Page 13 of Razor
But she knew where she stood with Razor—he was using her because she was the closest warm-bodied, willing woman. Once they were free of this mess, he’d find his way back to his life with Violet, and she’d have to rebuild a life of her own, and now that plan involved a family.
Razor
Honestly, Razor wasn’t sure when he had spent a more perfect afternoon. Ella had made them all lunch, and then, he and Violet challenged her to a game of Uno. He knew that Ella wouldn’t back down from a challenge, but what she didn’t know was that his daughter was a cutthroat Uno player.
They were making evening plans that involved takeout and watching a movie, and he did not doubt that he’d end up watching a princess movie once again. That worked for him, really. He loved the way that Violet giggled when he’d protest having to sit through another girly movie. Honestly, it was the highlight of his day, spending time with his little princess, and now Ella.
They had all quickly adapted to having to stay at the safehouse for a bit longer, with the price that the Devils had put on Ella’s head. He thought that Violet would give him grief about not being able to go to school with her friends, but she seemed to understand the danger that they were all in, even without him having to say those words out loud. He knew that Ella worried that the Devils were going to be able to track her down and takeher again—not that he’d ever let that happen. He’d die first, and this time, when the Devils came for them, he'd be right by his woman’s side, protecting her and his daughter. Those assholes would never take what belonged to him—and whether or not Ella knew it, she belonged to him now. If he was being honest with himself, she had been since their first night together before they had to go on the run from the Devils.
His phone chimed just as he laid down a draw four card, and Ella groaned. “Sorry,” he said, pulling his cell from his pocket. He checked the name on the ID and saw Spade’s name. His partner had been checking in daily to give him updates so that he’d be able to stay connected with the Road Reapers and what was going on. Mace and some of the Blaine brothers had started looking into the Devils, even though Razor had asked them not to. He was a Detective, and if he wanted to do some snooping around, he knew that he wouldn’t go and do something like get himself killed. Not that the Blaine brothers weren’t equipped to handle just about every situation tossed their way. Two of the brothers were ex-military, and they all owned a security agency in town. They were all very capable, but he worried that one of them would go and get themselves killed, and that would gut him. They were his brothers, and while they would do anything to help him out, he’d do the same for any of them in return.
He stood from the table and looked down to find two very disappointed females staring back at him. “I’ve got to take this—it’s Spade. I’ll be quick since he just wants to text.” It was strange that his friend didn’t want to give him a quick call. Spade wasn’t much of a texter, but then again, if he was undercover, he might not be able to call.
“Can’t Uncle Spade wait?” Violet asked.
“I’m afraid not, sweety. You know that Uncle Spade is trying to help us out so that we can all go back home, right?” Razor asked.
“Yeah, I just want to finish the game. I’ve got really good cards,” Violet announced.
He and Ella both chuckled, and Razor nodded at his daughter. “How about you keep a tight hold on those cards and I’ll be as fast as humanly possible, deal?” he asked. His daughter looked him over suspiciously, and he knew that she had her doubts, even though she quickly nodded her agreement.
“Sorry,” he said to Ella.
“Don’t worry about us girls,” she said. “We’ll just be here looking at all of your cards,” she teased. This time, it was Violet’s turn to laugh at the two of them.
“Suit yourself, but I have to warn you that my cards are not as good as my daughters.” There, that should throw them off his scent for at least a few minutes. Plus, he pocketed his cards without either of them noticing and was confident that they wouldn’t be able to follow through with their threat.
His phone chimed again with another text message from Spade before he even got into the other room. If he was sending multiple texts so quickly, then something had to be wrong. And right now, Razor couldn’t handle something going wrong without a cup of coffee, so he tossed the phone back to the table, stood, and crossed the room to pour himself a cup. He didn’t care that the coffee machine kept percolating and spilled coffee over the base. He needed his caffeine because he knew Spade well enough to know that he’d keep texting until Razor responded.
He sat down with his mug of coffee and sipped at the dark liquid that was slowly giving him the courage that he needed to face Spade’s messages. When he was almost finished, he put themug down and sighed, knowing that he still might need a few minutes to decompress. Their day had been so perfect, a part of him wanted to toss his phone out the window and pretend that nothing could be wrong, but he knew better.
He opened the message, giving up the fight to procrastinate, and saw the “911” message that Spade had left twice. It was how they let the other know that something was wrong and the other was in danger. That was all there was. No other message from his friend, and that had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. It wasn’t like Spade, but his friend usually didn’t get himself into too much trouble. That was usually Razor’s job.
Razor looked at his phone, one last time, hoping that another message had come through, but there was none. Just the “911” code that Spade had left minutes before. Just as he was about to give up hope, another message came through from Spade, this time with a time and place he wanted to meet. He ended his text with, “Don’t tell anyone that you are meeting me.” Yeah, that was the thing that threw him off the most. Spade was a stickler for protocol, making sure that they always had back up, but if he couldn’t tell anyone about his message, they would be on their own—and that never ended well for either of them. Unfortunately, Razor was going to have to wait to meet Spade downtown at seven, because those were his instructions—whether he liked them or not.
