Page 56 of Off the Ice

“That’s not good enough,” I pressed, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. “You’ve gotta give me something.”

Darren exhaled shakily, his voice barely more than a whisper. “They called me.”

My stomach twisted. “What?”

“Right before the article went live.” He swallowed hard. “A blocked number. Said they knew I’d talked. That it was too late.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

“And then?”

“Then they said I should be careful.” Darren’s words came out brittle, like they hurt to say. “That accidents happen all the time.”

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my pulse hammering in my ears. This wasn’t just a warning. This was a fucking threat.

By the time we pulled up to my building, Darren looked like he was running on fumes. I got him inside, steering him toward the couch. He sank onto it without a word, his body sagging like he couldn’t hold himself up anymore.

“You’re staying here,” I said, my voice leaving no room for argument. “At least until we figure this out.”

Darren nodded numbly, but the exhaustion in his face told me everything I needed to know. He was wrecked—physically, mentally, emotionally. I turned away, pressing a hand to my forehead, my thoughts spiraling. Someone had tipped them off before the article even dropped. Someone inside the Hellblades had warned the syndicate. I had no idea who I could trust.

And if we didn’t figure it out fast, Darren wasn’t going to be the only one in danger.

Ava

I had a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. The kind that settled low in my stomach, making my chest feel too tight, my breath too shallow. I told myself Darren had just needed space, that after everything, disappearing for a little while made sense. But that wasn’t true, and I knew it. Darren vanishing wasn’t just panic. It wasn’t just guilt. It was something worse. And it was my fault.

I paced the length of my apartment, gripping my phone so hard my fingers ached. When Jake answered, his voice was dry, laced with exhaustion and the familiar exasperation he reserved just for me.

“You still tracking Riker’s accounts?” I asked, skipping any pretense of small talk.

Jake sighed. “Do I even have a choice? I assume you’re calling because something’s wrong.”

“Darren’s missing,” I said, the words rushing out too fast. “Logan and the team are looking, but… I don’t think he just ran. I think heknewsomething.”

Jake muttered a curse under his breath. I heard the faint rustle of paper, then the clatter of a keyboard as he started typing. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“Probably,” I admitted. “What have you found?”

There was a pause. The sound of keys clicking filled the silence, a steady rhythm that sent my anxiety spiking with every passing second. Then—

“Oh, shit.”

The bottom dropped out of my stomach. “What?”

“There’s movement in Riker’s accounts.”

A cold sweat broke out along the back of my neck. “What do you mean, movement?”

“I mean money, Ava.” Jake’s voice sharpened, losing its usual teasing edge. “New deposits. Like,activeones. Whoever was paying him before? They haven’t stopped. The pattern is the same—laundered through a couple of shell companies, filtered offshore, but the timestamps… These are fresh. This isn’t just old dirt. This is happeningright now.”

I gripped the edge of my kitchen counter, trying to steady myself as my thoughts raced. If Riker had been cut loose, if he was already out, then why was the money still moving? The syndicate should have been scrambling, covering their tracks. Instead, they were still running the same plays, barely changing the system at all. Like they weren’t worried. Like theyknewthey didn’t have to be.

Then it hit me.

“They knew,” I whispered, my mouth suddenly dry.

Jake hesitated. “What?”

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