Shadows & Silence: A Wild Bunch Novel

by London Miller

  Now, Invictus smiled. “We were a savage little bunch, but it doesn’t have the same ring as wild. I try to live up to both names.”

  With a story like that, she could definitely see it.

  “There now, are you feeling any better?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Fair enough.” He glanced back down the hall. “I’d say give it another hour before he settles. He’ll be all right.”

  “Thanks, Invictus … for talking to me and everything.”

  He touched her arm in what could only be considered affection. “Thank you for making him happy. Now, I’m off to get some fucking sleep. Take it easy.”

  She merely smiled as she watched him disappear down the hall and around the corner, but once he was gone, she didn’t immediately go back to the room she shared with Răzvan.

  Instead, she grabbed her bag from his office and brought it back out to the couch where she propped it on her legs once she was seated again.

  For the past three years, she had systematically scoured the net for more people than she could count for The Kingmaker—men and women with virtually no digital footprint.

  She didn’t care how long it took, but by the time she was done, she would find every person who had ever even heard of that orphanage, and if any one of them had hurt Răzvan or his brothers in any way, she would make them pay.

  Cold was the first word that came to mind when Răzvan awoke to find his bedside empty.

  Winter’s bracelet was still on his nightstand, so she hadn’t gone far, but he still found it strange that he hadn’t felt her get up at all.

  After a quick trip to the bathroom, he dragged on the first clothes he could find before he left his bedroom.

  It only took a glance once he was out in the living room to find her sprawled out on the sectional with a blanket thrown over her legs haphazardly—Thanatos’ work, no doubt—and her laptop resting on the table in front of her.

  Though his curiosity as to why she was out here instead of in his bed was driving him crazy, a smile still curled his lips as he crouched beside her, sweeping strands of hair off her face.

  Staring down at her now, Răzvan wasn’t sure which side of her he liked the most.

  There was the grunge hacker with a smart mouth and a smile that hinted at secrets—then there was the side of her he was seeing now.

  Wild silver hair in disarray, makeup free face smushed against the couch in a particularly attractive way.

  She was beautiful.

  Her eyes blinked open as his fingers traced over her cheek, but where he was expecting a smile to bloom, her expression froze as if she was trying to hide the flicker of unease he saw there before she masked it.

  But he made a habit of reading expressions even when a person didn’t want him to.

  At times, it could be both a curse and a blessing—now, he wasn’t quite sure which it was.

  After a moment, Winter did smile, stretching her arms as she hauled herself up. “You’re staring again, you know. If you keep that up, I might start to think you actually like me, big guy.”

  —Of course, I do. I always have. What’s wrong?—

  Her hand froze where she’d been combing her fingers through her hair. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”

  —Besides the obvious fact that you’re out here?—

  “This? This is nothing. I was working and didn’t want to disturb you.”

  He didn’t believe that at all.

  —You sure about that?—

  “I have something for you,” she said instead of answering his question, heading back to his bedroom. “I might have overstepped—feel free to tell me if I did—but I won’t apologize for the results.”

  He watched without speaking as she stripped out of his clothes and pulled on her own. She was still babbling on as she finished braiding her hair, and probably intended to keep going if he hadn’t caught her arm before she could move past him.

  —What’s wrong?—

  “You know you can talk to me, right? Like, about anything. Even the stuff you think I might not want to know.”

  A selfless request, but she didn’t understand what she was asking for. And it was the last thing he wanted to give her. She didn’t need the image of what he’d suffered in her head.

  He wanted her to see him as he was now.

  —Why are you bringing this up?—

  Her gaze darted to the side as she shifted on her feet. “Just something I was thinking about.”

  As good as she was at hacking, she was a shit liar.

  “How’d you sleep last night?” she went on before he could call her on it.

  —Fine.—

  More tired than usual, but that was a given considering the work last night then after with Winter.

  But that wasn’t what she meant even if she hadn’t come right out and said it.

  When she tried to sidestep him this time, he held her more firmly, forcing her to look at him.

  But he could tell from one look at her face that whatever was bothering her, she wasn’t ready to share it. —What did you have for me?—

  “Three names.”

  He waited for her to elaborate.

  “There were only three men in Romania with the technical skills to manage a complicated surgery while you were at the orphanage.”

  Of all the things he expected her to say, that was the last.

  That was what she’d been working on all night?

  “Unfortunately, two of them are already dead, so we can’t torture them to see if either of them hurt you. The third, however, I’m having trouble finding which makes me think I might be close.” She looked so proud of herself as she nodded her head. “He took from you, so we’ll take from him. We’ll start with his fingers—and by we, I mean you—and then a blow torch wouldn’t be remiss.”

  A startled laugh left him at the bloodlust he heard in her voice—he didn’t expect it from someone as tiny as her.

  Winter didn’t seem violent at all.

  “Sounds like a good plan to me,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I bet your brothers would agree with me. Oh, I changed my mind! We eat popcorn, and they can do the bodily extractions. That’s better.”

