Caught in the Aftermath Read online

  Charity watched Simon with a calculation barely softened by understanding. ‘What if those soldiers are here looking to contact their informant?’

  Sneaky, sneaky woman. And Vex wasn’t the only one to think so since Reaper shot Charity a sharp look catching her implication at using the soldiers’ presence to draw out their traitor. Vex braced because Charity’s suggestion left Vex no choice but to inform Reaper of their unexpected guest. She didn’t want to do it publicly.

  Reaper’s attention shifted from Charity to Vex. ‘Havoc and Mercy at the Shrew?’

  ‘I left them there, so I’m thinking so.’

  It wasn’t hard to read Reaper’s intent, and what he said next cemented it. ‘Think you may want to head over and see what’s holding them up.’

  His unspoken order to set Mercy and Havoc on the soldiers’ asses came through loud and clear. Dammit, dammit, dammit. The situation edged into dangerous territory. She was damn certain the soldiers weren’t there for the rat, which meant their play had zero chances of success and a high chance of unearthing Math. Best to head this off before it snowballed further. Flashing what she hoped was her normal smart-assed grin, she pulled her big girl panties up and strove for casual. ‘Can do, but need a minute before I head out.’

  ‘Right,’ he muttered, pushing to his feet. The others correctly read his move for the dismissal it was.

  She stood, gave a head tilt to Simon (because she didn’t need any more tongues wagging about them), and then a small smile and finger wave to Charity and Ruin. As a funeral dirge took up headspace and her mouth imitating the desert, she led Reaper away.

  Chapter 5

  It wasn’t a shift in the air, or the rasp of a foot over the rug in the hall. Nor was it an indefinable instinct that something was heading his way that snapped Math out of his doze. It was a combination of all of the above. With a mind to stealth, he stilled the empty cuffs he had managed to escape, so they wouldn’t rattle against the metal bed frame. Keeping his movements as smooth as possible (an accomplishment when every inch ached), he dragged his ass out of Vex’s bed. Once upright and free of the bed, he crossed the floor.

  From the hall, the indistinct murmur of voices gained strength until he could make out the low male tone versus an irritatingly familiar female one. Guess Vex found Reaper. Math stopped just shy of the door connecting the two rooms and gathered his composure for the impending confrontation. Even without Vex’s earlier warning, he never doubted that was exactly what it would be—a confrontation. Using the light from the bedroom, he shifted until he could see the short entryway and the door. A rattle signalled the latch releasing before the door swung open, allowing the hall light to create a path into the apartment’s dim interior.

  ‘Please, God, tell me you don’t have a body stashed in your room.’ The deep voice with rough edges belonging to Reaper woke slumbering memories.

  Vex stepped through, her body blocking the doorway, her head turned to the man on her heels. ‘Eww, no.’

  ‘You act like that’s an impossibility, when you and I both know it’s more like a certainty if someone pissed you off.’

  At Reaper’s dry comment, Vex turned, giving Math a view of her back, her shoulders and spine stiff. ‘Well, now that you mention it. I may have left a body or two back in town.’

  There was a pause, then, ‘Shit, Vex.’

  ‘Better there than here. Besides, getting the bloodstains out isn’t the challenge, it’s getting rid of the smell.’ With that, she turned around, and if the small jerk of her head was anything to go by, caught sight of Math. She came to a halt, still blocking Reaper’s entry. Without taking her attention from Math, she addressed Reaper. ‘While I was in town, I picked something up for you.’ She cleared the short hall, Reaper crowding behind her. She stepped to the side with a studied casualness, giving the man behind her a clear visual of what waited for him.

  Despite the lack of illumination, it didn’t take Reaper long to recognise Math. Reaper’s spine snapped straight so fast it was a wonder it didn’t audibly break. He loomed in the entryway, letting the door swing closed behind him. The soft snick as it settled into place was overly loud. The air in the room went heavy with emotion so convoluted it was nearly tangible.

  ‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ Reaper’s voice dropped into a barely comprehensible growl.

