Page 119 of The Grief We Hold

“I can’t let them see me.”

I scoff. “So, what you really want ismeto take the risk? Walk into our old house and hope the Bratva aren’t watching it. And if they are, I’m the one who gets hurt or taken or whatever.”

“It’s not like that.”

“And where do I leave Fen while all this happens?”

“With me. He’s my insurance.”

I shake my head. “No. I need you to get out of my house.”

He stands abruptly. “Get Fen out of the bath. We’re leaving now.”

Where are you, Wraith?

The question flits through my mind. Everything is a mess in my head, but I know I need to think clearly if we’re going to get rid of Marco.

And I’ve changed. Because if Wraith’s action to remove him is permanent, I’m not sure I mind.

Marco can’t repeatedly bring danger to Fen and me.

But then, in Marco’s absence, will the Bratva simply keep coming for me in the hope that Marco syphoned money away and hid it with me?

“I need to pack,” I say. “For Fen and me.”

Marco shakes his head. “We’ll drive straight through, and you can grab some more things at the house.”

“It’s a nearly twenty-hour drive. We can’t drive all the way there. And Fen can’t sit in the same clothes for two days.”

“Fine. Grab what you need. But it isn’t everything. A backpack, maybe.”

Marco hasn’t asked how I got here, why Colorado, why this apartment, or how I’ve been making money.

Wraith knows the answers to all those questions.

Marco is so fixated on what he needs from the house that all the other details about life have been utterly overlooked.

His plan doesn’t even make sense. If the safe had that much money in it, he would have taken the funds from it first. And even the best financial wizard would take a while to spin back up the kind of returns he likely needs to pay everyone off.

“Fine,” I concede, like I’m trying to be reasonable. “I’ll pack bags for Fen and me.”

But when I step into Fen’s room, I hope I can stall long enough for Wraith to arrive.

38

WRAITH

When I found Hallie and Lottie, I remember this profound wish that I’d come home to them sooner. It didn’t even matter when the autopsy results showed they’d been dead for practically as long as I’d been out of the house.

This time, I’m taking no chances.

But I know this for sure: if Marco has harmed one hair on either Raven’s or Fen’s head, then he dies.

Fuck, I’m gonna kill him just for scaring the shit out of my woman.

Not one of the five men in the club thought I was overreacting when I received Raven’s message and yelled for them all to get on their bikes.

And while Butcher, Smoke, Catfish, Grudge, and Atom are riding with me, it’s going to be mano-a-mano between me and Marco when I get there.

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