Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds Series Book 2)

by Jocelynn Drake

  Jude paused just over the threshold, his breath leaving him at the sight of the pristine white walls and intricate gold-leaf covering the molding on the columns and above the doors leading to the main auditorium. A sparkling crystal chandelier dangled overhead, its bright light reflected off the shining black-and-white squared floor. It was like stepping into pictures he’d seen of old opera houses and palaces in Paris, Prague, and Berlin. Despite its openness and size, the foyer felt oppressive as if the weight of the entire building and its decades of history were pressing down, threatening to crush him.

  The silence was broken by soft footsteps echoing across the floor. Jude looked up to see a slender young man in a dark suit hurrying to them. His smile was timid and his eyes darted to their faces for only a second before he lowered them again. That quick, nervous action was enough to remind Jude why they’d come. To catch the man threatening Snow and who had terrorized Ian.

  “Good evening, sir,” the man said upon reaching them. “Do you have a reservation?”

  As Lucas instructed, Jude reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a white card with his fake name printed across his along with a number. The young man tapped on the small tablet in his left hand and compared the information on the card to the tablet.

  “Thank you for your patience, sir,” the man continued with a nod. “If you will just follow me.” He started leading them down the hall and away from the main auditorium to a set of closed elevator doors. He pushed the button and then turned his body slightly toward Jude, but didn’t look directly at him as he spoke. “A private table has been reserved for you and the rest of your party. Champagne and tapas are already prepared for your pleasure. The auction is set to begin in twenty minutes. Some of the members are partaking of cigars and beverages in the Critic’s Club if you wish to stop there before going to your table.”

  Jude froze. Should he go? Gratton could be among the other members, giving them a shot at getting their hands on him before the auction even starts. But then, they would be out in the open. What if someone recognized them?

  Andrei leaned forward and loudly whispered something in Romanian in his ear. Jude didn’t speak a word of Romanian, didn’t have a clue as to what the man said, but he made a show of crumpling his brow and shaking his head.

  “Mr. Smith wishes to go directly to his table,” Andrei snapped in a heavily accented voice and Jude nearly smiled. They were all playing fakes tonight. Their guide nodded and motioned for them to precede him into the elevator.

  When the doors opened again on the third floor, their guide led them briskly to a room labeled Corbett Tower. It was dimly lit, but what Jude could make out that it was a large room that had been carefully partitioned off using great swaths of cloth and possibly even temporary walls used for office cubicles. Down the center of the room was a raised platform like a catwalk. It was an odd mix of fashion show and high-priced bordello.

  Near the center of the room, their guide pulled aside a curtain and motioned for Jude to enter. The small private area contained a table with two chairs. The only lighting came from a candle protected by a hurricane glass, but it was enough to reveal several pieces of delicate tapas on fine china and a pair of champagne flutes. A silver bucket of sat on a stand in a corner filled with ice, chilling a bottle of champagne.

  “Should you need anything, simply send your boy out of the curtain and a servant will appear to take your wishes,” the guide continued at a whisper. “Please enter your information into the tablet on the table to access your account. You will need to log in at least ten minutes before the auction starts.” The young man gave a little bow and then disappeared back the way he came.

  As soon as they were alone, Andrei pulled out a small device from inside his jacket pocket and checked every inch of their small space before he allowed them to say a single word. When he nodded that there were no listening devices other than their own, Jude breathed a small sigh of relief as he dropped into one of the chairs. Geoffrey sat beside him, but his small body seemed to hum with barely concealed energy.

  “Well, that was easy,” Geoffrey whispered, flashing Jude a nervous smile.

  Jude bit back at caustic remark, settling on just shaking his head at the blond. Getting in had never been the real worry.

  Andrei’s low voice rumbled behind them, but Jude couldn’t make out what he was saying it was so low. He didn’t need to know. The skilled bodyguard was relaying to Snow and Lucas every detail he’d taken in on the off chance that something had been missed by their video cameras. Jude tamped down the wish that he had an ear piece like Andrei but the bodyguard had been able to procure only two from Ward Security — one for him and one for Lucas. For just a moment, he would have loved to have Snow’s strong, bossy voice in his ear, telling him exactly what to do.

