Standing in the Shadows (McClouds & Friends #2)(4)

"No? So what have you been doing for the last six months, *?"

Connor slumped lower in his seat. "I've been kind of out of it lately. You'd be stupid if you took it personally."

Nick let out an unsatisfied grunt.

Connor waited. "So?"

"So what?"

Nick's tone set his teeth on edge. "Davy said you had some news for me," he said. "About Novak."

"Oh. That." Nick was enjoying himself now, the snotty bastard. "I thought that might get your attention. Novak's broken out of prison."

Adrenaline blasted through him. "What the f*ck? When? How?"

"Three nights ago. Him, and two of his goons, Georg Luksch and Martin Olivier. Very slick, well planned, well financed. Help from the outside, probably the inside, too. Nobody got killed, amazingly enough. Daddy Novak must've been behind it. You can do a lot with billions of dollars. They're already back in Europe. Novak and Luksch have been spotted in France."

Nick paused, waiting for a reaction, but Connor was speechless. The muscles in his bum leg cramped up, sending fiery bolts of pain through his thigh. He gripped it with his fingers and tried to breathe.

"I just thought you should know. Considering that Georg Luksch has a personal bone to pick with you," Nick said. "Ever since last November when you smashed all the bones in his face."

"He was under orders to hurt Erin." Connor's voice vibrated with tension. "It was less than he deserved."

Nick paused. "He never touched her. We have only Ed's word that he was planning to, and Ed's credibility is worth shit. Ed was trying to save his own skin, but did you think of that before you charged off to the rescue? Oh no. You had to be the big hero. For the love of Christ. It's lucky you weren't on active duty. You would have been crucified."

"Georg Luksch is a convicted assassin," Connor said, through clenched teeth. "He was ready to hurt her. He's lucky he's not dead."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say. Anyhow, your hero complex aside, I just wanted you to watch your back. Not that you give a shit, or need anybody's help. And you've got better things to do than talk to me, so I won't waste any more of your valuable time—"

"Hey, Nick. Don't."

Something in Connor's voice made Nick pause. "Oh, what the hell," he said wearily. "If things get weird, call me, OK?"

"Yeah, thanks," Connor said. "But, uh… what about Erin?"

"What about her?"

"Novak hasn't forgotten about her," Connor said. "No way has he forgotten. Somebody should be assigned to guard her. Immediately."

Nick's long silence felt ominous. "You are seriously hung up on that chick, aren't you, Con?"

He clenched his teeth and counted until he had his temper under control. "No," he said, in a low, careful voice. "It's just obvious to anybody with half a brain that she's going to be on his hit list."

Nick sighed. "You haven't been listening, have you? You're lost in your own fantasy world. Wake up. Novak is in France. He was spotted in Marseilles. He's a monster, but he's not an idiot He's not thinking about Erin. And don't make me regret keeping you in the loop, because you don't deserve to be there."

Connor shook his head. "Nick, I know this guy. Novak would never—"

"Let it go, Con. Move on with your life. And watch your back."

Nick hung up abruptly. Connor stared down at the phone in his shaking hand, ashamed of having blocked the number. He disabled the function and hit redial. Quick, before he could change his mind.

"Nick Ward," his friend said tersely.

"Memorize this number," Connor said.

Nick let out a startled laugh. "Whoa. I'm so honored."

"Yeah, right. See you, Nick."

"I hope so," Nick said.

Connor broke the connection and let the phone drop onto the seat, his mind racing. Novak was filthy rich. He had the resources and the cunning to do the smart thing, to buy a new identity, a whole new life. But Connor had been studying him for years. Novak wouldn't do the smart thing. He would do whatever the f*ck he pleased. He thought he was a god. That delusion had flushed him out before. And that same delusion was what made him so deadly when his pride was stung.

Particularly to Erin. Christ, why was he the only one who could see it? His partner Jesse would have understood, but Jesse was long gone. Novak had tortured him to death sixteen months ago.

Erin had slipped through Novak's fingers. He would consider that a personal insult. He would never let it go for the sake of expediency.

His leg was cramping again. He dug his fingers into the muscles and tried to breathe into it. He and his brothers had each other for protection, but Erin was wide open, laid out on the sacrificial altar. And Connor was the one who had put her there. His testimony had sent her dad to jail. She had to hate his guts for it, and who could blame her?

He covered his face with his hands and groaned. Erin would be at the very center of Novak's twisted thoughts.

Just like she was always at the center of his own.

He tried to think it through logically, but logic had nothing to do with these impulses. He had to feel his way through it. If the Feds wouldn't protect her, then he had to step into that empty space and protect her himself. He was so goddamn predictable. Erin was so innocent and luscious, calculated to push all his lamebrain, would-be hero buttons. And all those years of hot, explicit sexual fantasies about her didn't help either, when it came to thinking clearly.