by PJ Friel
Score one for having a murderous monster riding around in the back of my head.
“You take that side of the room and I’ll take this side. Meet you back here,” Bryn said, motioning with her glass.
She looked ready to shatter into a million pieces. I wanted to kill David for the things he’d said to her. He didn’t deserve her friendship and she didn’t deserve the guilt he’d tried to bury her under. What she needed was a break.
“Why don’t we take the night off instead? Have a little fun.”
I hooked my arm around Bryn’s waist and pulled her close. I could see her denial forming on her lips, so I kissed her before she could voice it. Cranberry and peach schnapps tasted better from her lips than from any glass.
“Mmm...maybe I should have ordered the Sex on the Beach,” I said against her lips.
Bryn set her drink back on the bar and pressed against my chest. “God, would you just stop? I don’t have time to waste drinking and dancing with you. We need to solve this case.”
I dropped my arms from her waist, feeling like an idiot for believing this was anything more than just sex. “Right. Don’t want to waste your time.” I downed my Guinness and turned on my heel.
“Trygg, wait…” Bryn called out.
Fuck it. I focused on the people around me. Justice for Gideon, then I’d do what I should have done two weeks ago. I’d hunt down the Bani, find out why he was in town, then slit his goddamn throat for good measure. I didn’t have to be at Bryn’s side to keep her safe and it was probably better if I wasn’t. For me.
A red-haired woman stepped in front of me and I had to grab her waist to keep from bowling her over.
“Mist?”
Mordechai’s mistress ran her hands up my stomach and rested them on my pecs. “Hey, sexy. What brings you here?”
I arched a brow at her husky tone and words. Mist had never flirted with me before. Most of the time, she barely acknowledged my presence. The last time I’d seen her, she looked like she wanted to take my head off. She must be drunk. None of my guys were with her, either. So she was drunk and vulnerable. Mordechai would have my head if she got into trouble.
“I’m just out for some fun,” I pasted on a smile. “What brings you out on a Thursday night?”
“The same. Mordechai was tied up with business and DG offered to take me out for some drinks and dancing.”
Fantastic. So DG was here with her. I looked back at the bar and sure enough Bryn was with him. Apparently, chatting up that dickhead wasn’t a waste of her time.
“Mordechai doesn’t mind you out clubbing without him?” I grabbed her hands when they started to trail back down my chest.
She shrugged a bare shoulder and winked. “He understands that sometimes I need a change of scenery.”
“Right. How about we go grab a seat?”
“I’d rather dance. DG wandered off and I need a dance partner.” She pressed tighter against me and her knee rubbed up my leg.
When she tipped on her heels, I grabbed her thigh and steadied her. She giggled and pressed her face into my chest. Fucking hell.
“Listen, I’m looking for someone. How about we find you a seat?”
She grabbed my hand and stared up at me. “You’d rather dance with me.”
“Um. No, I really wouldn’t.”
Her eyes widened. She looked surprised—probably not used to men turning her down—then she batted her lashes at me and smiled flirtatiously. “Are you looking for anyone I know? Maybe I’ve seen them.”
Did that fluttering thing actually work on anyone? I still couldn’t believe Mordechai hadn’t given her walking papers a long time ago.
“I doubt it.” I tried to pry her fingers loose, but she was like a goddamn leech.
I was going to get Mist settled, take one lap around the club, and then if DG was still with Bryn when I got back, I’d wipe the floor with him.
CHAPTER 32
BRYN
DG slid his hand up my arm and gripped my elbow. I glanced at the bartender and he arched a brow at me. Did I need his help? Not really, but I was curious if he’d throw me out of the club if I kicked DG’s legs out from under him and smashed his forehead against the bar.
Probably.
Would it be worth it?
Maybe.
Trygg would probably throw me a party if I ripped DG a new one. For the past two weeks, he’d been giving me the stink eye every time DG messaged me. It wasn’t like I encouraged the guy. Most of my responses were single words or emojis.
“Dance with me,” DG said.
“Sorry. I’m working.”
“Oh, come on. One dance.” He gave me a puppy dog look that didn’t even register on my empathy meter.
Trygg would lose his mind if I danced with DG.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than I saw him across the room with Mordechai’s girlfriend. He had one hand on her thigh and she was clutching his other one.
For a second I couldn’t breathe. I hadn’t let him put his hands on me, so he decided to put them on someone else? The logical side of my brain called me an idiot. I knew Trygg wasn’t like that. But that dark thing inside me said I should have seen this was coming. They all leave, no matter what kind of promises they make.
“If you give me one dance, I’ll leave you to your job for the rest of the night. Otherwise, I’m just going to follow you around.”
“You know that’s called stalking, right?” I kept my eyes glued to Trygg.
“Or you could dance with me and call it payback.” I glanced over at him and he nodded towards Trygg and Mist. “They’re looking pretty cozy.”
Mist was practically humping Trygg’s leg.
I slammed back the rest of my drink and dropped the glass on the bar. “Let’s dance.”
The dance floor was on my half of the room anyway. I was just killing two birds with one stone so I could get out of there faster. This had absolutely nothing to do with Trygg. I didn’t own him. He could do what he wanted.
