Caught in the Aftermath

by Jami Gray

  She arched a brow in silent question.

  ‘Reaper was in a pissy mood before your brother returned. Whatever news he carried on his boot heels wasn’t good. They sent for Simon and the conversation turned pretty intense.’ Proving age hadn’t damaged his observation skills, he caught her wince. ‘What’s that for?’

  Playing ignorant, she shot back, ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t “what” me, girl. Word has it Simon was sportin’ a brunette at the market today. You want to tell me what’s going on?’

  In order to get Worth off her ass, she elected to try a half-truth. ‘Nothing’s going on with us.’

  ‘Nothing my ass.’ He barely paused before diving in. ‘You two have had spats in the past, but this here is different. A week ago, couldn’t get you away from that boy. Not since the day you and Havoc carried his half-dead ass down from the mountain. Every time you returned from your runs, you two were like a couple of heartsick school kids. Now? You’d think he’s carrying the plague.’

  Here was one of the many reasons she liked being on the road. No-one stuck their noses in your damn business. She didn’t know if it was the booze, the tussle in the alley, or the dark and deadly treasure she brought back tonight, but her emotions were seeping to the surface. Dodging Worth’s too perceptive gaze, she turned and tossed the hand towel aside, shoving the messy emotional shit back into the dark corner where they belonged. ‘Some things aren’t meant to be.’

  Worth’s gentle touch on her shoulder brought her around as his head tilted and his voice softened. ‘You want to talk about it?’

  For fuck’s sake! No, she didn’t want to talk about it. She’d rather beat the holy hell out of someone, starting with Simon and possibly moving on to the brunette. Who was she kidding? Her anger was more personal than that, and the only one to blame was—Vex. Catching the pity in Worth’s gaze, she forced steel into her spine and voice. ‘Saw a couple city soldiers over at the Tipsy Shrew.’ It wasn’t desperation rushing her voice. Nope. Not at all. ‘Heard anything?’

  Not easily sidetracked, Worth looked as if he was considering pushing the Simon thing. She offered an unholy pact to whoever was listening to keep the old man off her ass. Thankfully somebody heard, or whatever he saw in her face convinced him, because he heaved an exasperated sigh before following her lead. ‘Maybe they’re just passing through.’

  Giving him a smile she prayed hid the mess in her head, she said, ‘Maybe.’ She didn’t give him a chance to respond. ‘Got to talk to Reaper, then I’m heading up to crash.’ Leaning over, she buzzed his whiskered cheek. ‘Good night, old man.’ With that, she headed towards the door.

  ‘Vex.’ Worth’s low voice pulled her to a stop and had her looking over her shoulder. Once he had her attention, he continued. ‘Don’t need the details, but I’m here you need an ear.’

  The gruff, heartfelt offer sunk deep and her throat got thick. Damn, first Havoc and now Worth. With all these unexpected offers, her emotions must be all over her face. Still, she managed a soft, ‘Thanks, Worth.’

  Stepping through the door, she came to a stop between two narrow counters in the small area tucked between the kitchen and the common area, and took a moment to consider her options. Approaching Reaper about Math’s presence required a delicate finesse. Thanks to Mercy’s sharing one night after she and Havoc made it back from Salt Lake, Vex knew Math’s skills meant those handcuffs were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Since he didn’t strike her as stupid, just stubborn, she hoped he stayed put and took advantage of her bed. He was going to need his strength.

  She hadn’t been joking when she told him Reaper’s reaction to his name was extreme. When Mercy and Havoc returned and shared their adventures, there had been anger, deep and hot, cored with something she couldn’t name. Reaper’s reaction was such, Vex found it highly curious. Normally he made ice look warm, his intimidating control extending beyond his temper to all of his emotions. The only time he thawed was if he counted you one of his, and luckily that honour was one Vex held, along with Havoc and Ruin. Considering how hot he ran at Math’s name, she assumed Math was someone important to Reaper, but uncovering that connection so far eluded her. Well, it had until she saw Math. Now she had her suspicions, and if she was right, wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass?

  A bright burst of laughter snapped her back to the present. Sucking in a bracing breath, she used her shoulder to push through the swinging double doors and stepped into the common room unnoticed. Taking advantage of her momentary invisibility, she scanned her surroundings.