Razor was just going to have to find a way to get through most of the day without acting too suspiciously around Ella. If Spade didn’t want him to tell anyone about their meeting, he’d have to trust his partner and follow his rules. He was going to have to lie to Ella and pretend that everything was great for the rest of the day, even if it wasn’t.
After they had dinner, Violet ran back to her room to grab her favorite princess movie, and Razor knew that was his chance totell Ella that he had to step out. The only problem was, he was going to have to bring himself to lie to her. He had run through every scenario, and they all led him to one outcome—he’d have to tell her as little truth about where he was going and what he’d be doing. From the beginning, she had asked to be part of the decision-making, and he agreed. But now it was different. There was no decision for her to be a part of this time. He was going to meet Spade, and she’d have to stay at the safehouse with Violet, even if he hated leaving them both behind.
Getting out of the house wasn’t easy. Violet told him that he was the meanest daddy on the planet for not staying home to watch a movie with her and Ella. And the look on Ella’s face when he came up with the lame ass excuse of having to run into town to grab a few groceries, nearly broke him. He could see in her eyes that she knew he was lying, but she didn’t confront him or ask him a million questions. Instead, she tried to comfort Violet by telling her that they’d still have a special night and even make some popcorn. His daughter didn’t seem to be appeased by Ella’s offer, but he appreciated her efforts.
Razor promised them that he’d be back as quickly as possible and kissed them both goodbye, not taking the time to look back at either of them. He knew what he’d see staring back—their disappointment, and he couldn’t take that right now. No, right now, he needed to get to Spade and find out what the hell was going on. Then, he’d find a way to apologize to Ella for lying to her and hope like hell that she’d be able to forgive him.
He knew that he could be walking straight into a trap, but he had no choice. He needed to check out what Spade needed from him and why he had sent the 911 message to him—twice. He just hoped like hell that not calling in back right away didn’t turn out to be his biggest mistake yet.
Razor drove to the abandoned warehouse and cut off his headlights, parking on the side of the building where there wasno door. He didn’t want anyone to come out of there, surprising him while he assessed the situation, but his best laid plans didn’t go as he would have liked. Four guys stepped out of the shadows and surrounded him before he could even get to the back of the building to find a way in.
“I told you that he’d show up,” one of the guys spat. “Stealing his partner's phone really paid off.” Shit—he was right to think that he could be walking into a setup. He was, and now, he wondered if Spade had any idea what was going on. He was a fool for not telling anyone where he was going or calling Spade back to confirm the details of their meeting. He knew better, but lately, his training seemed to fly right out the window when it came to taking care of Ella and Violet. Maybe his Captain was right—he was too close to the situation and taking the lead on the case might have been a grave miscalculation.
“So, I take it that my partner isn’t here then?” he asked. He needed to buy himself some time to figure out his next move, but his new friends didn’t seem to want to stand around and talk. Two of the guys jumped him, and before he knew it, they knocked him to the ground, his head hitting the pavement. His vision went blurry, and the curses that were running through his head weren’t making it out of his mouth. Something was wrong—very wrong, but there was nothing that he could do to stop it from happening. Razor’s world went dark, and the last faces he saw before that happened were Ella’s and Violet’s. And all he could do was say a prayer that they’d be okay without him, because he was pretty sure that there would be no coming back from where he was going.
Razor woke to the laughter of the men he had found standing around him. They were two of the same guys who had jumped him outside. He wondered where the other two had gone and felt sick to his stomach at the thought of them finding Violet and Ella. He was bound to a chair, and every time he strained to get up or free himself, his head hurt like a son of a bitch. He probably had a concussion, but that looked like it was going to be the least of his worries once the assholes standing in front of him got done questioning him.
They took turns hitting him until he had forgotten whose turn was next. They taunted him, telling him that he needed to give up the safehouse’s location, but he knew better than to give them that information. Razor looked up at the guy who had just landed the last blow to his jaw. He wouldn’t let the asshole know that he had probably broken it. Hell, he didn’t want to let either of the guys who were beating the hell out of him know that he was about ready to give up. He was though, and just a few more hits to the face would have him telling them everything that they wanted to know.
“You can’t hide our property away from us forever, Razor. You remember what happened to your wife, I’m sure,” the guy sneered. “You wouldn’t want us to have to pay your daughter a visit, now, would you?” Razor struggled in the chair, pulling at the bindings that held his hands behind his back. There was no way that he’d let them near Violet or Ella, but that was big talk for a man who was tied to a chair with what was probably a dislocated shoulder and broken jaw.
“See now, I think that you got his attention, Eddie,” the other guy said. They both chuckled, and God, he wanted to wipe the smiles right off their faces. The only way that he’d be able to do that now was if Spade somehow showed up to help him out. He had texted him when he left the house, but knowing now that the Devils had his partner’s phone left him with little hope of everbeing found. Hell, for all he knew, the Devils had Spade too—and then they’d both be fucked.
