Page 38 of Reid's Fixation
She gently rubbed them free and he let out a deep breath. When she was done, his shoulder wasn’t as tight.
And she helped him put his sleep sling on and then curled up next to him.
He finally shut his eyes, as the pain slowly ebbed away as the pills took effect.
And then sleep overtook him.
* * *
When he woke in the morning, Mila was gone, but had left him a note telling him to call her when he could. That she would be at work.
He rolled to a sitting position and his phone rang, and when he looked down at it, it was Xavier.
“Hey there man. What’s going on?”
Xavier whispered into the phone, “Are you alone?”
Reid looked down at his phone, shocked, “Yes, what’s up X?”
Xavier let out a breath, “Listen, Kian was shot last night. He is fine, but he ended up killing Karalee’s mom’s boyfriend. Cazair wasn’t happy with us being involved and I think I know why.”
Reid felt his eyebrows dip, “Kian is okay? What the fuck X? You can’t call me and tell me my little brother was shot and then act like it wasn’t a big deal.”
X let out another breath, “I am sorry Reid. Really, I am. But he is fine. It was a through and through in his shoulder. And he took two in the chest, but he was wearing his vest. He is a little bruised, but he is fine. Really.”
Reid let out a breath of his own, standing, and pacing, “Fine. Fuck, my ma is going to freak.” He shook his head, “What did you find?”
“Mark is on to us. He knows we have been looking into him and he isn’t happy about it. I found so much more than you realized and damn it Reid, it’s not pretty. I need to show you everything I found.”
Reid felt his eyebrows climb high on his head, “Can you turn on the video on your phone?”
“Yes, I can. Hang on,” then Reid was getting the message on his phone that Xavier was trying to video call.
He accepted and Xavier’s face filled the screen. “Hey. Okay, listen. You might not want to hear this, and I am scared of telling you. Honestly. But Mark was the reason you sent Nikolai to prison. Nikolai was just trying to not get killed and it was because of Mark’s command that he almost was.”
Reid felt the color drain from his face, “Oh my god. No.”
Xavier nodded, “Yes. I found all these files in a hidden nook in Mark’s desk. He doesn’t know I know about those, but he knows I have been looking into Nikolai and trying to get Nikolai out. He doesn't like it. And damn it, I don’t know what to do. How far this goes. I know that Mark has his fingers in a lot of different pies, but I don’t know the full extent of it. I do know that he was trying to frame Nikolai for months and using you to do it.”
Reid sat down hard on the edge of his bed. “Reid, listen, I am scared. And worried about what is going to happen to us if we let this information be seen. I want to send it to Nikolai, but I don’t know how to.”
Reid pinched the bridge of his nose, “I don’t either. Nikolai tried so hard to talk to me and Mark wouldn’t let it happen. I don’t know if I would be welcomed by his family now. Or his other enforcers. Dmitri would be pissed if I contacted him.”
Xavier sighed, “But Reid, he is in jail for nothing he did. Mark put him in there for a reason and I don’t like it. Nikolai was only trying to keep his family from harm, and I know Mark had a hand in getting people killed.”
Reid nodded, “I know he did too. Shit. Shit shit!”
He stood, needing to be up. He paced back and forth. “I’m not in the shape to be traveling and it isn’t easy right now. I will do my best to call Dmitri, but I don’t know what I can do. Send me everything you have to my other phone. I still have it.”
Xavier nodded, “I think I am going to take some vacation days and head your way. I have a bad feeling about all of this. It’s too much of a coincidence that Kian was shot after coming back. That he didn’t deserve it. Something fishy is going on. I need your brain to help me figure it out.”
Reid nodded, “I know. Let me call Dmitri and be safe. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Please. Don’t bring attention to yourself if you don’t have to.”
Xavier winced, “I kinda told Mark that I would quit if I couldn’t help Kian. So um, there is that.”
“FUCK! X, we don’t need Mark onto us. Not yet. We have to figure it out first.”
Xavier growled, “I know that Reid. I didn’t want to, but I just couldn’t let Kian walk into that situation alone. I wasn’t going to do that.”
