19. Evan #2
We skid to a stop in front of the sitting room. Vlado went in first, but I was right on his heels. Our protocol was that he cleared a room before I entered, but fuck that. Nick was in trouble, and I’d happily take a bullet if it meant he didn’t.
“What the hell?” Imogen jumped up from the sofa as we spilled into the room.
“Where’s Malcolm?” I demanded. Blood pounded in my ears as my vision went dark around the edges.
“Why?”
“Answer the question, bitch,” Emily snapped.
“Bitch?” Imogen’s fear melted into indignation. “Excuse me, but—”
“Where is he?” I said again. “I’m losing my patience.”
“This way.”
I turned to Vlado, some of my haze clearing. He was just putting his phone in his pocket.
Not questioning him, I took off at a sprint, following my best friend as he tore out of the room, turned left, and sprinted toward Emily’s personal suite.
“There.” He pointed to the door of her office as I rounded the corner and nearly slammed right into the wall as my shoes slid on the polished floors. “Fall back,” Vlado ordered, his gun at the ready.
Every instinct told me to ignore my best friend and burst into the room, consequences be damned, but he was right. If Nick was in trouble, then we needed to be smart about this.
He motioned for us to move to the side so we weren’t in line with the door. I tugged Emily over. He put his ear up to it, one hand on the knob.
A bloodcurdling scream echoed from the other side.
“Nick!” Forgetting all about our safety protocols, I lurched toward the door.
Vlado shoved it open and stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body as he leveled his gun at the two men in the room.
Imogen screamed; Vlado shouted. Emily yelled something, but all I could do was stare at the scene in front of me.
Nick had Malcolm on the floor, Malcolm’s arm in a pinning hold, and a colorful and shiny knife in his free hand.
“Help!” Malcolm shrieked from the floor. “He’s trying to kill me!”
“Mal!” Imogen screamed. She managed to take two steps toward him before Emily grabbed the back of her blouse and jerked her to a stop.
“Slow your roll, bitch.”
“Help me!” Malcolm shrieked again.
“SHUT. UP.” Nick wrenched his arm, which made Malcolm scream and writhe on the floor like the snake he was.
“You good?” Vlado asked Nick, his gun pointed at Malcolm.
“I got this.” Nick grinned, and the effect was both angelic and feral.
“What are you doing?” Imogen squawked. “He’s going to kill Mal! Shoot him!”
“Shut the fuck up.” Emily yanked Imogen back.
“Someone do something!” Imogen continued on hysterically. “Mal!” She lunged at him but stumbled to a stop as Emily jerked her back again.
“Park your ass in that chair before I rearrange your stupid face.”
“Mal!” Imogen sobbed.
“Help me,” Malcolm begged Emily. “Please, sweetheart.”
“Sweetheart?” Nick kicked Malcolm in the side. “Don’t you dare talk to her. Don’t even look at her, you two-timing lemon-faced adulterer.”
“What?” Emily stilled.
“He’s a cheater.” Nick glared down at Malcolm, his face red as his breaths came out in stilted gasps. “A cheater cheater pumpkin eater.” He snapped his gaze to Imogen, giving her the same death stare as Malcolm. “Isn’t that right, pumpkin?”
Imogen blanched.
“He’s lying.” Malcolm was still staring at Emily. “He’s working with whoever is after Evan!” His crazed eyes flew to me. “He’s been lying to you about everything.”
“He’s lying! Ev, I swear—”
I crossed the room in four strides.
“Evan,” Nick said. His big blue eyes were wide and wet. A bruise on his cheekbone caught my attention and the surge of rage that hit me was so strong it stole my breath.
“Give me the knife.” I held out my hand, somehow managing to keep my voice steady.
He snapped it closed and put it in my palm.
“I swear I’m not working with any—”
Yanking him into my arms, I hugged him tight and pressed my nose into his messy hair. “I’m so sorry.”
He clung to me.
“Emily, sweetheart—” Malcolm started but was cut off by a loud slap.
“Whoa there, killer.”
I cracked one eye open in time to see Vlado scoop Emily up and drag her back from where Malcolm still lay on the floor, one hand on his cheek.
“Five minutes,” she snarled. “Give me five minutes with this waste of space.”
“He’s not worth it.” Vlado hugged Emily to his chest but kept his gun aimed at Malcolm.
“He’s lying—”
“Shut up!” Vlado and Emily both yelled at Malcolm.
“Evan?”
I looked back down into Nick’s tearstained face.
“I’m so sorry.” I brushed his hair back from his forehead, blocking out whatever was going on with Malcolm and the others.
“Why are you sorry?” He blinked up at me.
“Because I couldn’t protect you.”
He gave me an incredulous look, his earlier distress gone. “Really? Did you not see me just now? I don’t need someone to protect me. I did just fine on my own.”
