57. Ryan Fairview
I was wrapping up some paperwork from Mr. Renfrew’s funeral when I got a text from Naomi.
Naomi:
Hi Ry-guy, change of plans. I think I’m coming over earlier than I expected.
Ryan:
No problem. What time should I expect you? Do you still need a ride?
Naomi:
Not exactly…
There was a soft knock on my office door, and I glanced up to see Naomi, Cassandra, and Cal’s friend Vox standing in the hallway.
My eyebrows raised in surprise.
“What—What’s going on?”
The look on Vox’s face made my heart skip a beat in my chest. I leapt up from my seat.
“Where’s Cal?” I asked the bleach-blond mercenary.
He poked Naomi in the side, and she glared at him but turned back to face me.
“Vox says Cal’s in trouble. I think he wants Cass and me to stay here with you guys so we’re all in one place while he figures out how to help him.”
I glanced at Cass, who was looking predictably pissed off and annoyed. She had a massive Louis Vuitton suitcase with her and the Chanel bag she had been carrying the last time I saw her.
“You better have decent wi-fi in this place if I’m expected to stay here,” she snipped, looking around like she was inspecting the building for mold. “I have a conference call in an hour.”
Ignoring Cass, I turned back to Vox, who was looking increasingly agitated and impatient.
I couldn’t get past the part where Cal might be in danger.
Having communicated with spirits that had their mouths or vocal cords removed from whatever trauma had brought about their deaths, I knew how to speak to Vox in a way that would get me answers. The trick was to ask questions that only had yes or no responses.
“Is what Naomi just said true?” I asked, meeting Vox’s silver gaze.
He raised an eyebrow but nodded.
“Has whoever you two were hunting hurt him?”
Vox shook his head, and my gut soured.
“Is it that Damian guy?”
Vox nodded, and rage ignited through me at the thought of that fucking man hurting Cal more than I suspected he already had.
“Do you need help?” I asked immediately. I didn’t know what I could do, but I knew I wasn’t about to just sit around and do nothing. My entire body was humming with anxiety, and I felt sick to my stomach.
What was that man doing to Cal? This is why he told me he couldn’t text me; he was in trouble with this man. I was suddenly so angry and scared for him. Nothing about this felt fair.
Vox rocked his head back and forth before beckoning for me to follow him. I didn’t hesitate.
“Go put your suitcase upstairs, Gnomes. Iris is in the kitchen,” I muttered to Naomi on my way by, but she shook her head stubbornly.
“Nuh-uh. I want to help, too!”
Vox scoffed, and I shook my head just as Cass exclaimed, “Absolutely not! ”
“No, Naomi. Cal will never forgive me if I let anything happen to you. Please go unpack and see if Iris needs any help with dinner. You can take the room at the end of the hall.”
“I’m not a little kid, you know. I’m almost twenty!” she snapped, and I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“It’s not about being a little kid, Naomi.” I sighed, thinking about the way Cal had looked at me when I asked him what his key tattoo represented.
‘It’s Naomi’s key.’
Naomi’s well-being will always be one of Cal’s top priorities. He had spent his entire life doing everything he could to keep her safe. I wasn’t about to let her get involved with something that might jeopardize that.
“What’s going on?” I turned to find Theo sauntering down the hall, her dark eyes flickering back and forth between me and Vox, before finally landing on Cass. The second she took in Cass’s irritated stance, a mischievous look twinkled in her dark eyes.
Cass stiffened, looking like she was literally preparing to battle my sister, but Theo completely ignored her and turned to Vox.
“Who’s this guy?” Theo asked me, a sly smirk perched on her lips.
“This is Vox. He’s friends with Cal.”
“Oh. Hey, man. I’m Theo,” my sister said, holding out a hand to Vox, who still looked annoyed and impatient but shook her hand anyway.
“What’s the twerp doing here? You moving in?” Theo asked, taking in Naomi’s large pink suitcase.
“Temporarily. Cal’s in trouble. I think Vox wants us all in the same place while he investigates,” I explained, feeling impatient myself. I wanted to go get Cal now. I could barely keep still.
He needed me. I could feel it in my fucking bones.
Theo’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline.
“Is that so? Is that why Princess Cassandra is here, too?” Theo turned those taunting dark eyes on Cal’s sister. “Is the damsel in distress?”
“You want to see distress? I’ll put you in fucking distress!” Cass snarled, taking a step closer to Theo, who just smirked and leaned against the wall, looking Cass up and down like she might eat her alive.
“Now, now, is that any way to threaten your future bunkmate?”
“What are you talking about!?” Cass rounded on me. “What is she talking about?”
I took an unintentional step back. Fuck, she was scary…
Theo barked out a laugh. “I’m talking about the fact that if Naomi is taking the spare room upstairs, then the only other room is in the guest house… with me.” Theo smirked at Cassandra, clearly living for the lawyer’s inevitable explosion.
“Fuck this, I’m getting a hotel,” Cass snapped, turning on her heel. Vox grabbed her arm and tossed her back down the hall, right into Theo’s chest.
