Page 234 of Enemies

“Who is he?” I ask evenly.

My brother shifts in his seat, scanning the street behind me. “Another bloke from my club. It was a tough season. Gavin was there for me when I let my team down, reminding me I’m not defined by my performance on any given day. It’s easy to forget when you’re hounded by management and fans, every mistake hung out for everyone to see.”

“Is he good enough for you?”

Sebastian’s brows shoot up. “That’s not the first question I expected from you.”

“Well, it’s the one I have.”

He shakes his head. “Trust me. He’s good. We were still up when Raegan got back…” Then he looks guilty, as if questioning what he should say in front of me.

“I didn’t mean in bed.”

He rubs a hand over his neck. “I don’t know what it is or isn’t. We haven’t put labels on it. But until we do, the team can’t know.”

I stare out over the pedestrians strolling the street. I wish he’d confided in me sooner. “If you decide it’s something, you’ll tell the team?”

He frowns. “I don’t know, Harry. People will talk.”

“People will always talk.”

He shifts forward, rising, and I lay a hand on his arm before he can. I can’t help feeling protective of him.

“I don’t want them talking about you, but if they do? I’ll put them right.”

“Send an army of twerking robots after them,” he replies, deadpan.

I laugh, and he joins in after a moment.

We’ll get through this. I feel that possibility for the first time.

A call comes in, and the name lifts my spirits more.

“Hello, love,” I say when I answer. “My brother is with me. Thought I’d let you know before you start talking about how good I was last night.”

It’s Sebastian’s turn to snort.

“So, please, don’t be shy. Let’s set the record straight on which King is the best lover. I’ll even put you on speaker.” I hit the button, grinning, but there’s nothing at the other end.

Finally, Raegan’s voice comes over the phone. “Harrison, the woman we took from Bliss to the hospital after she overdosed? I asked the doctors to let me know if her condition changed, but hadn’t heard anything, so I went by the hospital. I figured we could find out if she saw anything that would help us.”

I don’t love the idea of her playing investigator, but I go with it. “And?”

“Her condition changed. She’s dead.”

RAE

After playing Debajo and spending the rest of the night with Harrison, I was riding a high until I got word of the woman’s death.

She was a stranger, but Harrison’s fury and grief over her death proves how far he’s come since I met him. I can’t picture the man he is now turning his back on people, even ones he has no responsibility for.

But when Harrison called a meeting for Leni, Ash, himself, and me at the villa, he was in control once again.

“He’s getting reckless, pushing bad supply through clubs that don’t even belong to him,” Harrison says, seated at the head of the table. “I want you all to be careful.”

Leni devours the spread Natalia fixed for us on short notice—fresh sandwiches on ciabatta with pastries for dessert. Plus wine, which Ash avoids looking at.

“Fine. So we lie low,” Leni says. “All I care about is that Mischa stays away from your venues. But what are you going to do?”