Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds Series Book 2)

by Jocelynn Drake

  Snow arched one dark brow at Andrei. “Really?”

  “Rowe and Ian warned me against getting attached.”

  Snow shook his head. “It’s a fucking wonder you’re willing to try to date him at all. He’s a damn handful and his friends are basket cases. And that’s not including being shot at, kidnapped, tortured, or set on fire.”

  “Yeah,” Andrei said, a blush starting to stain his cheeks. “But it’s Lucas. He’s worth it. All of it.”

  Lucas was a damn lucky man.

  They were saved from trying to continue the increasingly personal conversation by a soft knock on the door. Both men looked up to see a petite woman dressed in a long skirt and a thick cream-colored cable knit sweater. She had this kind of love-struck expression on her heart-shaped face that had Snow worried until Andrei groaned.

  “Hell, Gidget,” he muttered. “Whatever you think you heard, please forget it.”

  She gave a little giggle before she rushed into the room, practically skipping over to where Andrei remained sitting behind the desk. “Oh no you don’t, Andrei Hadeon! You’re in love and it is absolutely adorable. And it’s about time too!” She turned her gamine face to Snow and smiled. “Isn’t he adorable?”

  Snow grinned slowly, enjoying the ex-fighter’s growing discomfort and the fact that Andrei didn’t correct Gidget’s assumption. “Precious.”

  Andrei rolled his eyes, but he was smiling too. “Gidget, have you met Dr. Frost?”

  All the joy fled the tiny woman’s face to be replaced with sadness. She extended her hand to Snow while he pushed to his feet. “No, not officially, but Rowe talks about you often. Have you heard from him?”

  “Not since he left.”

  “Do you want me to track him down? Andrei said that we should give him space, but I know that if you just give me a little time, I can find where he went,” she quickly offered, the words gushing out of her a mile a second.

  Snow shook his head. It was tempting. “No. Lucas and I have a couple guesses where he went. He’s okay.”

  Gidget seemed to shrink into herself a little bit at his words, her worry over Rowe weighing her down.

  “Do you have anything that will help with our new problem?”

  Gidget frowned, but her head lifted as if she were finding her bearings again. She grabbed a remote off Andrei’s desk and punched the power button, turning on the flat-panel TV on the wall to Snow’s left. “Well, I haven’t found much since you called me two days ago,” she murmured. She walked over to the TV and slid what looked like a jump drive into one of the USB ports. Andrei handed her a second controller as a file opened. Gratton’s picture filled most of the screen, putting Snow back into his chair suddenly.

  “That’s him, right?” Gidget demanded, turning her eyes back to Snow, but Snow couldn’t look away from the screen.

  He nodded, clenching his teeth. “Yeah. The picture is old. He’s got a scar on his left cheek.” Snow lifted his hand, making a slashing motion across his own cheek to show where the mark was he’d personally put on Gratton’s face.

  “Okay.” Gidget nodded and turned back to screen. “Dwight Gratton. Age 40. I pulled his file from the Cincy police files and the man’s got a rap sheet a mile long. Extortion, loan sharking, fencing, racketeering, assault, prostitution, a little grand theft, and even a couple murder charges that he managed to beat. He had heavy ties to Boris Jagger for several years.” Gidget clicked the remote and Jagger’s face popped on the screen, causing Snow’s stomach to drop unexpectedly. This was another face that he’d hoped to never see again. Snow glanced over at Andrei, but the man’s expression was blank. Apparently Andrei had been lucky to have zero run-ins with the crime boss so far.

  “Everyone in the city knows about Jagger, but so far the police have been stuck, unable to do anything about the horrible man. However, the CPD and FBI have people undercover and they’re building a case. It’s slow, but they’re working on it.”

  “And how the hell do you know that?” Snow drawled, bringing Gidget’s sparkling eyes back to him, full of mischief and laughter.

  Andrei snickered. “She’s got her ways.”

  “Anyhoo…” she said, blushing prettily. “For years, Gratton was Jagger’s favorite muscle, but then…he just left. It was about seven years ago. I can’t find any files or reports to point to why, but Gratton just left Cincinnati.”

