Chapter 16 Wraith
Wraith
Boone is on edge—rightfully so—with his hands clenched into fists. He’s weak as fuck, fortunately for me, but I gotta admire the fight in him. That’s how he’s lasted this long.
“How do you know my brother?” Boone asks, glaring at me. “Did you use him to get to me?”
“Fair question.” I glance at Bouche. “Except I didn’t know you were his brother. How would I? That’s clearly protected information.”
“But someone knew,” Bouche says, looking at Boone. “The people who hired his company.”
“Company?” Boone scoffs. “Seriously, Pax? He works for a company?”
“Of sorts.” I clear my throat. “I didn’t know Bouche was connected to you when I started coming to the games. All I knew was that you showed up for home games and it was my job to find you, follow you, and….” I gesture vaguely.
“Kill me?”
Nodding, I avert my eyes for a moment. “It’s what I do.”
Boone’s eyes widen as he turns to his brother. “Why are you hanging out with him?”
“Because I didn’t fucking know.”
“But why are you hanging out with him, Pax? You met at the game and became instant besties?”
Bouche’s face turns red as he swallows hard. “We, um, we hooked up.”
Boone blinks rapidly before dragging his hand through his hair. “You’re fucking kidding me. This is how I find out my brother’s queer? Because you’re fucking the guy hired to kill me?”
Bouche blanches but doesn’t say anything.
“Seriously, Pax?”
“Sorry,” Bouche mumbles. “It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. I just wasn’t sure how and when to bring it up.”
Boone shakes his head. “I mean, he’s hot, so I get it, but you really expect me to believe this is a coincidence? Do you believe that, Pax?”
“I do now, but not at first. There’s literally nothing about us online or connecting us in any way. I made sure of that.”
“But again,” I say, drawing their eyes to me, “the people who hired us know.”
“That’s my fault.” Boone closes his eyes.
“I let it slip one night when I was strung out. I owed a guy some money and I told him I was good for it, but he didn’t believe me, so I pulled the brother card.
I didn’t even remember it happened until he reminded me weeks later.
I got the money to him and figured it was over, but he obviously told people. ”
Bouche’s jaw tightens to the point where I think he might break it. He’s pissed. “Dammit, Boone. That’s the whole point of not telling people—so they can’t use it to hurt you.”
“Really? I thought it was so the public would never know what a loser brother you have.”
“Stop.” Bouche shakes his head. “You know better.”
Boone mumbles under his breath as he plops down in a beat-up chair. “Maybe it would just be easier if I did die or disappear. I don’t care about me. I mean, I do, but I gotta do something to save those kids.”
“Wraith has an idea,” Bouche says, looking at me. I can see the pain, desperation, and fear in his eyes. I want to kiss it away, but now is not the time.
“What do you know about the operation?” I ask. “The more details the better. I can bring this to my boss and—”
“No way.” Boone shakes his head. “I’m already in too deep. Telling more people just increases my risk.”
“Boone, listen to me.” I crouch in front of him.
“You’re right that you’re in too deep. I was hired to kill you, remember?
That problem isn’t just going to go away.
When we get hired, it’s because they’re serious about what they want.
If I’m honest, you’d already be dead if I hadn’t been distracted. ”
“Distracted?”
“By your brother. I could’ve followed you the night I saw you at the arena. That would’ve been it, but I…” I shake my head. “I let it go.”
“How kind of you,” he snaps.
“I’m not trying to come off benevolent. In all honesty, my boss is gonna be pissed at me. I should’ve handled business and this should be a moot point, but now I’m putting my ass on the line to intervene.”
“Why? Because of Paxon?”
Yes. Fuck me.
“Because of the circumstances. My boss, everyone I work with, we fucking hate trafficking and sex crimes. I think I can appeal to my boss’s sensibilities, but I need information.
I can’t go to him and tell him I didn’t follow through on a hit because I might’ve heard some stuff. You gotta meet me halfway, man.”
Boone studies my face for a moment, then looks at Bouche, who is standing a few feet away, his arms wrapped around himself, his face a mask of tension.
“Do you believe him, Pax? Are you sure he’s not setting us up?”
I turn to Bouche too as his eyes settle on me.
“I wouldn’t have brought him here if I didn’t believe him.”
The tension in my chest eases slightly. At least Bouche believes me. I’ve ruined any chance of another hookup with him, but at least I didn’t kill his fucking brother. Small mercies.
“Okay.” Boone stands up and crosses the room to the dresser, where he pulls a folder out of a tote bag. “It’s all here. Addresses, pictures, text messages. I’ve been collecting it for months.”
