Page 71 of Charge

But that was a small price to pay to see Thea again.

Carter watched me cross the diner and slide in on the other side of him with raised brows. “Gunner called.” He pushed a folder my way. “We have a name. And if everything goes to plan, all of this will be over soon.”

I couldn’t suppress the relieved sigh that escaped me as soon as I sat down. My leg throbbed, and I longed to take one of my painkillers. But they made me drowsy, and not even I was stupid enough to take them and then drive a car.

Eager to find out what they’d found, I opened the folder. The first photo showed chain-link tattoo guy, and it had a name scribbled at the bottom. Mikhail Volkov. The next page explained why he had so many resources and left no traces. He was the Russian bratva boss’s brother. And Aleksándr Volkov was one of the most powerful men in Chicago.

My head snapped up, my eyes meeting Carter’s. He looked as worried as I felt.

If they wanted to get to Thea, they would do whatever they had to. They didn’t care about casualties. They didn’t care about consequences. No matter what they had to do to achieve it, they took what they wanted.

Tapping the folder, I shook my head. “If it’s the Russians, then they’ve been going easy on us. They usually just put a bullet through their problems. Are you sure it’s them?”

Carter raised a brow. “You’re clearly not up-to-date on your society gossip. Aleksándr’s daughter married one of the Olysses boys. And since they’re like royalty in Chicago, the Russians can’t just go around killing things anymore. They have to be more subtle. Hence why it took us so long to figure out who was trying to take us out.”

“Fuck.”

“Yes, it certainly is that. But the good news is they have more to lose than ever before. And we have an ace up our sleeve.”

“Freya.”

Carter grinned. “Freya.”

Freya was engaged to Gunner. She was also an Olysses, and her brothers loved her fiercely. And if we could get the Olysses brothers to put pressure on the Russians, we might be able to walk away from this without more casualties to add to the tally.

“Archer.” Someone whispered my name, and I turned to see Thea standing next to our table. I never knew my name could be said with so much anguish. Or that she’d ever flinch when she looked at me.

Her eyes were dull, lacking their usual spark. She had dark circles under her eyes and she’d piled her usually shiny hair on top of her head in a messy bun. My heart stuttered when I took in her shrinking form and hunched shoulders.

I’d taken too long to get back to her. This was my fault. I hadn’t answered her calls because I didn’t want her to tell me that we were over. I wanted our talk to be in person. But that was a decision I know regretted.

I jumped up, reaching out for her. When she stepped back, my chest felt like someone was standing on it. “Thea.” Her name came out with reverence and worship. But all it did was make her take another step back.

She forced a smile on her face and held up a pen and notepad. “What can I get you?”

Frowning, I took in the apron wrapped around her waist. “Do you work here?”

She looked taken aback for a moment before putting on an indifferent expression again. “Didn’t Carter tell you? I thought that’s why you’re here.”

Turning to the man in question, I tilted my head. “He didn’t. But he insisted on meeting here.”

“So, do you want to order anything?”

Fighting the urge to put my arms around her and never let go, I smiled at her instead. Her face drained of the little color it had left. “A coffee, please.”

Putting her head down, she nodded at the floor. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

I watched her make her way to a table near the bar where a row of coffeepots were lined up, most of them empty. I sat back down, still struggling to get enough air into my lungs. My eyes followed her every movement, my attention focused on the sway of her hips. I watched her brush a strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture achingly familiar.

“You could have fucking warned me,” I growled, my eyes never wavering from Thea. It was almost worse being so close to her again but unable to touch her than not seeing her at all.

“Now where is the fun in that? You should have let me tell her about the accident. But since your stubborn ass refused, this is payback.”

“I didn’t want her to come back to me because she heard I got hurt.” And I didn’t think I would have survived if she hadn’t cared and never shown up. “I wanted her to come back because she wanted to.”

Thea grabbed a few creamers and a pot and made her way back. She didn’t once look at me, her attention focused on the floor in front of her.

She filled my cup, her gaze flitting anywhere but to me. And if it weren’t for the slight tremble of her hands, I would have thought that maybe she wasn’t as affected by my presence as I was by hers.

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