  Snow’s hand tightened into a fist in his lap.

  “It’s hard to say what he’s been doing over the past several years.” Gidget hit the remote again, pulling up what appeared to be a pair of police reports. “I found one hit of him in Boston in 2012 and another of him in L.A. in 2013, but the rest of the time is unknown. I think he might have been overseas, maybe Europe, because I can’t find anything else here in the U.S.”

  “Has he been in contact with Jagger since returning?” Snow demanded, struggling to unclench his jaw.

  Gidget turned back to him and frowned. “Not as far as I can tell. I’m still digging, but I’ve gone back through three months of police tapes, voice recordings, and notes. They haven’t been in contact, either directly or through Jagger’s flunkies. I’m still checking though. I want to look through a full year. Jagger plans things far in advance, years out even. From what I can tell, he’s a brilliant strategist, but right now, it doesn’t look like Gratton is working for Jagger.”

  “What’s that mean?” Andrei asked, drawing Snow’s attention to him for the first time in several minutes. “He’s a loose cannon with his own agenda? But he was at that auction last night.”

  Snow slouched in his chair, opening and closing his fist. Gidget’s information wasn’t making him feel any better. It should have been good news that Gratton apparently wasn’t working for Jagger, but he obviously was. He’d heard Rowe brag about Gidget often, so she should have been able to find something. Jagger kept all his dogs on a leash. “He was, so I don’t know about the loose cannon. Maybe. But Jagger always has his fat, nasty fingers wrapped around everything.”

  “Anything else, Gidget?” Andrei asked. “You know where he’s staying?”

  “No. I’m having a heck of a time tracking him. I’ve hacked into many security cameras around the city, but he’s been laying low. I didn’t even have an updated shot if he has a prominent scar.”

  “What about in the Village or at my house?” Snow asked.

  She shook her head. “There are like zero cameras in the Village and very few near your place. If you could spot him downtown or up in Kenwood, then it would be cake tracking him, but Cincinnati has been slow about installing cameras everywhere.”

  “Do what you can,” Andrei murmured.

  “Andrei, I’ve been working on that other thing you asked me to find. Tracking the vehicle that hit Melissa,” Gidget paused, her hands tightening around the remote. “I’m not sure this is it, but there was a delivery truck left in the parking lot of a repair shop and it’s in rough shape. Was reported stolen.”

  Snow slid to the edge of his seat, his heart picking up its pace as he tried to follow their conversation. “Are you tracking down the driver who hit Mel?”

  “Trying,” Gidget grumbled. “But not having much luck. Unless this truck is it and my gut is saying it is. I’ll print off the location.” Putting the remote back on the desktop, she walked over and pulled the jump drive from the TV. “Actually, I did have something strange come up. In one of those weird cosmic coincidences, I did run across another name.”

  “Yeah? Whose?”

  Snow watched as Gidget refused to look up at Andrei, her fingers turning over the tiny memory stick again and again. She was stalling and it didn’t set him at ease. “Chris Green.”

  Snow’s gaze snapped back to Andrei to find the young man’s only reaction was a tightening of his jaw. Chris Green was the bastard who’d threatened Lucas in an attempt to steal some property. Green had tortured Andrei and very nearly killed him. And Lucas had just admitted to pulling the trigger.

  “Green is
tied to Gratton? How?” Snow demanded when Andrei didn’t speak.

  “Green was arrested with Gratton on extortion and assault charges years ago. Chris Green was a minor at the time so I had to dig into his sealed records.”

  Snow’s mouth fell open in shock. “You got into sealed juvie records?”

  Andrei groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “Don’t. Just … don’t ask.” Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the young woman who could have easily passed for a kindergarten teacher. “Any other mentions or ties between the two?”

  “Or ties between Jagger and Green?” Snow added.

  “I did a quick search and there’s no mention of Green and Jagger in the past during the same years Gratton worked for Jagger. The only thing was that Green was represented by Jagger’s lawyer, same as Gratton. That’s about it.”

