Page 62 of Wilde and Deadly

Beside him, Sullivan shook his head in disbelief. “It’s a ballsy move.”

“That’s one word for it.” Davey wanted a beer, but settled for a water. He turned and offered one to Rowan, tossing it to her when she nodded. Then he grabbed one for himself and shut the fridge.

“The contract on Davey came through a brokerage firm,” Rowan explained to the room. “Kryos Solutions. I’ve done work for them before, but I didn’t know until recently Atlas Frost owns Kryos.”

Dominic sat back in his seat and blew out a breath. “Well. Fuck.”

Sullivan frowned. “Isn’t Frost an ally?”

“Wouldn’t go that far,” Davey said. “He’s a… necessary evil.”

Benji let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, a necessary evil who’s gonna bury us all if we don’t play our cards right.” He glanced at Rowan, then back at Davey. “Look, I got access to some of Frost’s financial records. And I’m talking deep, dark, off-the-books transactions. The kind that’d make even a crooked Fed blush. The kind that gets guys like you killed and guys like me chopped into bitty pieces and thrown into the East River.”

Davey took a long swig of water, his mind racing. “And you think those transactions connect to the contract on me?”

“I’d bet my last bitcoin on it,” Benji said.

Elliot groaned softly and pinched the bridge of his nose like he had a headache. “Frost has been playing both sides for years, but it’s doubtful he put out the hit himself. He’s just the middleman.”

“So who’s pulling his strings?” Brody asked the room.

A beat of silence.

Finally, Benji lifted a shoulder. “Hard to say. Money comes in, and Frost hands it out for all sorts of shady shit. Mercenaries, weapons, tech that’s not even on the market yet. And he has a big chunk of change coming in from a company called Praetorian Holdings.”

Elliot straightened and grabbed his tablet. “Praetorian? Why does that sound familiar?”

“Because we’ve run into them before,” Liam said, finally opening his eyes and pushing away from the wall. “They’re mercenaries. They were involved in that clusterfuck in Kyrgyzstan.”

He didn’t have to specify which op. They all already knew exactly which he was talking about: the one that killed Brennan.

Silence settled over the room like a heavy fog. No one moved. No one spoke. Brennan’s absence was a wound that had never fully healed, a scar that still ached when pressed.

Davey exhaled slowly, the sound sharp in the stillness.

Dom shifted on his feet, restless energy vibrating the air around him. The guy hated silence. Usually, he’d crack a joke, flash that easy grin, or do something to shake off the tension. But not this time. Instead, he wore the doleful expression of a dog who didn’t understand why his favorite person wasn’t coming home.

Elliot sat unnaturally still, fingers curled against the edge of his tablet like he wanted to break it in half.

Liam just stood there, arms crossed, expression unreadable. He didn’t move, didn’t speak, but the tension rolling off him said enough. He felt it, same as the rest of them. He just wouldn’t let it show.

Even Sabin, who could joke his way out of anything, just stared at the floor, jaw locked tight.

Brennan should be here.

He’d be pacing, already three steps ahead of the problem, flipping through possibilities in that sharp, calculating way of his. He’d crack some dry remark just to break the tension, maybe nudge Davey’s shoulder and say, “We’ll handle it.”

But he wasn’t here.

All they had was the hollow space where he should be and the questions about his death that never stopped haunting them.

Davey set his water bottle down on the counter with a thud. “So, what are you saying? That Praetorian put out the hit on me?”

Benji shrugged. “I’m just telling you what I know, man. Frost and Praetorian are in bed together. Praetorian doesn’t like you, and someone wants you dead.” He started pacing, clutching his hoodie like it might somehow shield him from all the wrong choices that had landed him here. “You do the math.”

Elliot finally spoke, his voice level but edged with something sharp. “Then we need to talk to Frost.”

Dom blew out a breath. “Well, that sounds like fun.”

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