Page 59 of Bad Medicine

I looked up to see Ryker staring at me from the doorway, a stack of invoices or something in his hand. He’d not been around long, but from what I could tell, the man knew what’s what. When Enzo hired him to replace that dumbass, Amber, when she lost her mind and turned traitor, I wasn’t sure how he’d work out. It wasn’t often that we didn’t promote from within, for obvious reasons.

But so far, the guy had done a stand-up job. He’d gotten all the clubs sorted out after the clusterfuck Amber had left us in, taken over all the paperwork, for which I was eternally grateful, and he’d even cleaned.

At the same time, he appeared to know what was his business and what wasn’t, which was the most important characteristic of a good employee. Something he demonstrated now, as he stood and quietly exited the office.

Something Amber never truly learned.

“Nah, man,” I said, staring again at the text message and wondering what the fuck that Russian asshole was up to. “Just some, you know, work shit.”

Ryker simply nodded and took himself over to the desk I had previously claimed as my own here atSin City. When Enzo said the man needed an office, I had been more than happy to hand my space over. I spent more time on the couch here, anyway.

Well, I mean, I used to.

Lately, not so fuckin’ much.

Pushing my poor, neglected dick out of my mind, I pressed the button to call Trick, not having the energy to respond via text.

“Yo,” he answered, and I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t you fuckin’ ‘yo’ me, numb-nuts. What the fuck are you talking about with that shit?”

“Exactly what I said, junior boss.”

“Get fucked, Trick, and tell me what’s happening?”

“I been scouting around the city, keeping an eye on things,” he said, trying for casual, but I knew he was full of shit. Trick had been following a certain law student around town, watching her every move as he tried to decide if he was gonna take a bite of that or not.

I didn’t call him out on it, though, because I had no room to talk. There was a good chance my dumbass was parked outside a certain hospital once or twice this week, watching for her like a goddamn masochist.

I musta had terrible timing, though, because I never saw her come or go from the employee parking lot. So far, I hadn’t been desperate enough to actually go inside, but it was a close call.

“So, I pull up to the brothel, right? The one Anton owns, and who do I see coming out but our girl Amber.”

Well, speak of the devil.

“So, she’s still skulking around with the Russian, hey? I thought he might have dumped her ass, too, by now.”

“Well, from what I could see, it might not be far off.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. She stormed out, right? Heading up the street like she was leaving. Then that fuck Gregor comes out, and they start gettin’ into it right in the street.” Trick laughed. “They were fighting something fierce, screaming and hollering like they were on a daytime soap. Then she said something that must’ve really pissed him off because he grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back inside.”

Something dark rolled across my thoughts, something I hadn’t encountered in a long time.

“She okay?” I asked, and Trick paused.

“Uh, I mean, I guess.”

I could tell he was confused. Shit, I was confused. Amber was on our most wanted list these days; Enzo had been lookin’ for her ever since she brained Francesca that night atWrath. Still, I wasn’t sure he’d actually harm her. Scare the shit outta her, sure. Put her on a bus and send her halfway across the country with a warning to never step foot in Nevada again? Highly likely.

But kill her? Doubtful.

But I’d seen too much shit in my life to not feel like protecting a woman from violence was the right thing to do.

Even a woman like Amber.

“Keep an eye out, Trick, alright? Let me know what happens, but try not to let her outta your sight. Enzo still wants to talk to her.”