  Snow could see the questions in Andrei’s dark eyes, but he wasn’t speaking. Gidget was trusted with chunks of information, but it was clear that Andrei wasn’t willing to connect all the dots for her in an effort to protect Lucas and even Snow.

  “Thanks for your help,” Snow said, nodding once to Andrei, his gut in knots. This was too much of a coincidence for him to swallow.

  “Wish I had more,” Gidget murmured, sounding as if she was talking more to herself.

  “You will. Just keep me updated,” Andrei added, pushing to his feet.

  Gidget nodded and gave Snow a wan smile before she left the office. Andrei followed on her heels and carefully closed the door. He remained standing there, his hand on the silver door handle.

  “Coincidence?” Andrei asked, his voice near a whisper.

  “That Chris Green and Gratton knew each other?” He turned slightly in his chair, looking up at the bodyguard’s back. “Maybe, but I’m not a big fan of coincidences.”

  “Me neither.” Andrei pushed away from the door and paced over to the desk. A frown cut heavy lines in his face, aging him. “But what are the odds that he even gives a shit about Green years later?”

  “Honestly, little to none and I’m not sure it’s important. Gratton has got enough reason to hate me, Lucas, and Rowe without Green. I really don’t care why he’s back. I just want to know where the fucker is. I want him behind bars or dead — either one keeps him away from Ian.”

  Andrei nodded. “We’re working as fast as we can. I’m close to having this new hacker vetted and secured. I… I just have to go slow. I can’t risk destroying Rowe’s company.” A low growl rumbled up Andrei’s throat and his hands closed into fists. “Ian’s got his own bodyguard and I’ve checked his nurse’s background — former Navy corpsman. Both can protect Ian. I’ve upgraded his security system at home and at Rialto. But if you think it’s necessary, I’ll assign myself to Ian.”

  Snow smiled slowly. There were times when he really didn’t want to like Andrei, but he couldn’t help it. Andrei would protect Ian with his life, which would put Lucas in a hell of a bind. His best friend wouldn’t want either of them in danger. Snow could only imagine how much Andrei’s job drove Lucas insane with worry. At least Jude spent his time trying to save lives rather than risking his own.

  His heart lurched in his chest and Snow looked away from Andrei as he tried to wrangle his thoughts again. Where had that come from? Jude wasn’t his. The paramedic wasn’t someone he was supposed to worry over. He was just…no fucking clue.

  A soft sigh slipped from Snow’s lips as he pushed back to his feet. This date was beginning to feel like a bad idea the longer he was away from Jude, and yet he knew that he was heading straight back to Lucas’s to see if he had something appropriate to wear. But first…

  “We do owe Hollis,” Snow murmured half to himself as he pulled out his phone. “I have a couple of hours until I need to be somewhere, so I’ll give our friendly cop a heads up and take him out with me to check on that delivery truck.” Snow picked up his winter coat and pulled it on. They needed to do this one by the books, loop in the cops… no matter how badly Snow ached to finish what he’d started with Gratton so many years ago.

  “Do you want me to tag along? I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes, but I can reschedule.”

  Snow shook his head. “No, I can handle Banner.”

  Andrei crossed his arms. “Do you think I should tell Lucas about the tie to Green?”

  Snow nodded after only a moment of thought. “Yes. I don’t think he’s the reason that Gratton is back, but he should know.” He paused and licked his lips before he smiled at Andrei. “No more secrets.”

  Chapter 19

  Snow glanced into the cluttered back seat of Hollis Banner’s Chevelle as he slid out of the thick, falling snow and into the passenger seat. The old muscle car didn’t surprise him in the least, but the noxious odors of grease, fried potatoes and sweat had him cracking his window. “Have you been living in your car?”

  Hollis picked up a fast food bag and tossed it into the back seat with many others. “Believe it or not, it’s not usually like this. I’ve been in it a lot more lately. So…” He drew the word out as he pulled out of the parking lot. “What’s this bullshit about a friend giving another a ride? You got lots of friends, doc, and last I heard, I’m not one of them.”