“Yes, darling, you did.” I pressed a quick but desperate kiss to his lips. “You’re right. You don’t need my protection. I’m just sorry you got dragged into all this.”
“Is Emily okay?” he asked softly.
I glanced at my sister, who was still clinging to Vlado and glaring at Malcolm like her stare could turn him to stone. And hell, maybe it could.
“She’ll be fine.” I looked at Nick. “Him, I’m not so sure about.”
Nick gave a wobbly smile. “Can we get out of this room and away from cheater mccheaterface?”
I peered over at Vlado.
“Go. I’ll take care of things here.”
I tightened my arm around Nick’s shoulders. “Em?”
She shook her head, her eyes still ablaze with fury as she stared down Malcolm. “I’ll help him.”
Imogen’s sobs increased in volume.
“Can we gag her?” Emily asked Vlado, her voice and expression suddenly sweet as pie. “Pretty please?”
Satisfied she’d be okay, I told Nick, “Come on.”
Nick caught Vlado’s eye, then looked down at Malcolm. “Bye Felicia.”
Vlado chuckled.
Before I could ask, Nick slung his arm around my waist and let me lead him out of the office. “Are you mad at me?”
“Of course not. Why on earth would I be mad?”
“Because I beat up your dad’s COO and now Vlado has to deal with it?”
“No, darling. I’m not mad. But there are a few things I need to tell you about Malcolm.”
“What do you mean?” he asked as we walked.
“Malcolm isn’t just a cheater. He’s behind the threats on your life.”
Nick skidded to a stop and pulled out of my grip. “What?! Oh hell no.” He spun on his heel and stalked back toward the office.
I caught his arm and gently pulled him back. “It’s over, Nicky.”
“No it the fuck isn’t. I’m gonna rip his balls off and turn them into Christmas ornaments. No one threatens my man.”
The surge of both pride and overwhelming love that swept through me at Nick’s declaration chased away the last of my rage. How the hell had I gotten so lucky to have not only found Nick, but to have earned his loyalty?
“I know, darling. I want to kill him for what he’s done to you, to Emily. But he doesn’t deserve a quick out. He’s going to spend the rest of his life behind bars, and I have ways to make sure his time there is as unpleasant as possible.”
“That’s the scariest, and the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Nick grinned impishly. “Competency is hot.” His smile dipped. “You knew about the threats before the cheating?”
“We only just figured it out.”
Hurt shrouded his eyes. “Like you and Vlado?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” He rubbed at his neck. “Well, that’s good. At least you solved the mystery. Like the Hardy Boys, only you’re not bio brothers. Or teenagers. And this wasn’t really a mystery. And—”
“I’m sorry we didn’t include you.” I sighed. “I messed up. I should have told you what we were doing.”
“What were you doing? How did you find out?”
“Can we walk and talk?”
He fell into step beside me.
“Vlado got a call from his team about ten minutes after we arrived. They found the printer the letters were being printed from, and traced them back to Malcolm.”
“They did?”
“Yes. We couldn’t be sure if it really was him, or if someone was trying to frame him, so we broke into his office and searched it.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me about this plan?”
“It wasn’t really a plan, more of a spur-of-the-moment decision.”
“I can accept that. And I guess I did kinda help. Sort of. I’m not happy that you used me to keep Emily distracted so you could snoop through her house, but body-slamming lemon face and watching him almost pee himself with fear was soooooo cathartic that I forgive you.”
“I should have told you, even just to keep you informed. I just… I was irrational. If I hadn’t needed evidence against him, I would have killed him just for being adjacent to the threats against you. Mastermind or no.”
“Look at you being all badass.” Nick smiled, some of his usual brightness back. “I’m guessing you found something while you were playing spy?”
“We did. Evidence that he’s behind the threats, and evidence of some disturbing things he’s been doing behind the scenes of my father’s company.”
“Disturbing like he’s a secret furry with a scat fetish, or disturbing like illegal?”
“Both. No furry or scat, but highly illegal and extremely unethical.”
“And you’re not telling me because you don’t think I can handle it, or because you can’t?”
“Because it makes me sick to think about. He’s involved with human organ trafficking.”
Nick stumbled. “Jesus H Christ. Actual organs? Like on the black market?”
I nodded.
“I knew there was something hinky about him. I knew it.” He rubbed his throat again.
I tugged him to a stop. “What’s wrong with your neck?”
“Nothing. I think it got a bit bruised when lemon face used my shirt like a leash and tried to choke me out.” He undid the top button of his shirt. The skin underneath was already a soft purple.
My vision went red.
“Ev!” Nick grabbed my arm and hauled me to a stop.
“I’m going to kill him,” I snarled.
“No, you’re not.” He shoved me back and put himself between me and the hallway we’d just walked down. “I’m fine. It’s just a few bruises.”