  —Calm down, killer.—

  “Sorry,” she returned with a shrug. “Not really. He deserves whatever’s coming to him, and I plan on making him pay.”

  —You’re avenging me?—

  “I might not have been able to protect you then, but I can damn sure avenge you now.”

  Where had he heard those words? —You watch a lot of movies.—

  “I’m a Marvel girl, sue me.”

  Răzvan might not have been sure what was really bothering her, but he let it go for the moment. For all he knew, it might have been because of something she’d found in the course of looking for the doctor that operated on him.

  For now, she could have her secrets.

  —Pack a bag.—

  “For what, exactly?”

  —We’re going to Chicago.—

  It made sense that they needed to go there since the beginning and end to Mariya’s problem was there. The quicker they got rid of it, the faster Fang and Mariya could get on with their lives, and the sooner Răzvan could give his full attention back to Winter.

  He liked having her around beyond what she could do with a laptop.

  “Do you think you’re going to need me to hack something?” she asked, even as she finished zipping up her bag.

  —Fang might, but I don’t. I just want you there.—

  “You’re a smooth talker, Răz. I bet you could convince me to do some things I promised myself I would never do.”

  His brows crept up, a clear invitation for her to elaborate, but she merely smiled and finished packing her things.

  It was the little things.

  Chapter 11

  When it came to family, nothing was off-limits.

  Winter knew this firsthand.

  She’d seen what peo
ple, even the most ordinary of people, were willing to do when it came to protecting those they loved.

  Mercenaries, on the other hand … there was no line they wouldn’t cross, no person they wouldn’t kill. No matter who stood in their way.

  That was how she knew the moment Mariya got that phone call and went all weird on her that shit was about to go down that she couldn’t stop.

  Her eyes were too wide, that stunned expression leaving Winter with little doubt what Feliks had said on the other end.

  “Was that him?” she asked, her voice low and concerned.

  “He has my sister,” Mariya whispered, sounding every bit as lost as she looked.

  “Then we’ll call Tăcut and the others.” They could handle this, she was sure of it, but where there had been uncertainty in Mariya’s face, there was now a steely determination. “Let me tell you, I’ve seen this movie, and every time, I always call the girl who thinks it’s okay to run off to save the day a fucking idiot.”

  And worse, she knew neither she nor Mariya had the skills to get her sister back on their own.

  Maybe if Calavera was here …

  But even she hadn’t been able to escape from her kidnapper when she was taken, and she was trained in such things.

  Which reminded her. “That kind of crazy doesn’t just stop either. As soon as he sees you, he might kill her anyway.”

  And once she was dead, there was no telling what he would do to Mariya.

  Thinking she saw the other girl nod, Winter blew out a breath. “So we’ll wait for Tăcut and the others. They’ll know what to do.”

  They could go in, do what they did best, and everything would be fine.

  Mariya disappeared around the corner, leaving Winter to collapse back onto the couch, dropping her face into her hands.

  Before, it would have been moments like these that had her reaching out to Syn, seeking strength in his words. He was always very good at that—talking her down.

  But this time, she didn’t want to talk to him.

  She wanted Răzvan.

  In his own way, he’d know exactly what to say and do.

  But no matter how shitty she might have felt that the Russian they were up against had a hostage, Mariya was probably feeling worse.

  Maybe it was her turn to talk someone down.

  “Mariya!” she called, climbing to her feet and going in search of her.

  She found Fang’s room easily—the only problem was that Mariya wasn’t in it.

  But the window leading out to the fire escape was open, the slight breeze ruffling the curtains.

  Fuck.

  It was utterly stupid—she knew with all the conviction in the world that Mariya had gone, but she couldn’t help running over to glance out, hoping at the very least that she was still close and she had a chance to catch her.

  If only so she could go with her.

  Skills or not, two was always better than one.

  But there was no sign of her anywhere.

  Fang was going to kill her.

  “Shit.”

  Dashing back out, she ran to her laptop, opening up the tracking software and plugging in Mariya’s phone number.

  Before it could finish running the search, however, the gate opened, and Răzvan and his brothers walked in.

  Fang’s gaze shot to her, but instead of anger, he just looked … lost.

  “I’m so sorry!” Winter said in a rush, feeling compelled to explain. “I didn’t think she would really leave. I would have stopped her, I swear.”

  Fang didn’t seem to be listening, but Răzvan came to her, shaking his head, his face soft and open.

  This wasn’t her fault, he was saying.

  But it felt like it.

  Seeing Fang in his current state made her wish she had done more—done better.

  —Take a breath.—

  She couldn’t.

  It felt like her mind was running a mile a minute, and she couldn’t focus.

  Răzvan cupped her cheek, forcing her attention on him. —A breath.—

  She sucked in a noisy breath, filling her lungs as much as she could before blowing it out again.

  —Another.—

  She did as she was told, taking a breath every time he told her to until she was minutely calmer.

  That was all she needed.

