It’s not Peter at all.
Harris stares back at me, and as shock washes across my expression, Harris cackles harder.
“What… what the fuck?” I gasp painfully.
23
BRADLEY
“How are you feeling?” Frank smirks at me across the table, clinging to the amusement of the entire situation while I sit with a slightly throbbing headache and an unsettled gut.
“Fine,” I reply stiffly.
“I can tell. Imagine. You finally get laid after years of me telling you to get your dick wet, and she drugs you. And runs. What on earth did you do to the poor girl?”
My eyes narrow. “I’m not against bodily harm in the workplace.”
Frank shoots me a mocking smile that lasts until Raven sighs deeply into her laptop screen, taking all of our attention.
“Did you find something?” I ask.
“She’s finally stopped moving,” Raven replies. “But I don’t see why we couldn’t just pick her up at the diner. Aren’t you working this hard to keep her safe?”
“I am. But she’s running for a reason, and that reason will keep her trying to run until I can nail both of them. If she leads me right to her brother, I can snatch them both up and then we can get to the bottom of this whole mess. Finding that other car and the rest of the diamonds should put everyone to bed happy, don’t you think?”
Raven’s lips purse as she looks up at me from under her sandy lashes. “I like this side of you,” she murmurs. “You seem lighter.”
“Are you sure?” Leaning up from the desk, I lightly ruffle the top of her hair. “I feel heavier.”
“Change is an adjustment,” she replies, her fingers flying across the keys. “But this is a good change.”
“Because he found his heart?” Frank remarks.
I shoot him a warning look wrapped in a good nature born from the years we’ve been friends and accept the piece of paper from Raven that carries her scribbled handwriting.
“This is the address,” Raven replies. “Just a small warning, but that puts you in Russian territory, so make sure you carry your card.”
“Will do. Thank you, Raven. Call me if she moves.”
“Sure.”
Ten minutes later, Frank and I drive toward the address Raven found for us. Tracking Zira’s phone leaves an odd guilty feeling nestled just beneath my ribs. It’s a sensation I’m not used to, but given that it’s the one thing I can do to ensure her safety, and that of her brother, then guilt shouldn’t be factored in.
So why won’t the sensation shift?
Frank drives and I rub at my chest with the heel of my hand.
“You good?” Frank shoots me a glance.
“Yeah, I’m just… dunno. Too much to drink last night, I think.”
“Sure that’s all it is?”
“What else could it be?”
“Well, you opened up to someone for the first time in years. Sure, you could tell yourself it was just sex, but we both know how you feel about that. Casual sex isn’t a thing for you, never has been. Otherwise, Cassian would’ve gotten you laid years ago.”
“I don’t think it’s that serious,” I say while continuing to massage.
