Page 100 of Trust

It’s locked, but Adam lets go of Micah and gives the door a hefty kick. The frame cracks. Another kick, and the door flies open.

Well, fuck.

I should have replaced the door frame with something sturdier.

“Let’s see what you’re hiding, motherfuckers,” Adam growls. He reaches for Micah again, but I get between the two of them.

“Leave him,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

Micah’s expression gets more and more bleak. “It’s fine,” he says quietly. “He’s not going to… to hurt me.” If I wasn’t listening so closely, I might not have heard the way he’d stuttered. “But Adam, I shouldn’t be here. I’ll go back into the restaurant and wait for you there.”

“Christ, are you slow?” Adam says to me. “Your boy toy informed on you! But you still want to believe he fucking cares about you? Micah only cares about himself.”

No. Whatever Adam says, I knowthat’snot true.

He wants to be a manipulative bastard? He is nothing compared to my father.

Another officer walks out from the restaurant. “Hey, Sawyer, we’re coming up empty.”

“Like I said,” I say. “This was wild duck chase.”

“Arrest Zima,” Adam snaps. “And Ivan here too. I’m going to check out the rest of this building.”

“There is no rest of building,” I protest. “You have no grounds for arrest.”

Boris tenses up as the cops approach him. I give him a small shake of my head. Better to be arrested and have the lawyers talk us out than to cause a bigger scene.

I don’t want Micah to get caught up in anything.

“Adam,” Micah protests. “He’s not—” He glances at the other officer and cuts himself off.

Adam pins him with a glare, and Micah steps back.

The officer looks between them. “Who’s this guy? Should I arrest him, too?”

“Yeah,” Adam says. “A few hours in a cell might get him to open up a bit more.”

Micah reels back. “Adam?” he whispers. He’s breathing more quickly now as fear overtakes his expression.

“Do not touch him,” I snap at the officers. “You’re already arresting me. Leave Micah alone.”

Boris glowers at me. “Boss. Who cares? The kid is clearly in on it.”

“I care,” I answer in English. “If you hurt Micah, you motherfucker, I will find you and I will give you a real reason to fear me.”

Adam sneers back at me. “Just fucking try it, you piece of shit.” He nods to the officers. “Arrest all of them.”

Before anyone can get their hands on me, I raise an arm and shove the officer away. I get between him and Micah. “Mishka, I’ll protect you,” I whisper. “Close your eyes. It will be ugly.”

“No,” he says, taking a step out from behind me. “I’ll be okay. No one’s going to hurt me. It’ll just be for a few hours. Then…” His gaze darts to Adam. “Then I’ll go home, and all of this willbe over. Don’t make this worse on yourself, Ilya. They didn’t find anything, remember? I?—”

“Go home?” I repeat. “Where is home, Mishka?”

“I don’t know,” he replies quietly.

“Enough,” the officer I’d pushed says. “Put your hands behind your back, Zima. Unless you really do want this to getugly.”

I put my hands behind my back, itching to punch both of these officers and beat them down. Between me and Boris, I think we could do it.