I swallow hard. “I hid. I don’t know for how long. But when they didn’t return after a while, I went over to the table and… stole it.” I hesitate, but I’m not sure I have much choice. If I want to gain this man’s trust, I need to take a leap of faith.
“You stoleit?” Nikolas echoes back.
Only now that the destruction and the gunshots are gone do I notice it. There’s something in his voice. It’s subtle, but it catches on the edges of the words, rounding them, softening what should’ve sounded sharper.
It doesn’t match the look on his face.
Hoping I won’t regret it five seconds from now, I take out the rough blood-red stone from my pocket. It still makes that hissy sound from that night. “This was slotted into a hidden compartment in the middle of the table where they killed Zac. It didn’t come out easily, but I’m very resourceful when I need to be.” I wink at Nikolas, but the dude’s grim expression quickly washes away my sense of pride. “I think these people want their trinket back.” I wave the stone around, balancing it between two fingers.
Nikolas holds out his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, I give him the stone. “Do you know what this is?”
Somber silence settles between us as I shake my head and try to fight off a nervous smile. Only the SUV’s purr and the slight vibrations disrupt the stillness.
“Fuck. Of all the things…”
Hope blooms in my chest as his slight accent slips past again. “Wait… Doyouknow what it is then?”
“A pretty stone worth a lot of money?Ifit is real. No, not really.” Nikolas massages his forehead, sighing as if the end of the world is coming. He’s very expressive like that. “But I know whom you stole it from.”
Ooh, that’s progress! Although… Would it be better not to know? Safer? Then again, I am probably way past that now.
Excitement thrumming in my veins, I aim my gaze at Nikolas and pull the best puppy eyes I can muster. He stifles down a snort and passes me back the red gem. I tuck it away.
“The tattoo you mentioned?” he says, his voice serious. “That’s the Crimson Crew… You really shouldn’t have dragged me into this. I barely survived them once.”
Oh shit, so the people after me reallyaremafia. I’d hoped my findings were wrong…
I jump off my seat, clasping Nikolas’ wrist. “But you did! It’s why I’ve been looking for you! I really need your help, man, or I’m dead meat.”
Nikolas glares at my hand. I recoil immediately, letting go. Then I realize something as the displeasure on his face deepens. This mess isn’t exactly Nikolas’ problem. He doesn’t have to help me, not now and not earlier either. But he did. Despite me single-handedly ruining his perfectly peaceful life spent pretending to be a priest.
It’s unfair to Nikolas. But he is my only chance. He’s the only man ever to land a blow to the Crimson Crew.Because of it, he became something of a legend in the underground world, albeit one who everyone seems to think is now dead. I don’t know how he pulled it off exactly—no matter how much I dug and researched, there was very little information about it—but my hunch told me something was off.
So I followed it. Found a thread, dug even deeper, spent so many all-nighters combing through that shitpile the internet is. I spoke to a bunch of very shady people, blew through all the money I had saved and ended up at a dead end. Good thing I don’t take no for an answer though, or I’d have given up on my search for this elusive ex-mercenary top dog right there and then. And thank god I listened in class and have a natural inclination toward pulling off shady and questionably legal things on a computer.
“I don’t know what you expect me to do.” Nikolas frowns, pinning his brown eyes on the steering wheel.
“Don’t you, like, have friends who can help or something? You’ll gather them and you guys deal with the Crew. Alternatively… Well, you disappeared once, you can do it twice. I’ll be your plus-one this time.” My suggestions only deepen the lines across Nikolas’ forehead. “C’mon man, I’m at the end of my rope. And I’ll pay you, obviously. I bet this stone can fetch a good price.”
And not just because of how shiny the gem is. It seemed important, the centerpiece among all the other fancy knickknacks in that museum-like room. Besides, I really have an eye for these things. Then again, maybe if I had taken anything elsebutthe stone, I wouldn’t be in such deep shit now.
“No one is stupid enough to mess with the Crimson Crew.” Nikolas pauses, his gaze growing distant, like he is reliving some old memory. “Something is very…” Heshivers, tapping his fingers along the leather-clad steering wheel as he evens out his breathing and doesn’t meet my eyes.
I wait for him to continue, because evidently there is more to this than he is letting on. I am an extremely patient man, I got this.
After two minutes of awkward silence, I can’t take it anymore.
“Please. You are my only chance. I’m way too young and pretty to die.” I squeeze Nikolas’ thigh and channel my ultimate form of puppy eyes, widening them an extra notch and adding a hint of a flirtatious smile.
He cuts off a snort. “How did you even find me?”
I trace the edge of the central console with my finger. “I told you. I’m pretty decent with computers. Have always been. Plus, once I have something on my mind, like finding you, I don’t give up until I succeed.”
Nikolas’ eyebrows bunch together, twitch, his gaze suddenly sharp and dangerous. He grabs my wrist, twists it, and then pins me against the cold window, squeezing my neck. “You do realize nothing is stopping me from just taking this gem and leaving you dead for the Crew to find, right? You barged into my church, destroyed it and dragged me into this shitshow when all I wanted was some sleep so I could be rested for tomorrow’s service.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Okay, that does make me sound like an asshole. Maybe I didn’t think this through before I got Nikolas involved in my mess. But he really is the only one who can save me. He’s the only one who ever survived an encounter with the Crew. I found no other such cases. They are a vicious and deadly organization that leaves zero loose ends. I’ve been on the run for the past month and I’m so fucking exhausted, so tired.
For a moment, I let my thoughts take over. If I had family or someone I could count on, maybe I could go to them. But that freak plane accident three years ago took everyone who mattered away from me. It was on the news, too. The only reason I am even alive today is that I was the only one to take the bus. So, I’ve got no one, no place to go, no close relatives, nobody who gives a shit if I live or die. The hope that this man could miraculously be alive was the only thing that kept me going, the only light left in the world of darkness I dove into headfirst.
