believe the best about your brother, Wren, but without any evidence Zion was murdered…what the hell do you expect us to do about this?”
