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“Yeah, but I think I’ll continue for a few more years. Then I’ll drop it, promise.”
Quin huffs and steps past Abel, probably going to hunt down Savage. Before I can follow, I hear the jangle of a collar and Pogo barrels into me. I bend down and take him in my arms, rubbing him and talking to him, telling him what a good dog he is while he pants and drools all over me.
“He told me he missed you so much,” Abel says in a sweet voice, making me look up at him and smile.
“Did he?” I look down at Pogo. “I’ll come over more often, I promise.” We both sit just inside the door, talking and loving on Pogo, who’s lying between us, soaking up his rubs. I don’t realize time passed until Savage shouts from the kitchen that dinner is ready. Abel rolls his eyes at his yelling and helps me off the floor. Pogo races off to his other dad, jumping on his leg for attention.
“Red,” Savage says as a greeting as he bends down to pick Pogo up to carry him to the back deck where we’re having dinner. It’s a little chilly outside, but they have these nice heat lamps that make it warm and toasty in our little bubble.
“Hey, Savage. Good to see you,” I reply in a shaky voice, probably sounding like a suck up, but whatever.
Glancing over his shoulder, he gives me a small smirk and I take that as a step in the right direction.
Abel walks over to me and leans in close. “He likes you. He just has a problem expressing his feelings. And realizing he’s allowed to have them.”
“I can hear you, my beauty,” Savage says after he sets Pogo down.
Skipping over to him, Abel hugs Savage from behind. “I know, you grumpy old man. Stop being mean.”
Savage lets out a light, unexpected laugh and turns around to wrap Abel in his arms, then helps him to chair. I walk over to Quin and he kisses my cheek, making me blush before we sit.
After we’re settled and passing around dishes to fill our plates, Abel asks, “Where’s Michael? He said he was coming tonight.”
Quin wipes his mouth with his napkin and answers. “He said he had some last minute invoices to send out and emails to answer.” He sighs and looks at Savage. “I think he feels like he’ll be a fifth wheel since you have Abel and I have Red.”
They keep eye contact for a moment, having a silent conversation that speaks to their years of friendship.
“Next time, we’ll go to your house, then,” Abel proclaims, stabbing a potato. “He can’t run away if he lives there.”
It sucks that Michael feels left out. I hate thinking that me showing up is the reason he can’t hang out with his friends. I’m more than happy to sit in the cabin with Abel and Pogo, talking and watching movies while the three of them hang out. I say as much, much to the surprise of Savage. His eyebrows fly to his hairline. He clears his throat to ask, “You’d do that?”
I shrug. “Well, yeah. I don’t want to be the reason he doesn’t come around.”
“You’re not,” Quin reassures, grabbing my hand and kissing the back of it. I smile at him and go back to eating.
Haltingly, Savage says, “That’s … very kind, Red. And a great idea. Next weekend, then.”
We all agree and I look over at Savage, who gives me a nod and another small smirk.
Dinner is great and we sit outside for about thirty minutes after we’re done just talking and laughing. It’s such a good time that I should have known it was too good to be true.
Quin’s phone rings and he pulls it out, smiling a little. “Michael,” he tells us before answering the call. “Hey. We’re at Savage’s. Wanna co—” He stops talking for a moment, then his face pinches and his eyes dart to me. “Yeah. What channel?”
Standing, he grabs my hand and we walk to the living room, where Quin turns on the television. I shoot him a perplexed look, but he doesn’t say anything. Just hangs up the phone and keeps his eyes on the television, eyebrows dipped in anger. Instead of trying to get answers, I turn to the news report and my blood runs cold.
“Two weeks ago, we reported a raid on a warehouse in Thunder Coast, where eleven human trafficking victims were rescued and treated for various injuries. We just received word from a trusted source inside the RCMP in Ontario headquarters that two of the traffickers escaped justice by being absent at the time of the raid. There were also three bodies found buried in shallow graves behind the warehouse. One of the recovered victims informed RCMP officials about those victims taken from the warehouse and weren’t returned mere days before the raid. There will be more information on both the deceased victims’ identities as we get it.
“The two escaped men, Andler Wolfe and Thomas Furman”—a photo for both is plastered across the screen—“are said to run this operation but were not apprehended in the sweep. The RCMP has put out an alert that these men are armed and dangerous, as some victims say they were threatened with guns and other weapons. We’ll report more when we have the information.”
I can’t breathe. Seeing Andler’s face again is like a shot to my heart. I didn’t get a good look at Tom—Thomas as the report called him—so I wouldn’t be able to identify him if he passed me on the street. But Andler. I would recognize those cold, dead eyes anywhere. And I’m afraid.
Chapter Fourteen
Quin
Sonofabitch!How could this happen? And why didn’t Lorry call me? I should have been notified that two of those fuckers escaped justice. The look on Red’s face is heartbreaking, frozen in shock and fear. This isn’t the place for us to have this conversation. I look behind me and see Abel and Savage standing behind the couch, Abel with a haunted expression on his face and Savage’s hands on his shoulders.
“We’re gonna—” I start, but Abel cuts me off.
