A low ache that seemed to take up permanent residence in his chest throbbed to life at the mention of Rowe and Melissa. It was hard to believe that she’d been gone so long already. Everything was such a blur. Hadn’t he talked to her on the phone just days ago? Something about laying bets about whether Lucas would make it through Valentine’s Day alive. And Rowe…his mind kept flashing back to that moment in the hospital, his friend demanding to know why he hadn’t been there.
“Andrei will protect Jude and Geoffrey with his life. It’s who he is.”
Snow frowned, a chill seeping into his blood at Lucas’s words. He didn’t doubt that about Andrei. But what if something happened and Andrei died saving Jude’s life? What would that do to Lucas? What would that do to his own view of Jude? He didn’t want to look at the sexy paramedic and only see the death of his friend’s love.
“If something happens to Andrei, I won’t blame Jude or Geoffrey. Or even Andrei,” Lucas continued as if he could read Snow’s mind. But then they’d been friends for so long, it was entirely possible.
“You’ll just accept it?”
He watched as Lucas’s handsome face hardened into someone that Snow didn’t really recognize any longer. “No, I’ll hunt the fucker down the same way that I hunted down Chris Green. And I’ll happily pull the trigger…again.”
Snow sighed and closed his eyes, no longer able to meet Lucas’s cold gaze. His heart broke to see him like this. Cold and unyielding. Untouchable. It scared him like nothing could. “So you did it. You killed him.”
“You doubted it?”
He shook his head once. Hoped. Wished. Prayed to something he didn’t even believe in. But he’d known. “Did Rowe even try to talk you out of it?”
“No.”
“Luc.”
“I don’t regret it. I know I should and I know it was wrong, but when I look at Andrei and remember how fucking close he came to dying, I can’t…I can’t regret it.” Lucas closed his eyes and a small shudder ran through him. Snow reached over and squeezed his friend’s shoulder, silently supporting him as Lucas pushed his way back through what was likely an onslaught of ugly memories. Fuck, he didn’t know if he could survive going through something like that with his friends.
Lucas drew in a shaky breath and blinked a couple times. When he lifted his eyes back to Snow, the coldness was gone and Snow caught a glimpse of vulnerability in the man he very rarely saw, something Snow had a feeling that only Andrei saw now.
He started to say something else when they both heard an announcement over the PA system where Jude and the others were sitting. Snow quickly turned Lucas’s mic back on so that he could talk to Andrei. The auction was about to start. The tension that Snow had managed to shove aside came roaring back, twisting his stomach into knots.
Brief instructions were given on how to make bids, where payments were to be directed, and the pick-up of “merchandise”. Jude grumbled something low under his breath that Snow couldn’t quite make out and he instantly wanted to pull the man out of that hellhole and wrap his arms around him. Maybe shove him in a shower to scrub away this night. Geoffrey went quiet at last, but his camera started shaking as if he was trembling uncontrollably. This was not a good sign.
Both Lucas and Snow jumped at the sound of the back driver’s side door being pulled open. They turned in their seats as the dome light blinked on, revealing a haggard-looking Hollis sliding into the backseat.
“I thought I told you to stay out of my car, cop,” Lucas snarled.
“Cop? What the hell is going on?” Andrei’s strained whisper slipped from the tablet, barely lifting above the sound of Hollis slamming the door shut again.
“It’s fine,” Lucas quickly muttered, causing Hollis’s eyebrows to raise in question. “Now get out.”
“But it’s so cold out there and I thought you could give me a ride home. That is why you’re here, right? Offering rides to poor, helpless strangers.”
Snow groaned, turning back around to face forward. Now was not the time to fuck around with the detective. They needed him gone. The auction was illegal and needed the attention of the cops, but sending Jude and the others in as spies certainly wasn’t going to keep any of them out of trouble.
“Go away,” Snow grumbled.
The leather from Hollis’s jacket creaked and rubbed against the soft, buttery leather of Lucas’s seats. The scent of cigarettes, stale coffee, and something fried permeated the air of the closed vehicle, causing Snow’s nose to wrinkle.
“I was just leaving The Anchor after getting a late-night snack—”
“Finally eating something other than drive-thru burgers?” Snow mocked, earning a glare from Lucas.