Page 8 of Viking
Kris had trusted him.Trusted him enough to send me -- to send Athena -- to him for protection.That had to mean something.
I picked up the phone, my heart hammering in my chest, and dialed the number before I could lose my nerve.As it rang, I glanced toward the hallway where Athena slept, reminding myself why I was doing this.Not for me.Not even for Kris.For her.
The phone rang once, twice, three times.I held my breath, suddenly terrified of who might answer, what I would say, how my life might change with this single call.
On the fourth ring, someone picked up.
Chapter Three
Viking
I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead, probably leaving a streak of grease in its place.The motor in front of me had been giving me grief for three hours, but I was close to beating it into submission.Something about the rhythm of working with my hands, the smell of oil and metal, settled me in a way nothing else could.The compound was quiet today -- most of the brothers out on a run or handling business.Just me and my thoughts and this stubborn piece of machinery that refused to cooperate.
“Viking!”
I ignored the shout, tightening a bolt with more force than necessary.Whoever it was could wait until I finished this part.
“Viking!Man, you gotta come!”The workshop door banged open, and Jed, one of our newest Prospects, stood panting in the doorway.His eyes were wide, his cut still looking stiff and new on his shoulders.
“What?”I didn’t bother to hide my irritation.“I’m in the middle of something here.”
“There’s someone at the gate asking for you,” Jed said, shifting his weight from foot to foot.“By name.Your real name, not your road name.”
That got my attention.Not many people knew me as Lief Hansen anymore.I set down my wrench and reached for the rag hanging from my back pocket.
“Who is it?”I asked, wiping grease from my hands.
“A woman.Redhead.Pretty, but looks like she’s been crying.”Jed’s eyes darted away, then back.“Said her name’s Karoline Kringle.”
My hands stilled on the rag.Karoline Kringle.Little Kringle.Kris’s baby sister.I hadn’t seen her in -- hell, I wasn’t even sure how long it had been.Years.The last time had been Christmas at the Kringle house, before everything got complicated.
“You know her?”Jed asked, watching my face.
“Yeah,” I said, already moving toward the door.“I know her.”
The walk from my workshop to the front gate wasn’t long, but it gave me time to wonder what the hell could bring Karoline here, to a place she’d never been, to see someone she hadn’t spoken to in years.Nothing good, that was certain.Kris would never have sent his sister to find me unless something was seriously wrong.
I rounded the corner of the clubhouse and froze.There she was, standing on the other side of the gate, her copper hair catching the afternoon sunlight.But this wasn’t the gangly twelve-year-old who used to trail after Kris and me with that shy smile.This wasn’t even the awkward teenager who’d blushed every time I looked her way.
This was a woman.Grown.Beautiful in a way that hit me square in the chest.
Her face was pale beneath her freckles, her eyes, rimmed with red, were shadowed with exhaustion.Her hands clutched her purse like it contained all she had left in the world.Something about the lost look on her face made my gut tighten.
“Lief?”Her voice carried across the distance between us, uncertain but hopeful.
I moved toward the gate, gesturing for the Prospect standing guard to step aside.Up close, the changes in her were even more apparent.Her face had lost its childish roundness, revealing elegant cheekbones and a determined chin.Her eyes held a weariness that hadn’t been there before.But the spattering of freckles across her nose -- those were the same.
“Little Kringle,” I said, the old nickname slipping out without thought.“What are you doing here?”
Her eyes welled with tears that she quickly blinked away.“I need your help.Kris told me to find you.”
Something cold settled in my stomach.Kris and I hadn’t spoken directly in since he’d gone deeper into classified work.But we had channels, ways of getting messages to each other when necessary.The fact that he’d sent Karoline to me in person…
“Let her in,” I told the Prospect, who hesitated, glancing between us.
“You sure, man?She’s not --”
“I said let her in.”My voice hardened, and he hurried to unlock the gate.