  Unwilling to stay in the confines of the narrow space, Math shifted further into the front room, aware of Reaper’s gaze tracking his every move. The weight of his unspoken assessment raised every hackle Math possessed and abraded against the simmering brew of frustrated fury, diminishing hope, and corroding guilt. It made his voice harsh and tight as he leaned his hip against the chair just inside the room. ‘I was in the neighbourhood.’

  Reaper’s stony gaze swept Math head to toe doing a visual inventory before coming back to level. ‘I see you didn’t waste time making new friends.’

  The lash of Reaper’s disdain triggered a flood of caustic comments, all of which Math locked behind tight lips. Instead of digging the verbal trench deeper, he resorted to a less vocal response with the simple flip of his middle finger.

  The admittedly juvenile response left Reaper dragging a hand over his hair as he muttered something foul and pithy under his breath. He turned, paced a few steps, and came back, stopping short of Math’s space. ‘Did you get lost?’

  Unwilling to let the larger man play the intimidation card, Math held his position. ‘Nope, came looking for you.’ He took a certain amount of pleasure in watching a sliver of shock slide into those dark eyes before Reaper buried it with all the other shit he kept behind his son of a bitch mask. It was no surprise when Reaper’s upper lip curled. Not that Math gave a damn, he wasn’t here to make friends.

  Reaper folded his arms over his chest. ‘You found me.’

  ‘Lucky fucking me.’ There was no missing the snide edge to Math’s response.

  Reaper’s jaw tightened in response, but he remained silent.

  Stifling the mad voice urging him to continue pushing Reaper’s buttons, Math shoved the temptation into a dark hole and stayed on point. Not only wasn’t he in any shape to take the other man on, it was a waste of time Math didn’t have. Correction, time Cam didn’t have. ‘Since I know how much you hate owing others, I’m here to collect.’

  ‘Collect?’ Reaper muttered before adding, ‘Are you shitting me?’

  The sharp question begged Math to engage, but he decided to mimic Reaper, and held his tongue, even as they stared at each other.

  The silence stretched, breaking only when a low, frustrated growl sounding suspiciously close to a curse escaped Reaper.

  Unwilling to retreat under Reaper’s obvious temper, Math held his dark gaze and added the clincher, ‘You owe me.’

  Reaper rocked back on his heels and blinked. ‘For what?’

  ‘Saving Havoc’s ass.’

  Reaper snorted. ‘According to Havoc, the situation turned into a mutual saving of asses.’ He took a step back and walked over to the couch, before collapsing on it. With his legs sprawled out and his arms stretched over the back, he looked over his shoulder at Math. ‘After which you hauled one of those said asses after Greer.’

  With Reaper’s new position indicating a decision against instigating bodily harm, some of Math’s tension eased. ‘That I did,’ Math admitted as edged around the chair currently serving as his leaning post and settled in it.

  ‘If you found her, seems she handed it back to you,’ Vex offered unhelpfully, drawing Math’s attention. Perched on a chair arm, one foot swinging in a lazy glide, she watched them with undisguised curiosity.

  Unruffled by Vex’s observation, Math shrugged. ‘It’s complicated.’ Catching Reaper’s flash of amusement, he decided to stop dancing around the point. The sooner he got through this, the sooner he could move forward. ‘She took something of mine.’ Feeling heat climb up the back of his neck, he rolled his shoulders in a futile attempt to halt its progress. ‘I made a try for i
t and failed.’

  Reaper drew his arms from the back of the couch and folded them over his stomach, his gaze on his boots. ‘How badly?’

  ‘Don’t know yet.’ Math frowned as the weight of his failure made a comeback.

  ‘What do you know?’ Unsurprisingly the question came from Vex.

  As irritation swam under his skin, Math admitted she was damn good at pissing him off. Almost as good as Reaper. ‘Greer knows she’s being hunted, just not who in particular is doing the hunting.’

  Reaper turned his head to nail Math with a look. ‘How sure are you about that?’

  ‘Damn sure.’

  Vex’s foot stopped in mid-swing. ‘Hate to burst your bubble, but if I remember Mercy’s version of your showdown in Salt Lake, Greer knows your name.’

  ‘My name isn’t what’s important,’ he muttered, finding it harder than expected to share.

  ‘Okay,’ Vex drew the word out with exaggerated patience, ‘then what is?’

