Page 27 of A Life Betrayed

“Heat’s broken.”

He raised a hand to Rayan’s cheek. It was like ice. “Why didn’t you go somewhere else—a hotel, for Christ’s sake?”

Rayan said nothing. They both knew how easy that would be to track.

Mathias saw the skittish glint in his eyes and the way he hunched forward, hands tucked under his arms. This was the version of the man who’d spent nights sleeping on the street, the rest of him retreating within—a well-worn survival mechanism. Mathias had seen snatches of this person before, when Rayan shuddered awake in the middle of the night, his hands clawing at the sheets.

On the wall, the thermostat had been smashed in and hung by a loose wire. Mathias bent to run a hand along the radiator and found it cold to the touch. “Wonderful. Where’d you find this place?”

“Stayed here sometimes when we had the cash.”

Mathias stepped into the tiny kitchenette and turned on the hot tap. He waited, but the water didn’t warm.

Rayan sat down at the counter opposite, watching him. “It’s changed.”

“The city or this hole?” Mathias asked, shutting off the tap.

“The city. I got off the bus and couldn’t remember where I was.”

Mathias fixed him with a careful stare. “What happened, Rayan?”

“They’re watching me, the apartment. One of them ambushed me on the way home.”

Mathias swallowed the bitter rush of fury.

“The woman knew who I was, knew everything about me, my—” He stopped abruptly and looked away.

“Frances Allen. She’s RCMP.”

“You knew about this?” Rayan asked, his eyes snapping back, incredulous.

“I didn’t know they’d followed me to you,” Mathias said tightly.How did she figure it out?He’d made efforts to ensurethat all trace of Rayan’s involvement in the family had been erased.

“I don’t think she knew about…” They exchanged a look. “Only that I worked for you.”

That had been Mathias’s impression as well. The woman seemed to think he’d sent Rayan as some envoy to spearhead a new family operation in Toronto. It was ridiculous but far preferable to her knowing the truth.

“If they think they can use me to get to you, they can get fucked.” Rayan’s voice was hard, and his eyes shone with anger. “I’m not afraid of prison.”

Mathias knew what Rayan was trying to do. Before him, he saw a kid who’d finally been given the chance to figure out what he wanted and deserved the years that stretched ahead to make up for the shitty ones he’d left behind. He wouldn’t let Rayan throw that away—least of all on his account.

“You should be,” Mathias warned in a low voice. “But that’s not going to happen, understand?”

While Rayan didn’t look entirely convinced, he gave a short nod. “Were you careful?” he asked with a pensive frown. “Did you drive here?”

“I’m not an amateur. I took the metro.”

Rayan raised his eyebrows. “Things really must be bad.”

Mathias snorted, secretly pleased at the smile that flickered across Rayan’s face. “Speaking of bad, you’re not staying here,” he said, glancing at the stained yellow curtains hanging limply from the rod above the window. He reached into his pocket, pulled one of the keys from his keychain, and handed it to Rayan across the counter. “I keep a small apartment off Beaubien.”

“This is new.”

“This is careful,” he said pointedly. “After Piero, I figured it couldn’t hurt. Make your own way there. Use the entrancearound back. Once you’re in, don’t go anywhere. I’ll stop by later tonight to drop off food.”

Before she kissed them goodnight as children, Rayan’s mother would say, “I hope you wake up to all the good.”

That was her wish for him and his brother—a good life, different from the one of pain and loss that she’d left behind. Rayan wondered if her dogged pursuit of this for them had been at the cost of her own happiness. He couldn’t remember much good befalling her in the short time they’d known each other. Maybe he and Tahir had been her good, although even they hadn’t been enough in the end.

---