Eyes scanning, I waded through the sweaty, grinding bodies in front of me until I reached the middle of the floor. The speakers pumped out the breathy voice of a woman singing about wreaking havoc and bad habits that died hard. The crowd was in a fist pumping frenzy and all I could think was...Sing it, sister.
The heavy bass vibrated in my chest and I decided to wreak some havoc of my own. I rolled my hips against DG and quashed my feelings of guilt for not dancing with Trygg when he’d asked. The way Mist had been rubbing against him screamed familiarity. I had no way of knowing what he did when he wasn’t with me, but from the looks of that interaction, I could guess.
DG threaded his thumb in one of my belt loops and pulled me close, grinding his pelvis against mine. “I’ve wanted to do this since the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“Dance?” I backed away, spinning and breaking his grip on me.
He grabbed my hips again and tucked my butt into his crotch. DG was definitely happy to see me. Lips against my ear, he said, “No. I’ve wanted to show you how well we fit together.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that if he didn’t get his dick off me, he wasn’t going to fit with anyone ever again. Then I spotted our target’s face in the crowd.
“Drew!” I called out.
It was a miracle that he heard me, but he took one look over my shoulder and his eyes widened. I followed his gaze. Trygg was beelining for us, his face a mask of fury.
I turned back to Drew. “Don’t worry. It’s okay.”
He shook his head and ran.
“Ah, shit,” I muttered and tugged away from DG.
Trygg shoved DG hard, propelling him backwards. “Get your fucking hands off her.” One couple crashed to the floor and a second staggered under DG’s weight before he caught himself.
For about ten seconds, I considered staying and breaking up the fight, but Gideon was more important than a dick-measuring contest between these two idiots. I jumped over the couple gathering themselves
off the floor and crashed through the crowd after Drew, throwing elbows and feet flying.
“Drew, wait! I just want to talk to you.”
He ignored my call and ran into the hallway leading to the restrooms. If he went into the men’s room, I was going in after him, penis or no penis. Instead, he flew past it and slammed out of the door that emptied into an alley behind the club.
I barreled out behind him. “Stop! I’m a friend of Gideon’s.”
Drew tripped over a bucket filled with sand and cigarette butts and went down hard. Before he could scramble away, I hauled him to his feet.
His eyes were saucers. “Please don’t kill me! I was just here to pick up some money a guy owed me and then I was leaving the state. I swear.”
“Hey, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you, much less kill you. I just need to ask you a couple of questions about Gideon’s murder.”
Drew struggled against me. “I don’t know anything. Not a damn thing. Let me go.”
The lie was written all over his face along with mindless panic. He wasn’t going to voluntarily tell me anything. I’d have to dig for it. I hated this, but if he wormed free, I’d lose my chance to end this thing and give David his chance to move on.
I spun Drew around and shoved him face first up against the back wall of the club. Holding him there with my body, I sunk my fingers into his hair and asked, “When was the last time you saw Gideon?”
Electricity shot up my arm and exploded in a rush of pictures in my brain. Shaking, I focused hard on one of them with Gideon standing in front of me, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and wearing heavy boots.
His hand reached up and tangled in my hair and I caught my breath at the love that showed in his eyes.
No. Not my hair. Gideon’s.
Gasping, I forced myself to back away from the emotions entangling me and pulled out of Drew’s point of view and observed from the side.
“Don’t worry, babe,” Gideon said. “Once I do this job, I’ll be in and we’ll be set. We can get a nice apartment, nice car, and you can go back to school.”
Drew rubbed his cheek against Gideon’s hand. “G, you know I don’t care about any of that. All I want is you.”
“I know, but it’s more than the material stuff. I need…” He broke off and sighed. “Now that I’m on my own, I have to find a way to control myself.”
“We can find a way together. Don’t do this.”
Gideon’s jaw clenched and he pulled away from Drew. “You don’t understand what it’s like with Jotuns. I have to do this. Promise me that you’ll be here when I get back.”
“You don’t ever have to ask that. I’ll always be here. Always be waiting for you.”
Gideon kissed Drew and held him tight. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, G,” Drew choked out.
Drawing away, Gideon reached for the door then paused. “If something happens—”
Drew’s eyes teared up. “No. Don’t go into this thinking like that.”
Gideon pressed his finger against Drew’s lips. “Shh...listen. If something happens and people come around asking questions, you have to run. Understand me? Get out of Ohio and don’t look back.”
“I’m not leaving here because nothing’s going to happen,” Drew said against his finger then bit the tip.
“Drew, I’m serious. If they find out that you know about us, they’ll kill you.”
“Then they won’t find out.” Drew shrugged and smiled, big and fake. “Now, go do what you need to do and then come back here and claim your prize.” He swiveled his hips and slapped his own ass.
“You’re crazy,” Gideon said, laughing.
“About you.”
“See you soon.” Gideon kissed Drew and walked out of the door.
I pulled away from Drew and clenched my jaw, fighting against the quiver of my bottom lip and the tears that didn’t want to be blinked away. Mental rape is what Trygg had called what I did to him. He was right. I couldn’t keep doing this. It wasn’t right.