  Snow turned in his seat to face Hollis, realizing he hadn’t paid much attention to the man earlier at lunch—not his physical appearance anyway. He took in the circles under his blue eyes and the lines of tension creasing his forehead. His dirty blond hair was past a good cut and curling on the ends. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

  Hollis’s black leather jacket squeaked against the seat as he reached down to fish another bag off the floor between them. He added it to the impressive pile behind them. “It’s been a few. I was headed off to catch a few winks when you called.”

  “Guess I should apologize.” Snow knew there wasn’t a hint of apology in his voice and had to smother a grin.

  “But you won’t because this whole ride is a ruse, right?” The cop glanced at him, frowned. “What are we doing?”

  “Going to a body shop just like I said.” He gave him the name and directions. “It just so happens a little birdie told me there might be something interesting there.”

  “Let me guess. Rowe’s birdie?” Hollis groaned, his hands tightening on the wheel until it made a cracking noise. “You and your friends are such pains in the ass. I’m sure if I knew even a small fraction of what that woman does on a computer, I’d have to take her in. What kind of interesting? And why didn’t you call this in officially?”

  Snow shrugged. “Don’t know that it’s official. All I got is a nudge, cop. A vehicle matching the description of the one that hit Ian and Melissa was dropped off at this place. I thought it would be nice if you came with me so we do this all above board.”

  “Kind of like how you guys got Andrei back a few months ago?” He snorted. Stopping the car at an intersection, Hollis looked over at Snow, as if waiting to see if he would admit or deny it, but after only a second he shook his head and eased the car forward. “Someday, I’ll have to sit all you mavericks down and explain above and below.”

  “Oh we get it, cop.” Snow chuckled and knew it sounded dirty. “We just like to straddle.”

  Hollis held up a hand. “TMI, doc. TMI.”

  Snow rolled his eyes and faced front. “You strike me as one who always wants the raunchy details.”

  Hollis stopped at a red light and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, there’s only really one of you with those kind of details I want to know about. GQ looked pretty rough at lunch.” His tone lowered with the last words. “It’s not just the injuries either. He’s taking your friend’s death hard, isn’t he?”

  The knot—the one that belonged to Melissa—that felt like a permanent pain in his chest, tightened. “We all are. She was a part of the family. A day doesn’t go by…”

  Banner nodded. “I’ve noticed that you all seem close. Seems kind of incestuous.”

  “I can assure you none of us are relate
d. We don’t fuck either, not that it’s any of your business.”

  “About GQ…”

  Something was poking him in the ass, so Snow shifted until he dug out a small pair of binoculars. He held them up. “And you wonder why I don’t want you nosing around Ian?”

  Hollis tightened his left hand on the steering wheel and snatched the binoculars with his right. “I’m a policeman, doc. I do police things. I carry police things. It’s all a part of the job.” He grinned. “And the charm.”

  “Charm, my ass,” Snow muttered.

  “I have no interest in your ass.”

  Sighing, Snow tapped the fingers of one hand on his thigh and stared at the cop. He knew exactly whose ass Banner wanted. “Tell me something. You like him so much, why haven’t you asked him out? You’ve had months. And from what I hear, you eat at that restaurant a lot.” His mouth twisted into a half grin. “From the looks of your clothes and your car, I’m thinking you must be dipping into savings to go there so often. The place isn’t cheap.”

  “My finances are none of your damn business.”

  “You’re interested in Ian, so I say everything about you is my business. Got something to hide? Do I need to have Gidget looking into things?”

  “Do I need to string you up by your balls?”

  “No interest in my ass, but balls are another story, eh?”

  Hollis growled. “Ian is a grown man and you aren’t his father, so I’m not sure what your problem is. And for the record, you have to be one of the most annoying human beings on this planet. How do you even have friends?”

  Snow didn’t physically react to the rude question, but the thump of his heart inside was hard enough to pain him. It was a question he’d asked himself many times.

  Hollis’s hands tightened on the steering wheel again as he cursed. The wheel actually made a low cracking noise. “Look, I seem to remember a certain talk we had in the hospital not so long ago. A warning. Is your tune changing?”

  Snow snorted. “Like anything I say would stop you. So what gives?”