  Most of the faces were familiar, even if she couldn’t tag them with a name. The laughter centred around the pool table set off to the side. A couple of teens used the dartboard. Her gaze swept over the eclectic mix of tables guarded by chairs scattered through the space. Nothing unusual. No-one hit her radar as an unknown. Her attention shifted to the back area used as a library, and hit pay dirt.

  Guarded by twin bookcases and sprawled in a trio of stuffed reading chairs around a low table sat Reaper, Ruin, and Simon. Together the three men could overwhelm an unsuspecting woman. Reaper’s long legs led to a sculpted chest and spread into wide shoulders, topped by a face framed by thick dark hair with matching close-cropped beard, to create a masculine picture of trouble incarnate. In contrast, the lean frame of her twin, Ruin, promised wicked things barely contained by roguish charm tucked under a tangle of gold and copper streaked brown hair held in check by a bandana.

  Then there was Simon. Skin a luscious mahogany with startling light grey eyes, the current leader of the Central Territories was missing his typical half grin that drew enough honeys to give Vex a sugar high. Since she knew all three males more than most, Vex was spared the heart trauma their combined presence dealt.

  Ruin’s head came up and locked on to her with that uncanny sixth sense innate to twins. In a blink he took her in, head to toe. Years of reading her brother made it easy to catch his flash of worry before it disappeared under a roguish grin. He moved towards her with grace, leaping a chair on the way.

  Caught and brought out of hiding, she stepped forward, her lips curving up. Her feet picked up speed, and she met him halfway.

  His arms wrapped around her with an aching familiarity. For a brief moment, everything was right in her world because her brother was here. ‘Hey sister o’ mine, you finished causing trouble?’

  ‘For tonight.’

  He turned them until her back was to Reaper and Simon. Tucking a finger under her chin, he tipped her head back and leaned back, taking in the evidence of her nightly exercise. ‘Might be sporting a shiner tomorrow.’

  She nudged his hand away and dropped her chin. The overhead light aggravated the ache in her head. ‘Better than what they’re sporting.’

  Humour lightened his features. ‘Need a hand removing evidence?’

  ‘Nah, just a few road rats looking for trouble.’

  ‘They came to the right place.’ He poked a finger into her shoulder, his familiar amber eyes narrowing. ‘You dragging it back?’

  Um, yeah, but admitting that wouldn’t get her the outcome she needed. ‘Nope.’

  Because Ruin knew her better than anyone, his scepticism was clear. ‘Right.’

  Before he could push, she cut in, ‘Where’s your woman?’

  ‘Upstairs. Getting rid of the road dust, planned on looking for you. Should be back any minute.’

  Vex’s pulse spiked. Ruin and Charity’s quarters were just a few doors down from Vex’s. If she was lucky, Charity would come down after her shower. The other option, she would trot downstairs with Math on her heels and Reaper would lose his shit. No way did Vex want to guess where things would go from there. Crushing her wince before it could escape, she pressed her palm against his chest and drowned her flash of worry in the comforting beat of his heart against her palm. ‘Glad you’re back.’

  ‘Yeah, me too.’ He gave one last squeeze then let her go, taking a step back. His gaze slipped behind her and came back.
‘Why does Simon look like his nuts are in a vice?’

  Her hackles rose at his question. ‘Why are you asking me?’

  The combination of her tone and posture wasn’t hard to miss. His jaw flexed. ‘Generally it means it’s you doing the tightening.’

  She opened her mouth with a snappy comeback, but before it could hit the air, a husky feminine drawl interrupted the downward spiral of sibling squabble that would make a pair of four-year-olds proud. ‘Are you two going to end up on the floor wrestling?’ Charity came up on Ruin’s side and wrapped an arm around his waist, her bright blue eyes dancing as she watched them. ‘Because as much as I love you, Ruin, my money’s on Vex.’

  ‘Smart and beautiful. What you see in my brother is a mystery.’ Vex half-turned and nodded towards Reaper and, unfortunately, Simon. ‘Shall we?’

  Ruin looked to Charity. ‘You know she fights as dirty as you do.’

  They moved towards the two men watching them.

  ‘When kicking ass, anything goes,’ Charity murmured.

  ‘Amen, sister,’ Vex agreed as Ruin reclaimed his chair, and Charity perched on the padded arm.