  With his eyes closed, Jude tried to center his thoughts on the task ahead of him, but there was only Snow. “General, when this is over, I’m going to fuck you so hard you’re not going to be able to wipe the shit-eating grin off your face for a week.” When he opened his eyes, he straightened his shoulders and lifted his head a little bit. He didn’t care that Lucas had heard that. He needed to say it. Needed to put it out there, set the goal so he’d have something to reach for to get him through this night.

  A second later, Andrei’s hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed. The bodyguard leaned down, his long hair brushing against Jude’s cheek. “He laughed and said, ‘Bring it, Torres.’”

  He laughed. Yeah, Jude would take that. Snow needed to laugh more and he was happy to cause it.

  Jude looked over at Geoffrey and saw the uneasiness crowding the young man’s eyes as he shifted in his seat. “Don’t worry. We got this.”

  ###

  Snow flipped off Lucas and slouched in the front passenger seat of his friend’s Mercedes. He loved the tingling flush that had swept through his body at Jude’s low, hot words, but Lucas’s wide grin and laughing eyes had quickly reminded him that they had an audience and he wasn’t going to fucking share Jude. Not even with his best friend. This…this thing with Jude felt too new, too fragile, and he didn’t want to have to explain it or defend it when he couldn’t find the damn words to describe it.

  Shifting in the front, passenger seat, he pushed buttons, moving the seat as far back as he could then forward, tilting it back then forward again. Nothing felt right. He remembered this thing being more comfortable. Of course, the other times he’d been in Lucas’s car, he didn’t feel trapped, desperate to be somewhere else because someone he cared about was in danger.

  Grabbing the tablet, Snow glared at it, but there wasn’t much to see. All three men wore micro cameras. Geoffrey’s was implanted in his choker, while Jude and Andrei had one hidden in their pocket squares in the suits. All the cameras had mics so Lucas and Snow could easily hear their conversation through the tablet. The only problem was that only Andrei wore an earpiece. Not a big deal if Andrei stayed with Jude and Geoffrey, which was the plan.

  But if they were separated, Lucas couldn’t give Jude and Geoffrey information or instructions. Snow also wasn’t a fan of the fact that Jude was completely unarmed, but the paramedic had been adamant. He refused to shoot another person, even if it meant protecting himself. Fuck! He couldn’t fault him for it.

  “Are you quite through with your temper tantrum over there?” Lucas slowly drawled.

  Snow looked up to find his friend sitting at an angle facing toward him, his left elbow up on the door and his head resting lightly on his hand. Lucas may have looked relaxed, but it was an act. Snow could see the flexing muscles in his jaw as he clenched his teeth, and right hand fisted on his thigh, half hidden by his heavy wool coat.

  “Shut up,” Snow growled. “You’re not any better off than me.” He forced his gaze back down to the tablet, while at the same time blocking out Geoffrey’s nervous chatter. Hell, the man’s mouth seemed to run nonstop.

  “This is stupid. That should be us in there,” Snow said after another minut
e of tense silence broken only by the howl of the wind and the soft whoosh of cars as they passed, heading toward downtown and the river.

  “I agree.”

  “Why the hell do you have to have such a well-known face?”

  Lucas snorted. “And yours is any better?”

  “Hey! I wasn’t the one who was on the cover of Fortune and Forbes last year.”

  “Entrepreneur.”

  “What?”

  “Forbes and Entrepreneur,” Lucas corrected, earning him an eye roll from Snow. “And it doesn’t matter. If Gratton spotted either of us in there, he’d know something was up. He’d be gone in an instant.

  “And your Romanian isn’t a dead giveaway? You have been out with him the past few months.”

  “Of course I have! I’m proud to be seen with him. We’ve got nothing to hide.”