  Back at her laptop, the search finally finished just as Fang came back into the room.

  “I’ve already tried tracking her phone, but it’s probably destroyed because I can’t even turn it on from here.” She glanced up at him. “He took her sister.”

  Fang nodded. “How long since she left?”

  “I’m assuming she called you? I’ll say around whatever time that was. I didn’t realize she was gone until she didn’t come back after a while,” she added quickly. “One other thing. He said she had an hour to get there.”

  Fang scrubbed a hand down his face. “How quickly can you find someone?”

  “Give me a name.”

  She only needed a place to start, and she could find their ancestors.

  “Akim. I don’t know his last name, but he’s part of the Bratva.”

  That was all she needed.

  A little bit of cross-referencing with the information she already knew.

  Checking local databases.

  Easy.

  She rattled off his address once she had it, and Fang instructed both Invictus and Thanatos to find him.

  But that was only the first step.

  They still needed to actually find Feliks.

  —Don’t worry.— Răzvan signed to Fang, who let out a bitter laugh and raked his fingers through his hair.

  “I can’t help but fucking worry.”

  She hated the look on his face—an expression she was seeing for the second time.

  “We haven’t had enough time,” he finished in a whisper, the words more for himself than anyone.

  Răzvan didn’t waver. —The living aren’t done with her yet. We’ll get her back.—

  Fear was a state of mind.

  An emotion that manifested itself when a rush of adrenaline hit. No matter what, Winter could overcome this.

  How many times had she’d sat just the way she was now and tracked someone down with little to go on?

  How many times had she put limitations on herself and bested them?

  This was no different, she tried to tell herself.

  But it was different.

  This was someone she might not have known well, but she cared about Mariya, and more, Fang cared about her.

  She wouldn’t be the reason he lost someone else.

  “I got this,” she murmured to herself, fingers flying over the keys as she dug into every aspect of Mariya’s husband’s—soon to be ex-husband’s—life.

  There was nothing she couldn’t get her hands on and hadn’t already.

  It was just a matter of isolating where he might have taken her.

  Time was a factor in this, and unlike her usual jobs, she only had one chance to get it right.

  So engrossed in what she was doing, Winter didn’t notice when Răzvan was suddenly behind her, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder.

  She didn’t have to look at him to know his expression wasn’t reflecting pity but rather encouragement. He believed she could do this.

  He believed in her.

  She couldn’t let him down.

  Almost.

  She almost had—

  “Oh, shit,” she muttered to herself before looking over at Fang. “I think I know where they are, and the answer is pretty obvious.”

  The answer had been staring her right in the face this whole time.

  “Their mansion—or his mansion. Whatever. They’re there. I guarantee it.”

  Fang turned for the door, hurrying out with Thanatos and Invictus behind him.

  Răzvan, on the other hand, snatched her to him with two powerful hands and kissed the shit out of her.

  A breathless laugh escaped
her. “You’re welcome. Go kick ass.”

  In seconds, he was out the door too.

  Watching him go, Winter collapsed on the couch with a sigh.

  Now, it was just a matter of time before they were back.

  They were gone for so long, she was afraid something had gone terribly wrong, but as the elevator sounded once more, she was standing in front of it before it could even stop, her heart racing.

  A sigh of relief left her the moment Răzvan walked into the loft, followed by Thanatos and Invictus, but when they were the only three to enter, she frowned.

  “Where’s Mariya and Fang?”

  “Working out their issues,” Thanatos supplied, turning his mask over in his hands as he touched her shoulder affectionately before slipping past her.

  “Then everything went okay? Everyone’s fine?” she asked Răzvan next, searching his face for any sign that something had gone wrong.

  But he merely nodded and kissed her forehead. —It’s all good.—

  He took her hand in his, walking her back to his bedroom where he pulled her in and shut the door. For a second, she wondered whether he needed to talk to her about something, but then he gave her a look.

  A look that melted her insides and made her hyper aware of his presence.

  It was the adrenaline, she thought as she watched him strip out of his gear, tossing it aside with little care. He was wired, but she knew one way to bring him down.

  When he turned back to face her, she didn’t hesitate in running her fingers over the hem of her shirt, making sure she had his attention before tugging it up and off before she did the same to her jeans.

  And when his tongue swiped out over his bottom lip, she took a couple of steps toward him then slowly kneeled.

  His eyes told the story his hands didn’t—that he liked the sight of her on her knees in front of him.

  It was enthralling, seeing how much he wanted her. Not just the lust in his gaze, but the thick outline of his cock through the material of his jeans.

  If it were possible, he’d probably rip right through that denim.

  Winter didn’t take her eyes from him, not when she got his jeans undone, and not even when she shoved his boxer briefs down muscular thighs until she had his length in her hands.

  Velvety soft and hard, he was practically throbbing in her palms.

  She’d never thought she would feel anything doing this. He wasn’t touching her or whispering dirty things in her ear. But the obvious restraint he was under made her breath catch.