Page 18 of Tangled Threats on the Nomad Highway
“Don’t.”
He flattened a palm against the door,resting his forehead on the cool wood as rage swelled inside himagainst this woman who meant so much to his friend. The problemwith her sympathy was it wasn’t her grief she was stirring up.Wasn’t her hurt she was laying bare again. Wasn’t anything otherthan a misdirected unspoken gladness that she still had her family,her husband, their children—while his was gone. In an instant, hewas furious at her fumbling attempts to console herself.
“For God’s sake, don’t.”
“Jim.”
A breeze drifted like a touch across theback of his neck, and he whirled, expecting her to have invaded hisspace, but Trina was clear across the room from where he stood.“Stop it.”
“It’s okay to not be okay.” Her mouth didn’tmove, and the soft words seemed to come from the air around himinstead of her lips.
Without another word, he whirled and flungopen the interior door, fighting with the latch on the storm doorfor the space of a dozen mental curses. Then he was on the frontwalk, stalking away.
“I’m sorry.” He never knew who he expectedto hear his regret when he said it like this, alone, in the dark.The wetness on his face turned cold in the night air. “I’m sosorry.”
Ignoring the ache in his chest, he made hisway around the house and verified all the windows were closed, thegarage locked, the pool house the same. When he reentered the housethrough the back door, only a nightlight remained on in thekitchen. On the countertop near the full coffeepot, he saw a plateand walked over to find a piece of cake and a note.
I’m sorry. It’s not my place to bring uppainful things. I know you’re a night owl so made you coffee, andSaya said this is your favorite cake. ~T
“Dammit.”Why does she have to be sonice?It would be easier if he could just stay mad at her, butwith a few words, she’d acknowledged the very things that had soangered him.
Einstein filled a mug he pulled from thecabinet, taking in the scent of the dark, rich coffee withpleasure. He lifted the plate, holding the fork in place with histhumb, and turned to the table. A face hovered in the darknessoutside, near enough to the window to be recognizable.“Motherfucker.” Returning the mug and plate to the countertop, helooked at the man outside again. “Son of abitch.”
Keying in the alarm sequence, he opened thedoor only wide enough that Dolph Chulpayev could grab it and keepit from slamming shut. Backing away, he reached behind him to wherehis gun rested in a waistband holster, releasing the strap holdingit in place.
“The fuck you want?”
Trina’s father could be evicted from theproperty. That was a truth he knew, because he’d been here morethan a year ago when it happened the first time. He’d heard aboutadditional events that went down while he’d been holed up in hisgrief. Over the past months, however, it had become clear thatRetro had an uneasy truce with his father-in-law. That meantEinstein needed to at least hear the man out before he pitched himback through the door.
It shocked him when Dolph walked in alone,locking the door behind him and casually keying in the alarm code.That is something he should not know. Dammit.Another noteto file away in his head. He would deal with it only once this manwas gone from this space.
Einstein looked through the windows, but noshadows moved. Nothing appeared out of place. Shifting around thekitchen towards the outside wall, he kept part of his attention onthe door leading into the rest of the house. If Dolph had the code,he could have his men coming in the front door, ready to flankEinstein. Nerves fired along his spine, and he straightened,glancing out the windows again.
“Yes, I am alone,” Dolph answered hisunasked question. “I waited for Trina to retire. I should commendRetro on the diligence of his men. If I hadn’t been watching foryou, I would never have seen you patrolling. Your other members—”The way Dolph’s mouth twisted said it all.
“What do you want?” He ignored the slightagainst his brothers’ stealth abilities.
“I have information Retro will want.” Thepause was pregnant with tension, but Einstein opted to wait him outand force Dolph to continue. “It concerns the group responsible foryour…” This pause was filled with Dolph’s heavy sigh. “Trouble.”The man’s accent gave the word a guttural tonality that resonatedthroughout Einstein.
“The club’s trouble?” He had an intuition ofwhat Dolph meant but wanted it spelled out.No guessing games,old man.
“Yourtrouble.”
Nail on the head.That’s what he’dexpected, but it still caused his stomach to lurch. Einsteincleared his throat, suddenly unsteady. “Which group? There were acouple of parties involved in my…trouble.”
“Old money backing Dominic and his men. Thedons are not happy he failed to pick up the reins.”
“If you’re talking about the info dump onLuciano, we already got that flagged and are pursuing.” The wayDolph’s eyes widened was gratifying. “Is there more?”
“Yes. They have upped the ante in the pastday. Franco is missing. His associates assume the worst, so theyare dictating the son step in and step up. If he declines, theywill pursue Dominic. If Dominic fails to satisfy, they will searchfor the brother.”
“Old news, old man. Already got that too.”Folding his arms loosely over his chest, Einstein leaned backagainst the wall. From this position, he kept up his surveillanceoutside, through the door to the living room, and continued toobserve Dolph closely. “You’re keeping me from my cake. If youdon’t have anything new to offer, then kindly hie your ass back outthe door.”
“Did you ever meet Scar’s parents? Lucianoand Pearl?”
Einstein didn’t react, keeping his gazeflicking between the window, door, and man in front of him.
“She is Native American. Luc met her inschool and somehow convinced her to leave her family and move tothe East Coast.”
