Page 59 of Six
“Weed.” He scrunches his large nose—the only large thing about him.
“Do you and Rague…?” Just the thought of him being something to Rague makes bile come up my throat.
Clover smiles. Then laughs. “Oh, you’re serious. No. I work with him sometimes.”
Then it clicks. I remember Rague saying the name Clover on the phone. “On Lenny Berko.” I try to sound confident.
“He told you about it?” He’s looking at me curiously.
I shrug, placing the knife on the counter and turning to the cabinets over the sink to grab the jar of honey and a bag of cookies.
“Yum!” With a light, agile jump, he sits on the island, then yanks the food out of my hands and starts dunking the cookies directly into the jar. The messenger bag around his torso, just like the rest of his clothes—tight pants, boots, and parka—is black.
“Are you some kind of ninja?” I raise a brow toward him, sliding a couple of fingers inside my pockets and leaning my hip on the counter in front of him.
He takes his time chewing and swallowing before he gives me an answer.
“Ninja are a secret society, I’d have to kill you,” he explains, keeping a serious face.
I sigh at his silliness and grab two cans of soda from the fridge, sliding one near him.
He gives me a closed-mouth smile and plucks the can up so quickly I barely see it. I blink a few times. I feel wary around Clover but not in danger anymore. He’s odd, but intriguing.
“I didn’t find the files,” he says.Files?“Lenny only had a bunch of porn magazines and some documents all related to the gym inside his desk drawers. No illegal fights, no link to the boys’ deaths. He really hates technology and cleanness—his office is a pigsty.” He keeps going but the wordsboys’ deathsechoes in my head. What is he talking about? What boys?
“Rague and Rami need to keep getting information from the small fish around the gym and fight ring.” Like Dick and…me.
I hear the click of a key twisting in the front door lock before it opens and two men holding hands walk inside. My eyes fall on the knife on the counter.
Clover turns to them and says, “The psycho and his mate are here.”
“Clover.” The tall, incredibly handsome, and very broody-looking guy tilts his chin at him, not the least bit offended by the little ninja’s words. “And it’s my fiancé.” He lifts their laced hands to show a ring covered in red stones. It’s beautiful, but is that supposed to be an engagement ring?
“The art of love. Once you’ve secured the battlefield, you must then massacre the enemy,” Clover recites.
“That’s theArt of War,” the broody guy corrects him.
“Sounds like good advice to me.” My words get a curious, narrowed look from him.
“Hi, Clover, very nice to finally meet you. You too, Ollie,” the tall, blond, and sweet blue-eyed man addresses me. “I’m Michael and this is Raph, Rague’s brother.”
“Oh.” Realization spreads through me. Rague said he has a lot of brothers. I suddenly feel a bit nervous to meet his family. “Hi. You’re the doc that checked on me when I was sick. Thank you.”
“U wer fiku?” Clover’s mouth-full mumble is incomprehensible.
Raph pulls a chair away from the kitchen table and sits, patting his thigh toinviteMichael to do the same—on him. Despite glaring at his fiancé, Michael drops unceremoniously onto his lap.
“Caveman.”
“You love it. Love me,” Raph retorts matter-of-factly. These two are a weird couple.
“Rague is not here,” I say.
“We know,” Raph replies, staring intensely at me. His green eyes look empty unless he’s watching his fiancé. I don’t shrink back under his piercing gaze, though. Fuck that. And him for trying to make me feel intimidated.
“He’s coming,” Michael says, then probably seeing the staring duel we are having, he adds, “Don’t mind Raph, he’s a bit…unsociable.”
“Not true. I’m all unsociable, babe.” He removes his eyes from me to focus on Michael.