Theo steadied Cass as she teetered on her heels with a chuckle, and I thought for a minute that Cass was going to slap her right across the face. The only problem was Theo looked like she wanted her to do it.
Fuck having all of us under the same roof was going to be a shit show.
“That defeats the purpose, Cass. If it was safe to separate, you could have just stayed in your condo. Vox thinks we need to stick together. Apparently, we’re in danger,” Naomi pointed out, and I had to agree.
“Not to interrupt,” I snapped, “but can someone explain why we’re in danger? Where the fuck is Cal?” I couldn’t even pretend to be keeping my cool. “I’m freaking the fuck out. I need to know where he is, please,” I said, turning to Vox.
Vox gave me a sympathetic look and sighed. He made a writing motion on his palm and glanced at my desk expectantly. I rushed to get him a pen and paper.
Vox scribbled out a few words and passed the note back to me.
‘Damian is pissed that Cal has been distracted lately.’
Vox gave me a pointed look, and I felt my face go white. I knew what he was implying. I was what had been distracting Cal lately . My fingers began to shake.
“So he’s in trouble? Is he going to be ok?” I rasped, and Vox nodded, though his expression was grave. He snatched the paper back from me and wrote another note.
‘Damian won’t kill him. But he’s being ‘punished.’
I narrowed my eyes. “What the fuck does that mean!? Punished? Like, he’s hurting him?”
Vox gave me a very serious nod, and both Cass and Naomi looked furious.
“I’ll fucking kill that twat waffle!” Cassandra screeched, moving to storm away again. Vox stepped forward to block her, but Theo got to her first.
“You’re not going anywhere, princess,” Theo grunted, wrapping her arms around Cassandra’s waist and dragging her back.
“Let go of me, you fucking ogre! That dickhole has my brother!”
“Yeah, and he’s going to get you, too, if you go storming over there without a plan.” Theo snapped, not letting up an inch.
Cass whirled around to face my sister. She was so pissed that I was shocked literal smoke wasn’t billowing out her ears.
“Yeah? And what do you suggest we do? Just sit here and do nothing?”
Theo chuckled and shook her head, gesturing to Vox.
“Seems like Dracula over there has a plan. Maybe we listen to him.”
Vox rolled his eyes and wrote on his sheet of paper again.
‘Who here can use a gun?’
Everyone raised their hand but me. Even fucking little Naomi.
I gaped at Theo.
“How do you know how to use a gun!?”
“How do you not!? What if we got robbed? What the fuck Ryan?”
“We’re not going to get robbed!”
“You don’t know that! This is a business! Businesses get robbed all the time.”
Vox stepped between me and my sister and pulled a handgun out of nowhere. He handed it butt first to Theo, who took it from him without even blinking.
I watched in awe as she pulled back the metal thingy on top to check it for… I don’t know... bullets, I guess?
Vox pointed to Theo and then to Cass and made a sweeping gesture toward her luggage.
Theo smirked and turned to Cass, pointing the handgun at the ground.
“Guess I’m your knight in shining armor, princess.”
Cass glowered at Theo, her lip curling in disdain. To my complete shock, she reached into her Chanel bag and pulled out a handgun of her own, though hers was notably smaller.
“In your dreams, Muscle Shirt. I slay my own dragons. I don’t need you to protect me.”
I glanced at Naomi and raised an eyebrow.
“You going to whip out a gun, too, Gnomes?” I mumbled, and she sighed, shaking her head.
“Nah. I keep mine at the range.”
My mouth dropped open, and she snickered.
“Cal’s been taking me for years. You know, just in case.”
“For fuck’s sake…” I groaned.
Vox pointed to Naomi’s suitcase, then gestured over his head to where the bedrooms were. He was clearly telling everyone to get settled in.
“Fine. You’re so bossy.” Naomi sniffed, grabbing her big pink suitcase and rolling it down the hall.
Cass snorted, then turned to Theo. “I guess you might as well show me where I’m staying.” She gave my sister a critical up and down. “Better not smell like a fucking gym.”
Theo just smirked and grabbed Cass’s massive Louis Vuitton bag, heading toward the kitchen.
“Let’s go, princess. I’ll need your help moving all the free weights out of your room.”
“Is that a fucking joke?” Cass snarled, though she at least was following Theo.
Once we were alone, Vox gestured for me to follow him, but I shook my head.
“Wait, tell me where we’re going first. Are we going to get Cal?”
Vox gave me a pitying look and shook his head. He leaned over the desk to write me another note.
‘Gun range. You need to learn how to shoot.’
The words seemed to burn on the page before me as the reality of the situation sank in. I had never had any interest in learning how to shoot a fucking gun, but in that moment, knowing that some faceless villain had my psycho and was hurting him… I suddenly wanted to know how to shoot a gun really fucking badly.
I crumbled Vox’s note in my hand and gave him a nod. Something close to respect twinkled in his silver eyes, and he jerked his head toward the door, indicating that he wanted me to follow him.
Cal’s bright, smiling face swam across my vision, and my throat felt tight at the thought that he was somewhere hurting right now, and I had no way of going to him.