Chapter 73
SEVENTY-THREE
Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
Something is off with Ronan. I step in front of him, keeping my gun at the low ready.
I startle a little when Ryan steps forward with his hand outstretched to shake good-naturedly.
I gape at him, wondering if this dude is alright in the head. When he gives me a smile so genuine and sincere, I immediately know he’s never killed anyone in his life.
“Hi, I’m Ryan, Ryan Fairview. Nice to officially meet you.”
Predictably, Callum grips Ryan by the shoulder and yanks him away from me. I don’t blame him. If Ronan had strolled up to them, ready to shake hands like we were two peewee teams congratulating each other on a game, I would have ripped his arm out of his socket.
“ What!?” Ryan whines. “Vox said we’re supposed to be trying to make friends with them.”
Callum snorts. “Vox didn’t say anything, Ryan. He’s a mute.”
Ryan rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean. It was implied. Come on, angel. They’re trying to take down Apex; you’re trying to quit Apex. We need friends right now more than we need enemies. And none of them have tried to shoot you since we’ve been here.”
Callum growls, though he is looking at Ryan in a way that confirms what I already know. Callum Walker is deeply and irrevocably in love with Ryan Fairview. If Ryan told him to jump off a cliff, I’m pretty sure Callum would do a backflip just to impress him.
“ Fine. But if one of them hits on you again, the friend deal is off!” He snarls.
“You’re trying to quit Apex?” I ask, legitimately curious. That explains why Callum tripped his own partner that night in the woods.
Callum turns untrusting brown eyes on me and purses his lips, but he nods.
“Yeah. I didn’t know… about the kids. I mean… I suspected, but I didn’t know for sure until recently and…” He seemed to be struggling with his own guilt at having been aligned with anything that had to do with child trafficking to begin with.
Ryan slid his hand into Callum’s and squeezed, clearly trying to comfort him.
“Callum was poached by Damian Ryker when he was ten years old. He groomed him to be a child soldier and has been brainwashing him using really insane torture methods for most of his life.”
Ryan looks like his heart is breaking as the words tumble out of his mouth.
Callum flinches, literally flinches, as Ryan tells me his past as quickly as he can, like ripping off a bandaid.
I stare at them, waiting for my bullshit meter to go off. But oddly enough, it doesn’t. Both men look genuine, and from what I’ve learned about Apex, it doesn’t seem outside of the realm of possibility.
“Uh, okay.” I’m not sure what to say to that.
Callum doesn’t seem to know what to say either. He seems to be shutting down, and Ryan gets this determined little look on his face, and he steps forward, almost as if he’s shielding Callum from me.
“Callum’s too injured still to fight back against Apex, but Vox currently has my funeral home set up as a sort of defensive base. We know that Damian will retaliate at some point. He’s not just going to let Cal get away with quitting. Since we both seem to have a common enemy, we were wondering if you guys would be open to teaming up against Apex since you guys already seem to have it out for them anyway.”
I stare at Ryan. This seems too good to be true. I mean, he’s offering an alliance even after we shot his boyfriend. What’s the catch?
I’m about to ask as much when Ryan glances over my shoulder. For a moment, I wonder if Ronan and Dakota have returned from the car, but when I glance back to see what he’s looking at, there’s no one there.
“This might sound weird, but do you know someone named Greyson?” Ryan asks, and suddenly, the ground is tilting beneath my feet.
“Wh-what did you just say?” I rasp. What the fuck?
Ryan nods, his expression solemn. “Yeah, Greyson. He’s been in touch with me, and he wanted me to tell you that he’s happy for you, and he thinks Ronan and Dakota are exactly what you need and deserve. He said he loves you, and he’s sorry.”
For a second, there’s nothing but shock. Then, anger flares through me. Who the fuck does this little bitch think he is? Was he going through my trash? Did he get his little hacker friend Vox to fucking dig up shit on Greyson?
How fucking dare he?
My blood is boiling, and I’m about to shoot this little fucker point blank for daring to use Greyson against me like he was some sort of bargaining chip when he smiles at me sadly and says, “He also said pretzels on a sandwich are still gross.”
There is a whooshing sensation in my ears. Callum is looking back and forth between Ryan and me like he’s trying to decode some huge, complex puzzle.
“How… how did you-?”
“Funeral director.” Ryan winks at me. “I have a way of communicating with all sorts of folks.”
Callum and I narrow our eyes on him, but Ryan doesn’t elaborate.
Though, I’m getting the impression this cute but weird freckley man is trying to tell me he can talk to dead people, and Greyson had just sent me a message from beyond the fucking grave.
The skeptic in me wants to completely reject this information. However, there is literally no one on the planet who knows about Greyson and my argument about pretzels on a sandwich. Which makes my heart hurt.
Ryan is watching me closely. I want to straight up ask him if he can see dead people, but I can tell that Cal doesn’t seem to know about this weird shit, and for some reason, it doesn't feel right getting in on that lover’s spat.
“So… friends?” Ryan asks hopefully, and I find myself nodding, still reeling from the information.
“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.” I say, my voice rough for reasons I’m not willing to examine too closely.
The smile on Ryan’s face solidifies my decision. No one could fake a smile like that and be anything less than genuine.
Callum and I exchange a look, and he nods at me too, though notably more grumpy about the arrangement than his man is.
“Friends,” he agrees, and we both turn to leave at the same time. I notice that Ronan and Dakota aren’t there, and for a brief second, I panic. But then I spot them in the car, and the most overwhelming relief washes over me.
They’re safe. My men are safe. They’re fucking safe, and I’m going to be the one to keep them that way.