Page 29 of One Love

He’s in his element talking about computers and it’s good to see. He wouldn’t dream of being this open with someone I hadn’t brought to him myself.

“Hang on a minute, why haven’t you threatened him with the gun under your desk yet?” I at least expected a little intimidation to happen. Gotta say, I’m disappointed.

“Boss, you wouldn’t have brought him inside alive if he was a problem. And I saw the messages when I was checking out your phone.” Glitch turns back toward the screens and points something out to Dmitry.

The trust my crew has in my judgment is scary sometimes, but it’s just one reason I’d die for any one of them.

The phone thing has got to be how he’s tracked me here, fucker.

“If you two could stop orgasming over the computers, I still want to know what you’ve found out about Harvey Cook.”

They both turn to look at me, now lounging back on the small sofa-bed after allowing them tech-talk time, and Dmitry’s eyes immediately catch mine, holding me prisoner.

“We’re setting up some facial recognition software, found some social media presence, some bills, but it’s like he’s been dead for the last ten years. Everything stops, but there’s no record of death anywhere.” Glitch is the one who answers me, but he’s staring at his screen again as he does, all while Dmitry’s gaze remains connected to mine.

We’re in some kind of standoff and I refuse to lose by looking away first.

“So we still know a whole load of nothing?” I ask with a sigh.

Dmitry’s eyes crinkle a little at the edges, like he’s taunting me.

“Pretty much, Boss. But D’s helping me set this up so it should work quicker and we’ll have a hit in no time. I’m also working onsome pictures, but I need time to cross-reference first to make sure it’s the right guy. The number of Harvey Cooks in the US isn’t fucking small.”

“D? You only met him an hour ago.”

Dmitry’s cheeks twitch at my comment and he finally breaks the stare-off when Glitch taps him on the arm.

“What am I supposed to call him? He said his name is D, I call him D.” Glitch shrugs, and if I could see his face I have no doubt I’d have to throat punch him for rolling his eyes at me.

I don’t respond, pulling out my phone to send Hallie a goodnight message before she goes to sleep. It’s something I’ve gotten into the habit of doing and I won’t deny the warmth that spreads through my veins when she responds with her usual, “Goodnight, Mom. Love you.”

“Okay, as soon as we know that’s the Harvey Cook we’re looking for, it’ll start tracking him once we get a facial recognition hit. We’ll have a location in no time.” Glitch turns to look at me, patting Dmitry on the back as he does. “D’s got skills, Boss. He sticking around?”

I glare at him, which should give all the answers that I’m willing to give to that question. Then my eyes slide over to Dmitry, who still seems to have that knowing smirk on his face. “Time to go.” I stand and open the door, not needing to remind Glitch to keep me in the loop in real time.

“I’ll send you a link to that website.” Dmitry slaps Glitch on the back as though they’ve been friends for years and follows me out of the room.

Everyone else is either out working or back in their own apartments now, the rest of the house quiet from inactivity. Glitch is the only one who stays here regularly, he’s taken residence in the master bedroom.

Once outside, I step up to my bike, completely ignoring the large man hovering behind me. I need to ride, clear my head a little.

“Take me to your place for dinner.” His breath is warm against the back of my neck, and he’s so close without actually touching me.

“No. You shouldn’t even be here.” The fact that he is, and I didn’t try to stab him, is something I need to seriously think about on my ride.

As per my usual M.O., I ignore anything else he has to say, sliding my helmet over my head and lifting my leg over my blood-red baby. The engine is alive within seconds and I don’t even look back as I ride off, the vibration between my thighs like an elixir I will never tire of.

The mid-April night chill is thick in the air and I revel in the sight of the Hudson River on my route home. I don’t head straight to my apartment, choosing instead to spend the next two hours riding through the streets of New York. My thoughts are consumed with things they shouldn’t be. Dmitry. Why he keeps showing up, why he makes me feel the way he does, why I like it so much, why I haven’t killed him yet for all the liberties he’s taken with me. That one, I still don’t have the answers to.

High on my to-do kill-list is killing Ronan and whoever remains in his crew, closely followed by finding the serial killer murdering Marco’s soldiers. Somewhere among all that, we need to figure out what Harvey Cook has to do with anything and why Mr. Wright is such a sketchy tail-dodger that has my hackles rising every time he’s near. Most importantly, above all else, I need to get my daughter back without getting the feds on our case.

Dmitry should absolutely not be occupying my brain space with all that I have going on.

Knowing he’s been my texting stalker this whole time should be something I despise him for, but he delivered Riley Callaghan for me on a platter, has given me leads I’d never have without him, and is now even helping Glitch. He’s an enigma, pushing his way into my life as if he’s always been there, and somehow, he’s not out of place in my world.

I can’t figure out what his deal is, what he wants, what his end-game is. Whatever it is though, I won’t hesitate in gutting him if he betrays me.

Pulling up outside my apartment, I go through the motions of locking up my bike before heading inside and jogging up the stairs to my door. A noise inside my apartment makes me pause, moving my hand to my back to grip the handle of my gun. I won’t shoot the intruder because the noise would be deafening and the cops would be called and I don’t wanna deal with all that tonight. It’s past midnight and I just want to crawl into bed after I’ve stabbed whoever this fuck is. I’ll call for my Reapers to help clean it up tomorrow.

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