Page 9 of Rune
“The home improvement store. You demanded I come with you, remember?”
Shit.
Yeah.
I had done that.
“Even though it’s Cane and Spike who are supposed to be doing the grunt work now,” Croft reminded me.
I didn’t even need the help, not really. And logically, I should have told him never mind, that I wasn’t going to get the project started yet. But I was going to need something to do to keep my mind busy while I tried to figure out who the mystery woman was… and why she wanted me dead.
“I didn’t need your help with supplies. I figured you wanted to make your room your own too.”
“Hadn’t really thought about it. But I guess I can get some paint. You wanna head out?”
I wanted answers, but I also needed my brother not to be suspicious. And I was just not the kind of man who changed plans once I roped someone else into them. So I took the SUV, and he grabbed his bike, and we went to the home improvement store, gathering paint, wood, a patch kit (because whoever had the room before Croft had either punched or fucked someone into the wall by the bed), and various tools I was going to need to bring my idea to life.
“Why don’t you head back? I think I’m gonna go take a run by the beach before I head back.” I was taking a risk there. When we lived in Puerto Rico, Croft and I ran on the beach pretty much every day. I was putting my faith to rest in the fact that since we came back to the States, Croft developed more of a fondness for indoor exercise instead of dying in the heat with me.
“Yeah, have fun with that.” Croft peeled off, none the wiser about my actual plans.
I waited to make sure he was way ahead of me before turning the SUV in the direction of Navesink Bank.
And right to my cousin’s place.
“Rune,” Junior greeted me, brows pinched, when I got to the door of the warehouse home. “Can’t imagine you’re dropping in for coffee and danishes.”
“No.”
“Good. Because I’m fresh out of danishes.”
He stepped out of the way.
Junior was a cousin by the friendship of our moms, not actual blood, like with all of my cousins. He was tall and fit with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He looked more like a bodybuilder than what he actually was: a hacker. A really good one, considering his mom had been one before him, and his godmother was one as well.
And I needed help from one.
“Let me guess,” Junior said, dropping down in his office chair and turning to face me as I sat on his couch. “You have a job for me and I can’t talk to anyone else about it. Especially the club.”
“Been here before, huh?”
“You’d be surprised how often one of the cousins darkens my doorstep.”
“You’ve got my discretion. So, what’s going on? Is this the shady shit you were involved with while you were away coming to bite you in the ass?”
“I don’t know what it is.”
Junior leaned back, making the chair creak.
“You’re in the vault here. The more I know, the more likely it is that I can help you figure it out.”
“Alright. Last night, a woman walked through the front doors of the clubhouse, asked for me by name, and when I told her she was looking for me, she raised a gun and…”
Junior’s gaze tracked over me.
“Well, you’re not shot.”
“Well, she clearly wasn’t a pro.” I sighed. “She was shaking like a fucking leaf, but there was a determined look in her eye.”