  ‘Who I am.’

  Speculation lit her gaze, but instead of voicing it, she made a rolling motion with her hand, a clear indicator to expand on his abrupt answer.

  Taking heed of her invitation, he blew out a breath and dove into the murky conversational waters. ‘I’m sure Mercy’s shared our connection.’

  Vex’s foot began moving again, her eyebrows rising. ‘You mean the secret ninja assassin club?’

  He didn’t bother hiding his lip curl at her flippant response. ‘Also known as the Strix, yes.’ He didn’t miss the subtle rise of tension in Reaper’s pose. ‘About nine years back, Greer wiped out the entire group.’

  ‘On Michael’s orders.’ Reaper’s voice was harsh, a world of knowledge adding undeniable weight to his comment.

  Math met his flat gaze and began drumming his fingers on the chair’s armrest. When it came to this old argument, he wasn’t the only one suffering from stubborn-induced blindness. Still, the point bore repeating, even if Reaper didn’t want to hear it. ‘Maybe, maybe not. In the end it was Greer leading the death squad and Greer’s hand on the trigger.’

  ‘Greer doesn’t sneeze without Michael’s permission,’ Reaper shot back.

  It didn’t matter what Reaper believed, Math knew better. After years of questioning the whats and whys leading to that one brutal night of bloody betrayal, he saw a different pattern—one created by a single, manipulative hand. He knew who owed him. ‘The massacre of the Strix was all Greer. They weren’t a threat to Michael.’

  ‘You can’t be sure.’

  Not missing the obstinate set of Reaper’s jaw, Math’s fingers stilled as a familiar mix of resentment and anger stirred. Some things never change. ‘Yeah, I can.’ He didn’t bother disguising the ice in his voice.

  Reaper’s eyes narrowed and his laced fingers whitened. ‘How?’

  There were pieces Math wouldn’t share with Reaper. He’d given his word but he’d pass along what he could. ‘Because they were about to cost her everything, including her position with Michael.’ That got Reaper’s attention, but he didn’t interrupt as Math kept going. ‘Greer was in deep with the Strix’s Directorate, had been for a couple of years.’

  ‘A case of you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours?’ After getting Math’s nod, Reaper laid his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. ‘Got any clue what those deals included?’

  ‘No, it was a need to know thing, and I was told I didn’t need to know.’ The Directorate loved their secrets. It was easy to call bullshit when he looked back now, but at the time, he trusted them to do what needed to be done. ‘What I can tell you is that right before she brought in her execution squad, some of the Directorate were looking at her, hard.’

  ‘So she made sure no-one was left to do any more looking.’ Vex’s tone made it clear it wasn’t a question. ‘Makes sense.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Reaper said, his doubt evident. He opened his eyes, bent his knees, and came up into a sitting position, leaning his elbows on his knees. He levelled a steely gaze at Math. ‘Be better if we knew what the Strix had on her.’

  Disgusted with the other man’s one-track mind, Math didn’t bother tamping down his derision. ‘Why? Because you think it’s a way to take down Michael?’

  ‘Yeah, I do.’ Reaper’s answer came on a narrowed-eye glare and a darkening flush of temper. ‘You can claim it was all Greer, but I’m not buying it.’ The tension that had been creeping out of the room swept back in and curled up in anticipation.

  Math shook his head slowly, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, trying to remember why he was here. ‘Dammit, Reaper, if you can’t shrug off that fucking chip you carry when it comes to him, you’ll be staked out in the desert somewhere providing a feast for the scavengers, leaving my ass blowing in the wind. Again.’

  ‘If you believe that, then why are you here?’ Reaper’s question whipped out, drawing blood.

  Math’s grip on his temper slipped. ‘Because you fucking owe me, and not just for Havoc’s ability to breathe.’

  Snarling, Reaper got to his feet and closed in. ‘I owe you?’

  Frustration and anger dulled the protests of Math’s battered body as he launched from his chair to go nose to nose with Reaper. ‘Yeah, you do.’

  His abrupt move didn’t stop Reaper’s mouth or his palms from slamming into Math’s chest. ‘That’s fucking rich, coming from you, baby brother.’

