“Who was the client, and why would he have someone watching West?” Lucas demanded before I could.
“Adrik Hail,” Wreck clipped.
I shared a look with Lucas. Adrik was the man West had feelings for. Had it been reciprocated this whole time? Fuck, it must have been if he had a guard on West.
I stood. “Then we need to go talk to him. He might have more information.”
“Not needed. That’s all the information he had—”
“But—”
There was a knock on the door before it opened, and Death strode in. Someone else followed. A guy I didn’t know.
“What the fuck is he doin’ here?” Wreck demanded, standing.
“Who is he?” Lucas asked, joining Wreck.
Death glared at the man beside him. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer. I thought it better I bring him, so he didn’t get anyone we know in trouble.”
“Why are there cars pulling up outside?” Saint asked. I hadn’t noticed he’d walked over to the window.
“They are my men.”
I spun my gaze back to the man with a Russian accent. Adrik Hail. And from Lucas’s gasp, he’d worked out who he was as well.
“You’re Adrik,” Lucas blurted.
Adrik’s cold gaze fell on Lucas. “Da.”
“Just found out his father’s Nicholai Mikhaillova,” Death announced.
Wreck was the only one who obviously knew the name. “Get the fuck outta my house.”
“Nyet, I am here to help. I will help.”
Wreck started for him but froze when Adrik swiftly pulled a gun and pointed it at him. “You will not stop me from helping.”
“Fuck, I shoulda taken the damn gun off you,” Death commented with a groan.
“Wade,” Lucas said softly. He stepped up and curled his hands around Wreck’s arm. “Let’s calm down a second and find out more information.”
“Yeah, like why Wreck had a freak-out over his father’s name,” I said, leaning into my cane. “Because I don’t have a fuckin’ clue, and I want to move this shit along so we can find West.”
“Da, I agree.” Adrik put his gun away. “My father runs the Russian mafia in Russia. I am no part of the mafia. I own businesses, and that is all. Nonetheless, I have killed and will kill for the people I care for.”
Of fucking course he just had to add that, which had Wreck growling under his breath.
Saint stepped forward, obviously sensing my lessening patience. “Right, so your dad’s the mafia, but none of it will touch us or the ones we care about.”
“Da.”
“I’m guessin’ that means yes?”
Adrik nodded.
“Okay, let’s join forces and move on. We all want the same thing. West home and safe.”
Everyone stayed silent for a moment.
“My men called from the college,” Adrik said. “They are with your men,” he said to Death, meaning our brothers. “West’s vehicle was found. Nothing was missing or broken.”
I shook my head, thinking. “He couldn’t just have been abducted in broad daylight without people noticing.”
Death cleared his throat. “Tech got a hold of the cameras. It caught West walkin’ outta the building, but the way he went to the parking lot didn’t have a camera angle.”
“Did he seem different? Scared? Agitated? Anything?” Lucas asked.
Death shook his head. “Tech said he looked fine. But he did mention he must have seen something off camera, the way West ended up going. He seemed shocked but then smiled as if—”
“He recognized someone,” I said.
“Exactly.” Death nodded.
“So it’s someone he knows,” Lucas commented.
“How about you three stay here and keep thinking, while Wreck, Death, and I get out there to help the others?” Saint suggested.
“You want me to stay here?” Adrik said with a sneer. “I have more men than your club has. I will go out there and look—”
“Saint’s right,” I told him. “You could help us here. I’m sure there are people you could call. Clubs, casinos, put out a description in case he’s out with someone he knew partying and just forgot about us.”
“He wouldn’t,” Lucas whispered.
Wreck wrapped an arm around Lucas’s chest. “It’s worth a try, right?”
Lucas sighed but nodded.
“What do you say?” I asked Adrik.
“Fine. I will speak with my men, leave half here, the rest will follow. They will take orders from you,” he said to Death. Adrik turned and walked out of the house to speak with his men.
“Got it. Let’s hit the road.” Death started for the door. Saint stepped in front of me, and I could see Wreck saying goodbye to Lucas.
“Be fuckin’ safe, you ass,” I told him.
Saint chuckled, leaned in, and kissed my nose, then mouth. “You know I will. Can’t have you missin’ me.”
“Damn right.”
“Fuck me, I need to get a woman,” Death grumbled. “Come the fuck on,” he bit out before he left.
Saint and Wreck walked out after a final kiss, and Lucas and I moved over to the window.
“He cares,” Lucas said. “A lot.”
I nodded, knowing he was talking about Adrik. “He does. We need West back to see it.”
“We do.”
Fuck, I hoped wherever he was, he was okay.
Chapter Eight
West
Earlier
Walking from my final class for the day, I couldn’t help but smile. It was only days until exams, and I felt good about them. I’d studied hard and knew the information. Now it just had to stick with me on the day.
“West” was called. I glanced up and over to the right. My eyes widened, and shock settled in. I forced a smile at them and started toward my parents. Closer, I called, “Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?”
“We haven’t seen you in a while. We thought lunch would be nice,” Mom said without a smile, like usual.
“Um, I think… I mean—”
“Stop blabbering, stand up straight, and answer your mother,” Dad ordered.
Like always when he used that stern tone, I knew to listen. With gritted teeth at my weakness for not standing up for myself, I straightened my shoulders and replied, “Lunch would be good.” Then they could leave, and it would be another few months before I saw them again. If I did. Maybe this day would be the one I stood up for myself and told them I was gay. They’d disown me, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. I had my own little family with Lucas and Kylo. They cared. The people in front of me didn’t.
“I’ll follow you, if you have a place in mind,” I said.
“No. You’ll come in our car, and we’ll drop you off after,” Dad stated.
I breathed out a frustrated breath through my nose. “Of course.”
Mom turned. “This way.”
As soon as my dad followed her, I slouched, stuck up my middle finger, and regrettably went after them. One day I would stop acting like a scared child who got scolded over the littlest things and stand up for myself.