  The last grain of sand dropped in Vex’s personal hourglass as she joined a glowering Reaper and frowning Simon. She made a point to ignore both thunderclouds and dropped into a chair with a good view of the room and Reaper. ‘Heya, Reaper.’ Simon stayed on her peripheral, which worked since she considered that situation a done deal. Still, she’d have to keep things civil. ‘Si.’

  His cautious ‘Vex’ preceded Reaper’s, ‘What the hell happened to you?’

  ‘Had a little fun in town, nothing to worry about.’ Shifting until she could hook a leg over one of the chair’s arms, her attention shifted from Reaper and swept through the busy room. A couple of heads turned their way.

  Vex tagged Worth’s crush, Doc Mandy sipping her tea and balancing a book on her knee, a couple of women she’d seen around town, their attention on the men (of course), and the trying-not-to-be-obvious teenage gawkers at the dart board. It left her internal alarms quiet, allowing her to relax for a moment.

  ‘You sure about that?’ Reaper’s question proved he and his instincts didn’t miss a thing.

  Instead of lying outright, she dodged. ‘A little concerned about the gun-slinging duo from the city with an unhealthy curiosity hanging at the Shrew.’ When Reaper’s eyes narrowed, she thought she fumbled the dodge.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement as Simon leaned forward. ‘Say again?’

  Twisting her neck to look at him, she buried the massive shit in her head behind an empty screen as she met his dark gaze. ‘Got two guard types from the city checking out the local scenery.’

  At her comment whatever earlier tension Simon carried, boosted to the next level. His gaze went beyond her to Reaper, his earlier frown deepening. ‘That’s not good.’

  ‘Maybe, maybe not.’ Reaper kept his voice low. ‘How curious, Vex?’

  She shrugged. ‘Curious, but not enough to get up from their drinks and draw attention.’

  ‘That means they’re looking for someone, or something, specific.’ Charity’s observation was worth noting, since her position as ‘Hound to Lilith, the Queen of the Rockies’, meant her specialty was ferreting out secrets, no matter how deeply hidden.

  ‘Not sure I’m comfortable chancing that,’ Simon grumbled, one hand swiping over his closely cropped hair.

  ‘Si’s right,’ Ruin said. ‘Between the shit with the trade routes and rumblings in New Seattle, we can’t afford to brush this off.’

  Next to him, Charity settled back, her arm stretching along the back of Ruin’s chair. ‘How many supply runs have been screwed because of recent events?’

  Vex could answer that one. ‘Too damn many.’ She swung her leg, then winced as the bruised muscle in her inner thigh twinged. Dammit, almost forgot about that little souvenir. Unfortunately she also caught Reaper’s speculative gaze and rushed on. ‘To anyone watching, a couple of Pebble Creek’s shipments have been delayed, not lost.’ Only because the two targeted shipments hadn’t been critical and through judicious wheeling and dealing, they managed to get them replaced prior to their final delivery point. ‘But if it keeps up, our reputation is going to take a hit.’

  ‘The hell of it is we’re not the only ones being hit,’ Simon added. ‘Word came through a couple of shipments out of New Seattle got lost en route.’

  A speculative light sparked in Reaper’s eyes. ‘Who was running transport?’

  ‘City militia,’ Simon answered.

  Reaper nodded thoughtfully. ‘Better them than us.’

  ‘Truth.’ Simon blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think we had a guardian angel on watch.’

  Vex snorted. ‘Yeah, one with a bent towards creating chaos.’ Now that she was thinking about it, she wondered if the trouble upstairs might have something to do with that chaos.

  ‘Best kind to have,’ Charity said. When everyone’s attention shifted to her, she shrugged. ‘If it wasn’t for your chaos-loving angel, chances of our shipments being destroyed instead of delayed would be a lot higher. That starts happening, it leaves Simon in a world of hurt.’

  Even Vex couldn’t argue Charity’s point. The Vultures’ interest in Pebble Creek helped Simon solidify his hold on the Central Territories, an endeavour requiring a delicate touch. The situation went south after Simon and Crane intercepted convoys carrying kids for purposes that made Vex’s stomach churn with fury.

