“Fuck,” I growled, typing a fast reply.Tonight’s bad. Can it wait until tomorrow?
Gray dots, and his reply is short.Need you back here now.
In any other situation, I’d argue I’m off the clock, I have prior commitments, but in spite of his overprotective tendencies these days, when Scar says it’s serious, it is.
Exhaling heavily, I send her a final text,Must go to H’town, but want to see you tonight.
I don’t even bother packing a bag. I head for my waiting Jeep and floor it down the empty highway. Traffic is light, and in less than an hour, I’m pulling up to Scar’s house.
The one-bedroom cottage is usually open and well-lit. He built it in a clearing on the edge of town near the woods, and just about everything in it is hand-made by him. Tonight, as I park in the driveway, it looks like no one is home.
Stepping out, a chill is in the humid air, and the damp makes it feel colder. The clouds are growing thick, and the weather is changing. Dry leaves fall in the occasional, sudden gust of wind, and my boots crunch as I walk up the gravel drive. It smells like fall, and the metallic taste of rain is on my tongue.
I’m frustrated to be back here without seeing Reanna. I’m worried that she hasn’t replied to any of my texts since yesterday. I don’t think she’s in trouble, but she did mention unfinished business and revenge. The idea something might have happened has me on edge, and I want to wrap this up here and head back ASAP.
The front door is unlocked, and I open it slowly to a dark kitchen. “Scar?” I call, stepping inside and looking all around.
“Back here.” His low voice echoes from the small room in the middle of the short hall.
It’s a secret office he keeps locked at all times. It contains his old files from when he wasn’t on the good side of the law. It also contains records we’ve collected, items we hold onto for leverage, and maps of the cases we’ve worked on as well as other things. Hell, there’s no telling what all is stored in there.
Reaching for the doorknob, I turn it, opening it quickly and stepping inside. “What have you got to show me…?”
My voice dies, and I feel like I’ve stepped through the looking glass. I see what’s before me, but my brain won’t make it make sense.
Scar is leaning against the small desk with his arms crossed and his brow lowered. He’s holding the slim ledger Hugh got from Simon’s rat, the same one I spent weeks researching at the start of that twisted case.
I don’t know why he has it, and I don’t care. It’s the person sitting in front of him, the woman handcuffed to a chair, I can’t understand.
It’s Reanna.
Her head is bowed, her long, dark hair hangs in silky curtains past her cheeks, and she doesn’t look at me when I enter.
“Scar, what…” I take a staggered step forward. “What the hell?”
“Recognize this?” He holds up the book.
“Of course. What about it?”
He pushes off the desk and walks straight to where Reanna sits, gripping her chin and lifting her face to me. Our eyes meet for half a second before she closes hers, and a lone tear hits her cheek.
“You’ve never met this one in person—at least not using her true identity.” Scar’s voice is a rough growl, a hint of his almost-gone Russian accent lacing the words. “Dirk Winston, meet Rainey Sidorova, Natasha Petrovna’s right hand. She was sent here to retrieve this book and bring it back to her boss in New York.”
My stomach twists, and disbelief fights against his words. “Rainey?”
“She’s not my boss.” Her teeth grind. “I’m not her right hand, that’s Rick Ivanov.”
The sound of his name flashes rage in my chest. “Rick Ivanov is the guy who blackmailed Hana.” My muscles shake. “The one who drugged and abused her.”
“It would seem they’re comrades.”
“We’re not…” Rainey snaps, and Scar releases her chin with a flick of his wrist.
“I’d advise you to speak carefully.”
Turning away, I heave out a breath. Fury knots in my throat, and humiliation burns my chest. My fingers curl into fists, and I’m struggling for control. I’m struggling not to turn around and slam her against the wall.
“I’m going to New York to get to the bottom of this. Hutch is coming with me. He’s already ordered the private jet.” Scar takes a key out of his desk and hands it to me. “I need you to keep her here while we’re gone.”