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She looks fucking wrecked. Gorgeous, as per always of course, but tired and as if her spirit’s been shredded by everything that went down yesterday.
I glance at Logan, but he shows no outward sign that he connected with her last night. He’s also not being cold to her though, so that’s something.
“Breakfast?” he asks as he stands and brings his dishes to the sink, not making eye contact with either of us.
It’s not clear whether he’s asking me or Riley, but when she gives a subtle shake to her head, he drops it, so I guess that answers that.
She stands at the counter silently drinking her coffee as Logan and I go over a few more logistics, but not gonna lie, my mind isn’t a hundred percent on it now. Watching the two of them dance around each other takes a chunk out of my attention, and if Riley wasn’t feeling so obviously ragged still, I’d be enjoying the silent drama as each pointedly fails to acknowledge the other.
Something’s there, simmering in the air between them, and I wonder how long it will take before they both admit it.
As for me, I’m done pretending I’m not all-in with Riley. She’s the most amazing woman I know, and it kills me a little to see the toll all this shit is taking on her.
“More coffee?” I ask as she stares down into her empty mug.
“No,” she says, not moving. She still seems a bit numb, but thankfully not as fucking catatonic as she was yesterday.
I take the mug out of her hands and set it onto the counter, pulling her into my arms. She doesn’t resist, and when I bury my face in her hair and breathe in that spice-and-smoke scent I’m already fucking addicted to, she wraps her arms around me.
“This isn’t over yet,” I promise, liking the way she clings to me more than I’ll ever admit.
Logan meets my eyes over the top of her head, the look a silent vow that he’s backing that statement up. He turns away to take her mug to the sink as Maddoc comes in.
“We need to go over plans for the day,” Madd says in lieu of a greeting, his eyes skating over Riley with a depth of worry I’d be shocked if he let himself voice aloud.
Something unexpected warms inside me at the solidarity I feel with my brothers upon seeing that. Logan, Maddoc, and I have a bond that goes deeper than any I’d imagined ever finding anywhere else in this life, but with Riley as a touchstone for all of us, what was already solid becomes something even more.
Riley stays pressed against me as Logan brings both of us up to speed on a few things, including a reply he got from the Scorpions.
“Miguel doesn’t have anything on Chloe,” he says. The mention of her sister’s name makes Riley tense in my arms as he adds, “But he’s making some noise about the warehouse fire that went down on Grandview the other day.”
Maddoc makes a note of it. Finding Chloe is our priority, but that doesn’t mean we can let the rest of our business slide. I frankly don’t know what the fuck we’re gonna do now that Madd’s taken the girl’s inheritance off the table. I don’t disagree, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re going to have to find another way to put McKenna and his people down for good.
But first things first. I can tell Riley’s following the conversation even though she doesn’t participate, and we strategize some options we haven’t exercised yet on putting pressure on some key players for more information. With Sutton taken out and all that implies, we need to go flat out to get ahead of McKenna’s crew on this.
Halfway through our planning situation, Maddoc gets a call. I see Shae’s name on his screen before he swipes to accept the call. Shae is one of the gang members we assigned to keep an eye on West Point last night, and after sharing a pointed glance with me and Logan, Maddoc throws it on speaker.
“Got something, boss,” Shae says, the sound of traffic behind him. “Those weasels you put me on last night are on the move.”
“Are you still near Falls Court?” Maddoc asks, naming a section of the city where territory is contested.
“Yeah,” Shae says, confirming it. “They’ve got no legit reason to have so many of their crew here, and there’s too much sudden activity to be business. Something’s going down.”
“Does it have to do with my sister?” Riley blurts, finally stirring to attention.
The phone goes silent. I know Shae doesn’t recognize Riley’s voice or trust that he can disclose Reaper business in front of her, but Maddoc sets him straight.
“Report, Shae. Are they going after Chloe?”
“I’ve heard some noise, yeah,” Shae answers slowly. “Sounds like West Point has a new lead on where she’s been holed up. They’re on the move now, headed over to the Rand District.” Maddoc’s phone beeps. “Just sent you the cross streets they mentioned, boss. I don’t know that area well—”
“A lot of abandoned buildings there,” Logan murmurs, tapping away at his own phone and no doubt making it give up secrets the rest of us would never manage to pull out of the ethers.
“Have you got eyes on them now?” Maddoc asks as the background sounds change, becoming muffled.
Shae must have gotten in his car.
“Yeah,” he confirms.