  Crane, the previous man in charge, had been gutted by Raiders, a tribe of mercenaries who worked to clear the field for the right price. They took their job seriously. To the point they literally nailed Simon to a wall in an effort to clear the path to Pebble Creek and its trade routes. After Crane’s death and Simon’s near-death, the Vultures moved in. Not unexpected since both Crane and Simon were considered friends. When the last of the blood hit the ground, they made it clear to the unknown puppet master that taking control of the trade routes would come at a lethal cost. To ensure their point was driven home, they’d removed the puppet permanently from the equation. Unfortunately, his master was still out there, pulling strings.

  ‘Said it before.’ Simon’s voice was low and hard. ‘Have no intention of letting anyone get their hands on Pebble Creek or the routes.’

  ‘Know that, brother.’ Ruin held his gaze. ‘Doing our best to make sure you keep hold.’

  The two shared a silent exchange before Simon broke it. ‘Appreciate it, but I don’t like you or yours—’ he nodded to Charity, ‘—taking unnecessary risks for me.’

  That nabbed Vex’s attention. Her ‘Unnecessary risks?’ hit the air at the same time as Charity’s ‘Not your call, Simon.’

  ‘Whoa!’ Ruin held his hands up in a T, trying to stop the impending argument. ‘Everyone take a breath.’ He wrapped his hand on Charity’s knee and directed his words to Simon. ‘I get you’re worried, Si, but we promised to have your back until this shit was done. We knew when we opened this can of worms, it would get messy. I appreciate your concern, but Charity’s got the skills we need to get to the bottom of this.’

  Echoing his support, Charity leaned over and nudged Ruin’s shoulder but kept on topic. ‘And what we need is proof of whose hand is pulling the strings.’

  Vex figured it was self-explanatory, seeing how the accepted theory was that Michael, King of the Northwest Territory, wasn’t happy with his piece of the west coast and wanted to get his greedy little hands on the entire western half of the U.S. She wasn’t the only one thinking along those lines, so was Reaper. Add in the fact Vex was fairly sure Michael had a personal axe to grind with not just Reaper, but Lilith as well. All of which left the Vultures firmly in the middle of the two power players.

  ‘Michael’s not stupid enough to leave anything to chance,’ Reaper said. ‘Including someone getting their hands on ‘proof’.’ Catching Charity’s barely covered wince and Ruin’s
tightened jaw, Reaper’s face darkened. ‘Do not tell me you fucking think he’s not behind this.’

  Charity raised her hand in a lame attempt to soothe Reaper’s formidable temper. ‘We think he is, but we don’t know for sure.’ When his expression stayed stormy, she continued in a rush, ‘As much as I hate to rain on your parade, all the mutterings making the rounds in New Seattle indicate it may not be Michael.’

  ‘Or not just Michael,’ Ruin corrected, trying to redirect Reaper’s attention. Since he turned his glare to Ruin, it worked and Ruin kept going. ‘Talking with those who have cause to speculate in New Seattle, it seems Michael may be dealing with some in-house discontent, part of which might explain our continued trouble with the routes.’

  Oh for fuck’s sake, didn’t they have enough to deal with? Vex’s gut tightened, adding a whip of contempt to her voice. ‘Don’t tell me there’s more than one dirty hand in the pot?’

  Charity gave a small nod. ‘After Havoc and Mercy’s run-in with Greer and listening to the stories swirling through New Seattle’s underworld, that’s exactly what we’re thinking. Which makes getting proof harder than we expected.’

  Of course it did, because fate had no intention of making this a straightforward power grab, which could be dealt with the judicious placement of a blade or bullet. Nope, fickle Lady Destiny piled the Vultures’ plate high with various menu options, including dealing with the evil, demented right-hand of Michael known as Greer. In Salt Lake, the bitch damn near blew both Havoc and Mercy, not to mention Math, into a million pieces, while she hightailed it out of their reach.

  Impatience edged Simon’s voice as he shifted in his seat. ‘Not sure I give a damn if Michael’s completely guilty or just tainted. Either way, I want his nose out of my business.’ He leaned forward and dropped his voice before adding, ‘Even more, I want our leak terminated.’

  Simon wasn’t the only one feeling the frustration. His sudden promotion and Crane’s death were the result of a betrayal within Pebble Creek. Whoever it was continued to pass on information, jeopardising the supply runs. With greedy eyes focused on Pebble Creek, a lost shipment could tear the supply routes out of Simon’s hands and leave him scrambling for purchase.