  Snow snickered at Lucas’s defensive walls going up in record time. It wasn’t what he’d meant at all, but he knew his friend was edgy about his relationship, worried not only about its potential impact on his future business plans, but mostly about changes to Andrei’s life. “Idiot. I meant that Gratton likely knows that Andrei is with you.”

  “If he knows that, he likely knows that Andrei a bodyguard for hire. He’s on a job. It’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Lucas smiled at Snow. “Yes, Andrei can protect Jude and Geoffrey. He will keep them safe. I believe in him.”

  Snow grunted and looked back down at the tablet in his hands. His eyes caught on the little speaker icon in the bottom right corner, causing him to swear silently to himself. Of course Lucas would say that. Andrei could hear every fucking word they were saying. Snow pulled up the control panel and held up the tablet so Lucas could clearly see him turning off their microphones. Andrei couldn’t hear anything they said.

  “Can he—”

  “My answer is exactly the same,” Lucas cut him off, his voice become deadly sharp. “I didn’t say that for him or for you. I said it because it’s the damn truth. Andrei is the second most dangerous man I know. Unfortunately, the most dangerous man is out of town, grieving the death of a wonderful woman.”

  A low ache that seemed to take up permanent residence in his chest throbbed to life at the mention of Rowe and Melissa. It was hard to believe that she’d been gone so long already. Everything was such a blur. Hadn’t he talked to her on the phone just days ago? Something about laying bets about whether Lucas would make it through Valentine’s Day alive. And Rowe…his mind kept flashing back to that moment in the hospital, his friend demanding to know why he hadn’t been there.

  “Andrei will protect Jude and Geoffrey with his life. It’s who he is.”

  Snow frowned, a chill seeping into his blood at Lucas’s words. He didn’t doubt that about Andrei. But what if something happened and Andrei died saving Jude’s life? What would that do to Lucas? What would that do to his own view of Jude? He didn’t want to look at the sexy paramedic and only see the death of his friend’s love.

  “If something happens to Andrei, I won’t blame Jude or Geoffrey. Or even Andrei,” Lucas continued as if he could read Snow’s mind. But then they’d been friends for so long, it was entirely possible.

  “You’ll just accept it?”

  He watched as Lucas’s handsome face hardened into someone that Snow didn’t really recognize any longer. “No, I’ll hunt the fucker down the same way that I hunted down Chris Green. And I’ll happily pull the trigger…again.”

  Snow sighed and closed his eyes, no longer able to meet Lucas’s cold gaze. His heart broke to see him like this. Cold and unyielding. Untouchable. It scared him like nothing could. “So you did it. You killed him.”

  “You doubted it?”

  He shook his head once. Hoped. Wished. Prayed to something he didn’t even believe in. But he’d known. “Did Rowe even try to talk you out of it?”

  “No.”

  “Luc.”

  “I don’t regret it. I know I should and I know it was wrong, but when I look at Andrei and remember how fucking close he came to dying, I can’t…I can’t regret it.” Lucas closed his eyes and a small shudder ran through him. Snow reached over and squeezed his friend’s shoulder, silently supporting him as Lucas pushed his way back through what was likely an onslaught of ugly memories. Fuck, he didn’t know if he could survive going through something like that with his friends.

  Lucas drew in a shaky breath and blinked a couple times. When he lifted his eyes back to Snow, the coldness was gone and Snow caught a glimpse of vulnerability in the man he very rarely saw, something Snow had a feeling that only Andrei saw now.

  He started to say something else when they both heard an announcement over the PA system where Jude and the others were sitting. Snow quickly turned Lucas’s mic back on so that he could talk to Andrei. The auction was about to start. The tension that Snow had managed to shove aside came roaring back, twisting his stomach into knots.

  Brief instructions were given on how to make bids, where payments were to be directed, and the pick-up of “merchandise”. Jude grumbled something low under his breath that Snow couldn’t quite make out and he instantly wanted to pull the man out of that hellhole and wrap his arms around him. Maybe shove him in a shower to scrub away this night. Geoffrey went quiet at last, but his camera started shaking as if he was trembling uncontrollably. This was not a good sign.