“Why didn’t you take it to the police?” Bouche asks.
Boone scoffs, almost laughing. “Dude. The police? I’m sure you aren’t aware of how the real world works from up there on your hockey throne, but you’ve at least seen a movie or two, haven’t you?”
“Hockey throne?”
“Guys like this have cops in their pocket. I’d be dead before morning.”
“He’s right,” I say. “You don’t want to know how easy it is to get law enforcement to look the other way.”
Bouche exhales loudly. “Okay. What now then?”
“Let’s start by looking through what Boone has and go from there.”
Boone slides the folder to me then crosses his arms. “Have fun.”
I flip open the folder, noting how thick it is, and it only takes me a few minutes to understand how Boone became a target. There’s so much here, and it’s detailed. Faces, names, specific conversations, addresses, all of it. Every single player.
I’m aware that Bouche and his brother are talking around me, but I’m focused on what I’m reviewing and figuring out how to approach Shadow about this.
What Bouche said earlier about how I would’ve killed his brother without a second thought keeps bouncing around my head.
Maybe it’s time we were a little more discerning about the jobs we take on.
There’s no way Shadow knows he’s dealing with major traffickers. No way at all.
Still, I can’t just walk into his office and tell him I fucked up but we have a chance to save the day. Can I?
This is bad though. I could tell him that while I had the victim cornered, he spilled all this information, but that would be lying to Shadow, and I’ve never done that. It’s a deal-breaker for him. What we do, how we live, it all works because of trust. I can’t break that trust.
I rub my forehead, thinking about the best way to deal with this. It needs to be soon, too. The longer we wait, the more danger Boone and the victims are in. I have to do something.
“Are you okay?” Bouche asks.
I look up, gazing into his eyes. The hate and anger from earlier are gone, replaced with something much softer. Fuck, I want to fall to my knees and worship his cock, hold him, inhale his scent, taste his mouth. But I never will again. There’s no fucking way now that he knows what I am.
“Sure, man. I’m good,” I lie. “Just thinking.”
“Your boss wouldn’t hurt you, right?” he asks. “For not doing the job?”
“No, he wouldn’t hurt me, but…” I drag my hand through my hair. “I’ve never defied orders before, so I’m not sure how he’ll react. It’s for a good reason though, and he’ll listen.”
I hope he will.
After spending another thirty to forty minutes reading through every detail Boone has collected, I look up to see Bouche whispering heatedly to his brother.
“Dude, it’s a short walk,” Boone says. “If someone knew I was here, we’d know that already.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“He wants to step outside to clear his head,” Bouche says. “Do you think it’s okay?”
“He’s right. If someone knew he was here, we’d have a problem on our hands already. Just don’t go far, huh?”
“Literally gonna walk around this shithole motel. I need to think.” He grabs his coat and puts his hand on Bouche’s shoulder. “I know you worry, but I’ve made it this far. I’ll be alright.”
“Fine, just hurry back.”
“You bet.” Boone throws his arms around his brother’s shoulders. “You’re an awesome brother, Pax. Knowing you care means a lot to me.”
“Of course I care.”
Boone smiles, patting Bouche’s cheek before shifting his gaze to me. His smile fades as he tosses on his jacket. “Be right back,” he says before slipping from the room.
Bouche immediately drops onto the bed with a huff. “Every gray hair I have is from him.”
I’d point out that he doesn’t have any gray hair yet, but that’s not the point. “He’s a fighter, Bouche.”
“I know, and so damn independent.”
“You have different fathers, right?”
“Yeah. When I was signed to the league, we decided it would be best for all parties if I kept my personal life and my family on lockdown. Boone had already been in a lot of trouble, and our mom thought it was wise to put some separation between us. They both had Gemelli as a last name, which helped, but then Boone told us he wanted to go by that name. It was his paternal grandfather’s last name.
We let Patrick Gemelli fade away, and it worked.
No one knew I even had a brother until a couple of years ago.
” His eyes cloud over and he suddenly looks sad.
“What happened?”
“He overdosed. Accidentally, but it was bad. The hospital called me just as I was finishing a game and the guys were there for me. They rallied around me and kept my secret. Just four of them and the coach know.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugs. “It’s fine now. He’s sober, and I believe him.
He’s so different, and I really thought he’d got his life on track, and then this happened.
” His voice cracks. “Fuck. I’m so tired of worrying, you know?
I just want him to be happy and healthy, but every time I turn around, it’s something else. ”
“Yeah.”