Page 11 of Gilded Caresses

Those sharp eyes narrow in on me and I feel like I’m a bug under a magnifying glass. “I do remember. The new Genesis undertaker. Dragon had good things to say about you.”

My phone pings again but I ignore Belle’s text bubble and take the much larger offered hand.

“I highly doubt Dragon had anything nice to say about me.”

Just like when I met his club brother, I get the sense this man is just as hard-core and direct. Callused fingers wrap around my hand and quiet strength radiates from his touch. Firm, but not punishing. Not soft. There’s nothingsoftabout him or the Savages.

Harlon moves in front of me as his guest takes up the space beside him.

“I heard you are the one who can help me find my wife.”

There’s a level of hope in his rough tone that makes me nervous. It makes me feel like Genesis is all he has left. That is never a good sign.

“Let’s see about that, shall we? Follow me.”

I lead the way to the back where I can tap into the database of runners. Each one has a specialty skill. Very rarely is retrieval the name of the game and I have learned that there are some names on my list who stick to the rules of the contract and others who play it loose.

“Are you sure she wants to be found, Mr…?”

“Just Riot, Ms. Constantine. And I’m not too sure about anything. I’ve never hunted a ghost before.”

I gesture to a leather chair opposite my large horseshoe booth where my computer and additional monitors are set up. A few clicks and I have my system humming.

Cassius and Santi seem to have disappeared. They are probably on their way down to the basement tohave a talkwith Snake Eyes and his apparent buddies.

“Ghost hunting isn’t our thing. Who exactly are we looking for?” Harlon and the men don’t like me asking bonus questions, but this isn’t the typical job.

I look to my cousin who stands nearby watching his friend.

“My wife, like I said.” Two fingers push a picture across the dark wood of my desk. A pretty brunette stares back at me. She’s leaning into Riot, her arms wrapped around his neck. Tattered edges tell me this picture has lived in his wallet for a very long time.

“Why are you not going to the cops with this instead?”

“You ask a lot of questions. Just take my money and let’s get on with this.”

“Yes, but valid ones. Understand that I’m just trying to help. Lost and found isn’t our usual bag of tricks. The more you give me the better Genesis can help.”

Harlon leans his hands on the table, palms open. “I know this isn’t the easiest, my friend.” He clasps a hand over the other guy’s thick shoulder. “Fill Sapphire in on the details of the contract and come find me downstairs when you finish. We’ll get shit-faced and then get you a private room upstairs so you can conduct your business. Remember Genesis is neutral ground. You can relax here.”

Riot takes Harlon’s hand and I see something pass between them. Understanding.

Harlon recently lost a wife. Someone special he shared with Santi and Cassius. It was an unorthodox relationship no one in our family accepted.

Except me. I was the only one who encouraged him to seek love wherever he found it. For a while he was living his best life. I thought maybe he would even dismantle the Constantine empire when his father went away to prison and find some cabin and just be happy.

Wishful thinking on my part. In his line of work, retiring is as rare as unicorns.

I thought I saw a glimmer of hope with their new secretary, Polaris. But my imagination of them finding a new start with the pretty raven-haired woman might be just that—a figment of fantasy on my part.

Maybe the men just need more time. It’s been close to two years since their wife was kidnapped and murdered, yet all three still wear their wedding bands as if they expect their dead wife towalk through Genesis’ doors any minute. A detail Polaris is all too aware of, yet I hope for all of them they find a way to act on the stolen glances I catch between them and Polaris.

They have all suffered lately and from the look in his eyes, Riot seems just as lost. The lack of life behind such thick lashes is telling and familiar. It takes everything I have to not bring my issues into this situation. The lack of love and support is a running theme tonight.

Unlike the other levels, on this floor, we don’t have any music piping through speakers to help dull the silence. So when I say it’s quiet enough that I can hear the enamel on Riot’s back molars crack after Harlon exits the floor, I mean it.

“We are usually the last option, not the first. Are you sure you want to take this route, Riot? These runners. They are not the gentle touch type you might be looking for or hoping for anyway.”

“I’m here because Genesis is the last place I saw her alive. The cops have no reason to open her case back up after finding her charred remains in the middle of my living room.”

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