And now I was going to ask this grieving man to answer my questions. Talk about adding insult to the injury I’d already caused. This case was making me do things I never would have pictured myself doing. Even if all of this brought David peace, the cost was too steep.
“I’m sorry.”
“Please come back to me, G,” Drew whispered, shoulders heaving, sobs choking off any more words.
“I’m sorry, Drew. I know this is hard.” I reached out and touched his arm. “I’m working for Gideon’s father. He just wants to know what happened to his son.”
“Ow!” He slapped my hand away and glared. “Don’t touch me. What did you do to me?”
I backed up and held up my hands, blood smeared on my fingertips where I’d touched the cut Drew had gotten in his fall. “I’m sorry. I really am. Just help me out and I’ll leave. I promise.”
“You tell Gideon’s father he can go fuck himself. He didn’t want anything to do with Gideon when he really needed him.” He sneered. “Too afraid of what his cop buddies would think about his faggot son.”
I gasped. “That’s not true. David doesn’t even know that Gideon was gay.”
“What?” He shook his head. “You’re lying. Gideon said that his parents kicked him out when he told them about me.”
“Gideon’s parents are divorced. He lived with his mother. If anyone kicked him out, it was her, not David. He loved his son.”
“I know they’re divorced. Gideon told me everything.” Drew thrust his chin at me and curled his lip.
“Including that he was Jotun.”
His cocky attitude melted off his face and stark panic took its place. “I don’t know anything. Please don’t kill me.”
“I’m not going to kill you. I just need you to help me and you can do that by telling me about the people Gideon worked for.”
“I can’t!” He squirmed against my hold and I rammed him back against the wall.
“You can. Are those the same people who killed him? Gideon mentioned Jotuns. Tell me about the group he was involved with.”
I held my breath. What if this led back to Mordechai? Would Trygg help me get justice for Gideon if it meant turning on his boss?
“You don’t get it. They’ll kill me.”
The door slammed against the wall and I spun towards it, putting myself between any incoming danger and Drew. Trygg and DG stumbled out, locked in combat and snarling at each other.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
DG tripped over the same bucket that Drew had and skidded on his back across the alley. Trygg dove on top of him and hammered his fist into DG’s jaw, once, twice, three times.
“Trygg, stop!” I darted forward and grabbed his arm.
Snarling, he jerked out of my grip and shoved me hard, knocking me backwards. My ankle twisted and I went down hard on my butt in front of Drew. The boy squawked, took one look at the two men fighting, and bolted down the alley without looking back.
“Drew, wait!”
He ignored me and ran faster, disappearing around the corner. I tried to get up and my ankle exploded in agony.
I flung my head back and screamed. “Goddamnit!”
Trygg instantly snapped out of his rage. He struggled to his feet, weaving and shaking his head. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? That’s what I want to know! What is with you two?”
“Shit. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Trygg asked, reaching out for me.
Pretty sure nothing was broken, but I wasn’t going to be running any marathons in the next couple days. DG’s nose looked broken, though. He groaned from his position on the ground, chest heaving, eyes closed, a pained expression on his face.
I slapped away Trygg’s hand. “Two weeks’ worth of work. Down the drain! I’m just peachy.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. One minute I was circling the dance floor and the next I was just so angry and—”
“I don’t want to
hear it. I’ll never find Drew again because of you. He’s going to flee the state. He said as much.”
“I’ll catch him. Don’t worry,” Trygg said, shaking his head and blinking at me. “Which way did he go?”
“Forget it. He’s long gone by now.”
“Which way?” he snapped.
“Right at the end of the alley.”
“On it.” Trygg took off running.
“Good luck,” I said, only half meaning it. I was torn between wanting Drew back and wanting more reasons to kick Trygg’s butt.
DG groaned again and struggled to his feet. His lip bled and he’d need to get his nose set, but none of that hid the contrite look on his face. He held his hand out to me.
I slapped his offer away too.
“I’m sorry if I’ve caused trouble between you and Trygg.”
I snorted as I rose to my feet, keeping as much pressure off the injured ankle as possible. “No, you’re not. You two have done everything but pee on me for two weeks. All the blame doesn’t rest on you, though. I need to own my part in this too, which I’m doing right now.”
“It’s really not necessary—”
“Ohhh, yes it is. I shouldn’t have let you pursue me, but I didn’t want to offend you. You seem like an okay guy when you’re not being an arrogant dickhead.” He opened his mouth and I held up my hand. “Also, Dezi has business dealings with you and I didn’t want things to be awkward. I’m over it as of this very second.”
DG’s eyes narrowed. “So, you’re saying you have no interest in me at all?”
“None.” I held his gaze and put as much power and conviction as I could into the word.
“Well then.” DG’s chin tilted up and a tiny flash of disgust curled his lip before he schooled his features.
Disgust at himself or at me?
Calmly, he brushed off his clothes then gave me a small nod. “I apologize for forcing myself on you. I’ll keep my distance.”
I sighed. This whole situation was a prime example of what happened when people weren’t completely honest in their dealings.
