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RIDLEY
Gambit has been avoiding me, and we never had our talk about Franci. Ever since that day outside Erika’s place, Franci has been distant. I’m going to kill him if he hurt my daughter. When I pull up to the property, I see the bikes lining the front of the building. It’s an old warehouse with a bar on the main floor.
I park my truck and get out. I’m in black jeans so I don’t stick out so much. Babushka is with Erika and Franci, who got out of her classes for the week so she could spend more time with the family. Babushka heads back to Vegas on Wednesday. I’m greeted at the door by a big guy who looks me up and down. Even though it’s a Monday night, this place is hopping.
“Nope, she’s not for you Grim,” Gambit says as he walks up.
I hold my anger in, knowing if I attack him right here and now, I’ll get jumped. He leads me to his office. As soon as the door closes behind me, my fist flies out. I nail him in the side of his face as he’s turning toward me.
“Fuck, Rogue,” he growls and rubs his jaw. But he doesn’t take a shot at me. I clench my fists because I know what that means.
“Don’t make me kill you, Gambit.” I push him. His hands go to my hips, and he pushes me away from him.
“I’m sure if I touched a hair on your head, Leif would break my arm in an armbar,” he says as he goes around his desk. His words have me shaking my head. Leif told me he used to cage fight, but that would mean that Gambit knows of him. “Don’t you know who you’re sleeping with? He was a fighter, recruited by some of the biggest name fighting organizations before he stopped to mark skin and run a club where he whips you.” My back goes straight.
“You following me?” I grit my teeth.
“I follow and check up on anyone near my woman. Now. Now.” He holds up his hands. “I’m giving her time, but I can’t tell you how long that will be.” I watch him as he sits down and leans back in his big leather chair. I take a seat across the desk from him.
“Gavin, she’s only eighteen. She’s had a rough life, and she’s in danger.”
“I know about most of it. I still have some sway with our guys. You should reach out. Commander said he knows about that Thant fucker.”
“How did you know?” I shake my head, confused.
“He couldn’t stop them from loaning you out, but he could keep an eye on you. When you retired right after the mission, we all knew something had to have gone down. You don’t run from anyone. Never have, Rogue. You might have been our intelligence officer, but you know we all could do your job. It didn’t take Browser long to find out about the issue. When it was buried, we thought you’d contact us, but you didn’t. Then whatever happened in Chicago left us all reeling. Why?”
“But I changed my name and everything.” I brush a hand down my face that had to be reconstructed after the attack. I can’t tell him the full truth because he’ll be pissed. I couldn’t lose any more of these men. They were my family.
“I guess Commander said he knew you weren’t dead and was just waiting for you to come out of hiding. None of us knew who you really were, but it all makes sense now. Ridley, you’re just as ruthless as your family. You just turn it on the bad guys. Not the people against your organization. Although I’ve heard rumors about your brothers.”
“The Bratva has nothing to do with this.”
I watch him kick his legs up onto his desk, and he takes a deep breath. “But killing them isn’t the same as what your brothers and their men would do.” He laughs, and I realize my mistake.
“No more.” I stand up. I need to get out of here.
“Don’t even think about it. You can’t take her anywhere I won’t find her. She is mine. Just like you are Leif’s. You just haven’t given into it.” He’s leaned back, acting all relaxed, but both of us know it’s a front. He’s ready, and so am I. “I’ll give her until her birthday, as long as Thant doesn’t find her. Be careful with what you’re doing.”
“How did you know?” How they figured out I was the one killing Thant’s men isn’t possible.
“When operatives start dying, even fucked-up mercenary ones, we pay attention.”
“We?”
“Yeah, Chaos is part of Commander’s team when he needs us.”
“Shit. I should have known. He’ll never let me go.” I reach for the handle of the door, ready to get out of here and figure out my next steps. I don’t want to leave. Leif and I are finally finding a normal. Yes, a normal without the truth, but I can’t risk him too. Thant already has too many people close to me in his scope.
“You think your dad would let you go too? Commander thinks of you as his little sister, just like the rest of us. So, tell me why you’d expect him to walk away. Your own father hasn’t left you ever. No matter how hard you’ve tried.”
I swing around and storm over to the desk. My fingertips land on the surface, and he looks down at them. He knows that if I applied the right pressure, I could be over this desk and in his face instantly. I could have my hands or even my legs around his throat and he’d be begging me for his life.
“You will never mention Vladimir to me again. I walked away from that life, and he hasn’t once tried to contact me.”
He drops his legs to the floor, his heavy boots clumping hard, and I watch as he slowly stands up over me.
“You threatening me, Rogue? You think you can take me on?” He stands to his full six-foot-one height. Over the years, he’s gotten more cut. When we met, we were both stupid eighteen-year-olds. He’s my oldest and dearest friend, and we are both matched up closely.