  Math ignored Vex’s squeak as Reaper’s snarl blew through the thin veil of shared history. Pain from Reaper’s hit rocked Math’s body, but frayed temper kept him on his feet. ‘What the hell did you expect?’

  Something flashed in Reaper’s dark eyes, too fast for Math to read, even if he wanted to. ‘The way I remember, your debt is far from paid, considering you took what was mine.’

  Unable to let his verbal attack pass unanswered, Math struck back. ‘Can’t take what willingly walks away.’

  ‘You son of a bitch!’ Reaper visibly fought the urge to make his point physically and pivoted on his heel, giving Math his rigid back.

  At the expected response, searing frustration curled through Math in a cold rush, making his voice harder than steel. ‘That’s right. When the truth hits home, turn away. It’s what you do best, isn’t it?’

  Since there was no missing the thick contempt in his taunt, Math wasn’t surprised when Reaper spun back around, his fist on a direct path with Math’s face. It never made contact. Math jerked his head back and whipped his arm up to block the hit. They connected with a dull smack of flesh and bone. For a breathless moment they stood there, caught on the edge of violence, their gazes locked. Math jerked Reaper’s wrist back, the move causing a breath-stealing burn along his ribs. With a roar, Reaper spun with the wrist lock and the fight was on.

  Although his previous injuries slowed him down, Math was no longer a scrawny teen unable to hold his own against his older brother. With years of fighting dirty under his belt, Math managed to give as good as he got. At first. Then the damage he sustained earlier caught up with him, slowing his reaction time and giving Reaper an edge.

  Still, he couldn’t stop. Not even when Reaper took him to the floor. Years of resentment and fury, love and betrayal breeched his emotional barriers, proving irrevocably this wasn’t about anything as simple as a disagreement.

  Chapter 6

  Vex watched the two idiots roll around on the floor as they destroyed her living room. Since getting between them was beyond stupid, she kept clear of the tangle of battling male limbs. Although pinned, Math managed to nail Reaper with a knee perilously close to his prize package. Note to self—Math’s a dirty fighter. Obviously familiar with Math’s tactics, Reaper twisted to block a follow up and use his heavier build to send them crashing into the couch. Their combined weight shoved it back, knocking cushions askew and a book-filled end table over, sending her to-be-read pile to the floor. She winced and shouted, ‘Watch it!’

  Unsurprised when they ignored her warning, she stood clear of the brawl, hand
s on her hips and considered her options. As replacing what little furniture she had would be a massive pain, she needed a way to separate the two morons and ensure her current furnishings survived. Too bad she liked Reaper enough not to want to inflict permanent damage to gain some peace. They rolled towards her. She skirted out of the way and continued to the kitchen.

  Sounds of the brawl and muffled curses and insults accompanied her search of her cabinets. She sent up a silent thanks Ruin and Charity weren’t in their rooms. The last thing she wanted or needed was their involvement in this mess. With Murphy’s Law alive and well, she found what she wanted in the last cabinet. Nabbing the large bowl, she shoved it under the faucet and waited while it filled.

  A loud crash had her craning her head over her shoulder to see Math’s legs kick out at her bookshelf as Reaper kept him pinned in a bastardised version of a half nelson. When the bookcase wobbled, threatening to tumble her collection of bits and pieces picked up along her travels, she yelled, ‘Hey, watch the shelves!’

  With a guttural growl, Math fought to break Reaper’s hold taking the fight away from her bookcase. Math’s pained grunt left Vex shaking her head at the mystery of testosterone driven egos. It wasn’t like it was a fair fight. Not with Math’s injuries. Yet they were determined to pound each other into submission. It was like watching two bulls lock horns.

  Turning back to the sink, she shut off the faucet and carefully carried the bowl over. There was one bonus to having tiles in her living room. Cleaning up spills didn’t take much. She timed her attack and when they rolled near, she tipped the bowl. Water fell in a cold deluge. When it hit, the fight came to an abrupt stop as both men tried to get away. They didn’t get far. Curses replaced snarls as they tried to untangle themselves and escape her unconventional interruption. Dodging flailing body parts, she didn’t stop until the bowl was empty, shaking out the last few drops for good measure.