Page 48 of One Love

“I have to send this to J before she goes to the warehouse.” Glitch’s fingers are flying across his phone, the image being downloaded and dropped into an app he created that keeps their files and conversations private and incognito.

Then Glitch makes a call.

“Fizz? You need to go to the warehouse and help out the crew.” I frown. Why isn’t he saying something about what we just found? “Shadow’s orders.”

We look at each other, a little dumbfounded.

“Hey, Glitch? How did you not already know this?” They work so closely together, trusting each other, it’s beyond me that she wouldn’t have already seen his picture or that they wouldn’t have some kind of clue about her past.

“We don’t talk about our shit here. It’s never a thing unless we make it a thing.”

While we stare, unblinking, at the picture that was created from the artificial intelligence and turned out to be spot on, the sound of a team winning on the far side of the room erupts from the speakers.

Meanwhile, Fizz and her step-brother, Harvey, are about to have a family reunion.

Chapter Sixteen

J

“What’s up, Boss?” Fizz has just arrived at the warehouse, her dark curls loose and wild, and I hate that I’m about to dampen her spirit.

Having her step-brother in our custody doesn’t mean good things for him and I’m not sure how she’s going to take it. Still, he hasn’t technically done anything worthy of dying for, and now that we know he’s Fizz’s step-brother, that means he’s family in a way.

How all this goes down from here depends on Fizz.

“I know you have been busy working on other things while we’ve been dealing with the Mr. Wright job, so you won’t be up to date with what we’ve found out so far. Most importantly, that Mr. Wright isn’t his real name.”

“Well, damn. Is it someone we know? SomeoneIknow?” She’s a clever woman, quietly observant, and her being here having this conversation isn’t the norm for these jobs. She usually stays clear of the physical stuff.

“We found an old family photo and Glitch did his tech thing. You’re in the photo, Fizz. His name is Harvey Cook.” I don’t holdback on the information, there’s no reason to do so. We need to move quickly, hope Cook can give us some information on Ronan or any of the other members of the mob, then hurry the fuck up with finding our serial killer.

Fizz’s eyes go wide and her hand flies to her mouth at hearing his name and she immediately reaches for the seat beside her. Luckily, it’s on wheels, because I’m not sure she’d have moved it to her in time to sit on it otherwise. I’m glad for the comfortable office space to have this conversation. It seems the news is harder for Fizz to hear than I could have guessed.

It quickly becomes clear that this isn’t going to be a happy reunion between step-siblings because I can read my crew like a book. She’s silently crying into her palms, shaking her head, her whole body trembling, and I feel awkward as fuck. Everyone knows hugs aren’t my thing, but Fizz is my family and seeing her like this melts a little bit of the ice from my heart.

I move to crouch in front of her, grasping her hands on the side of her face and bringing our heads together.

“Talk to me when you’re ready, Fizz. Take as long as you need, okay?” My words are whispered but firm and she nods gently.

The door bursts open and Crank waltzes in. “When do we get to try and make the fucker talk?” He pauses when he sees me crouching in front of an obviously distressed Fizz and is beside her in a flash. He grips her arm, pulls her up, then sits in her seat and brings her onto his lap, wrapping her in his arms.

I’ve always known these two have a special kind of relationship, but this confirms just how close they are as she nestles into him and begins to sob. He’s ten years younger than her, but it’s not obvious by the way he always takes care of her. He knows more than the rest of us about her past, why she’s not good with jobs that involve kids, so it stands to reason that she’s comfortable in his arms.

“What the fuck happened, Boss?” Cradling her head into his chest, he looks to me, fear and worry in the crinkle of his eyes.

“Mr. Wright is Harvey Cook. Fizz’s step-brother.” I stand and lean against the edge of the desk. This is a handy office space to have at the warehouse. Sure, for conversations like this, but mainly for our don, Marco, to use when he needs to do business unrelated to his hotels.

“I’m gonna kill him.” Crank growls and the hand he was rubbing up and down Fizz’s back turns into a fist.

“No.” Fizz’s voice is quiet and she sniffs before lifting her head to look at him. She sighs heavily then says, “I want to do it.”

The new determination in her soft voice surprises me as much as the words.

“Okay, this got dark real fast. I’m not saying I’m against it, but I kinda need to know why he’s a dead man.” I cross one ankle over the other, getting comfortable for the new information about to hit me, because there’s no way this isn’t a big deal. Fizz may be mafia, but she’s one of the kindest souls I’ve ever known. The fact that she wants her step-brother dead isn’t a simple age-old sibling rivalry.

Sitting up on Crank’s lap, Fizz wipes at her damp, puffy eyes with the sleeve of her olive-green sweater. She doesn’t attempt to move any farther away from him, content to let him keep his arms wrapped around her waist.

I wait patiently for a few minutes while she gathers the energy and courage she needs to tell me what’s going on.

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