I grinned at Has, really fucking glad I’d called him of all people to my rescue. He had a calmness about him that comforted me faster than… well, maybe not as fast as Nixie, but fast.
“He was just warning me off a woman, that’s all. Like it’s his fucking right. Like I’m some asshole who’s gonna fuck her and break her heart.”
Has paused mid-sip of beer and swallowed, his eyebrows lifting.
“You’ve met someone? That’s great. What’s she like? Also why the fuck does he think it’s anything to do with him?”
I fucking loved this guy. Look how on my side he was. God, I missed that feeling. Being at the new chapter was like being thrown into a brand new family, only nobody liked each other, and nobody gave a shit. I’d missed actual brotherhood.
“She’s his old lady’s cousin, but she’s not just that. I mean, she’s a fucking person, right? And she’s not his business. He needs to keep his fucking…”
I trailed off, because Has had frozen, his face suddenly drained of blood, and his hand trembled as he unsteadily set his beer down. What the fuck. He looked like he’d seen a ghost, and as I glanced around me, I didn’t see anyone who stood out as being any kind of threat or anything.
“Has?”
He was blinking so slowly, sluggishly, like he was in a trance, and it was freaking me out. I tried that thing people do, where they wave a hand in front of a person’s face, but he was just fucking gone. He wasn’t in the room with me, and I had no idea what was going on, or how to help him out of it.
“Has? What’s up?”
Nothing. Silence. Cold silence, paleness. Stillness. He was like a statue. Like a… like he was frozen in fear. I grabbed my phone, pondering for a moment, because who was the best person to call? His old lady? His closest brothers?
I lifted the phone to my ear and a little relief warmed my chilled body as he answered.
“Pres? It’s Rocket.”
Reacher cleared his throat, and I heard him murmur something in the background.
“Hey brother, what’s going on? You okay?”
I’d even missed him, and it surprised me, but I felt a connection to him that I’d never felt, and probably never would feel, with Micro.
“Uh… I’m with Has, and something’s wrong. Like scarily wrong.”
A sharp intake of breath filled my ear, and the minimal sounds I’d been picking up in the background ceased.
“Wrong? Define wrong for me, son. What’s going on?”
“Uh… we’re in a bar, and he’s gone white as a sheet. He’s practically fucking catatonic. I’ve never seen him like this. He’s scaring me.”
Reacher cursed, and called out to someone to get Ice.
“Take a look around you, Rocket-”
“I did that already-”
“Listen to me. You’re looking for someone older, probably fifties or sixties, wealthy looking. Stuck up, maybe. Powerful. Look now and tell me.”
Huh. Was it some relative of Has-Been?
I glanced around the bar again, and this time my gaze fell on two men in a booth across the bar from us. They were dressed in suits that looked expensive, at least to my untrained eye, and they were sipping champagne, and talking loudly among themselves. Something told me it was them, or one of them at least. Something chilled me when I looked at them, but what the fuck would I know? Why was it bothering me? Maybe just because they may be affecting my brother this way?
“Rocket?”
“There are two guys, drinking champ-”
“Photo. Now.”Jeez. I angled my phone to take a discreet pic and sent it to Reacher, returning the phone to my ear to listen.
“Fuck. Ice, is it them?”