  Both Lucas and Snow jumped at the sound of the back driver’s side door being pulled open. They turned in their seats as the dome light blinked on, revealing a haggard-looking Hollis sliding into the backseat.

  “I thought I told you to stay out of my car, cop,” Lucas snarled.

  “Cop? What the hell is going on?” Andrei’s strained whisper slipped from the tablet, barely lifting above the sound of Hollis slamming the door shut again.

  “It’s fine,” Lucas quickly muttered, causing Hollis’s eyebrows to raise in question. “Now get out.”

  “But it’s so cold out there and I thought you could give me a ride home. That is why you’re here, right? Offering rides to poor, helpless strangers.”

  Snow groaned, turning back around to face forward. Now was not the time to fuck around with the detective. They needed him gone. The auction was illegal and needed the attention of the cops, but sending Jude and the others in as spies certainly wasn’t going to keep any of them out of trouble.

  “Go away,” Snow grumbled.

  The leather from Hollis’s jacket creaked and rubbed against the soft, buttery leather of Lucas’s seats. The scent of cigarettes, stale coffee, and something fried permeated the air of the closed vehicle, causing Snow’s nose to wrinkle.

  “I was just leaving The Anchor after getting a late-night snack—”

  “Finally eating something other than drive-thru burgers?” Snow mocked, earning a glare from Lucas.

  “I know the owner. He got some amazing Blue Point oysters in. So with my belly full of oysters and beer, I was walking back to my car when I spotted this car. And I thought, there’s no way that’s Lucas and that damn doctor sitting in that car, just waiting to ruin my one night off in two weeks.”

  “No one invited you into the car,” Lucas bit out. “Get out.”

  “I thought, maybe the car is stolen,” Hollis continued as if Lucas hadn’t spoken.

  Snow twisted back around to look at Hollis. Lucas groaned and grabbed the steering wheel, his hands tightening around it so that it creaked. “So you got in the car with potential carjackers?”

  “Yeah, because that would be a hell of a lot better than whatever the fuck you two are into!” Hollis said, his voice getting louder with each word until he was yelling. “What the hell? Can’t I have one night off in peace from you guys? I—”

  “Shut up!” Lucas shouted and this time Hollis listened. They all went perfectly still for a breath and then Snow heard it to. Andrei had spotted Gratton at the mouth of the catwalk, forcing a young man into the spotlight to start the long, terrifying walk past the
potential buyers.

  “What’s going on?” Hollis demanded. Snow looked up to find that the detective had slid to the edge of his seat and was leaning forward so that he could see the tablet tightly gripped in Snow’s hands. Snow glanced over at Lucas who just gave a frustrated wave of his hand. Yeah, there really wasn’t much point in hiding it now.

  “There’s an auction going on in Music Hall,” Snow explained.

  “Why do I feel like you’re not talking about a Rocky Horror performance?” Hollis asked, almost in a whine.

  “They’re selling young boys as sex slaves,” Lucas snapped.

  “I know this is a stupid question, but why the hell didn’t you call the cops when you found out about this?” Hollis said and then stopped, his body freezing as his eyes dropped to the tablet again. This time Snow could feel himself cringing as the cop started to put the pieces together. “Who…is in there?”

  “Andrei, Jude, and someone you haven’t met. Geoffrey. They’re following a lead on Melissa’s killer.”

  Hollis fell back against the backseat, his mouth opening and closing several times. With each passing second, his face became redder and redder. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he finally bellowed. “Do you not understand how to dial 9-1-1 on your phone? You should have called the cops. Called me. Normal people don’t do this shit!”

  “Breathe, Banner,” Snow said, twisting in his seat. “You’re going to give yourself a heart attack and I’m not giving you mouth-to-mouth.”

  “Fuck you!” Hollis said before jerking to the edge of his seat again. “Tell them to get out of there now. I’m calling this shit in.”

  “Give them just ten more minutes,” Lucas said almost absently, his fingers pressed to his left ear where he’d placed the ear piece, listening intently to the conversation. “Andrei is going after Gratton.”