Present day...

Jaxon stared at Freya. He wanted to keep holding her, to toss her over his shoulder and carry her out of here, to fix this, to do something.

In the beginning, all he’d wanted to do was confirm that she was here. Get her out if he could, and if he couldn’t, call in the cops. The FBI. Someone with authority. But if he did that, what would happen to Michelle? He hadn’t even known Freya had a sister until he and Zach started digging, and they’d never considered her an important part to the investigation.

Jaxon needed to talk to someone. Probably Shelby. She would have the most information about Yuri, given the time she’d spent with the FBI as an undercover asset. She’d known who Yuri Gabor was almost on sight. She had to know more.

That meant leaving Freya here. The one thing he did not want to do.

“Freya?” Jaxon bumped her chin, urging her to look at him.

“Hey, I’m going to get you out of this. You and Michelle, okay?”

Jaxon didn’t know how he’d do it, but he’d figure it out. If he wasn’t just focused on an exit strategy, there were other things to consider. Were there cameras? Check-ins? Other security measures that would give away what he planned to do?

Freya’s face creased and she sniffled.

“Are you...hurt? Can I do anything?” Jaxon had never struggled with the urge to hit people outside the octagon, but right now he was pretty sure he’d go a couple rounds with Yuri or that other guy for the sheer pleasure of it.

Freya slid her arms under his jacket and around his waist. He blew out a breath and pressed his hands to her back, not too hard, just enough to feel her. To know she was there.

“Are you okay? Has he hurt you?” Jaxon wasn’t picky on the he’s.

“No.” Her voice broke, fracturing the word with fear.

Jaxon closed his eyes and laid his cheek on top of her head. Hurt wasn’t always physical. He’d learned that the hard way growing up. What Freya had gone through—was going through—was horrific.

“Freya, I need to get word out to some friends so we can start looking for your sister, okay?” He dug his phone out of his pocket with one hand and kept the other around her waist.

There were new concerns now. Was he certain there were no cameras in the nest? What if there were? He’d planned to walk in, grab her and go. If he couldn’t, he had to think bigger picture. Covering their asses and playing the part.

“I’m sorry.” She took a step back, swiping at her cheeks.

“No, don’t be sorry.” He tightened his hold around her waist, pulling her back to him.

She laid her head on his shoulder while he tapped out the S.O.S. with his thumb.

Found F. Complicated. Need 2 talk.

He hit send and hoped that Shelby or Kade were looking at their phones. Kade had just gone back to work full time, and Shelby was enjoying some post-FBI work that didn’t put her life in danger. Both could be otherwise occupied or asleep at this hour. They were going to chew his ass out once they found out what he was up to, but he’d cross that bridge when he got there.

“How’d you find me?” Freya’s voice was small, scared. So unlike the woman he’d grown to know over the last year.

“A friend of mine got a hit on Yuri. We followed that here and took a chance.” Jaxon pocketed his phone.

“The cops, are they coming?”

“No... We didn’t find Yuri through legal channels.” They had a bet that he intended to make good on. Someday, Freya would know what it was like to be loved, and he wanted to be there for it. Even if that lucky bastard wasn’t him. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear.

She’d showered recently, the scent of soap clinging to her. There were no bruises or marks on her. The clothes were a bit more sophisticated than the clubwear she’d sported on the clock. Overall, she looked good, but scared.

Jaxon wanted to stand there, staring at her for hours, but he couldn’t. Every second he was in here was another risk they would be found out. If he couldn’t spring Freya from here now, he needed to stay on Thomas and Yuri’s good sides, and find out about cameras.

“I need to go, Freya.”

“What? No.” Her eyes widened.

“I’m just on the other side of that door. I work here now, and that means I have to keep working here, so when I find your sister I can get you out of here.”

“I’m scared, Jax.”

“I know you are.” He cupped her cheeks, wishing he could take all that fear from her, but he couldn’t. The best he could do was sit outside, watch her, and keep her safe.

“I was just wondering if you’d even realized I stood you up.” She chuckled.

“I was there the night Yuri took you. There hasn’t been a day that I haven’t wondered where you were.” He pulled his hands back before he did something.

If Jaxon had been at a better place, if he’d had a more stable life following his surgery, he’d have asked Freya out. In his cockier days, he’d have told her to go out with him, but he was wiser now. He’d been biding his time. Waiting until he had his shit together. A woman like Freya didn’t come along often. He’d known that the first day he laid eyes on her.

“I need to go. Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

“As long as I know you’re out there.” She smiled, breathing a bit of life back into her eyes.

He wanted to tell her that he’d always be there, that he wouldn’t leave, but those were promises he couldn’t make. She wasn’t his, and he needed to remember that. As much as he wanted her, as he felt responsible, this wasn’t about him.

“I’m not sure I’ll get put on duty up here again, but I’ll do my best. Next time, I’ll have a burner phone. You don’t have any contact, besides who comes through those doors, do you?”

“No. None.”

“Okay, then that’s my top priority. Do you know if there are cameras up here?” If there were, maybe he could fix the tapes, steal them, corrupt them, something.

“No, Yuri said as much.”

“I can’t trust that he told you the truth.”

God, what he wouldn’t give to stand here and stare at her for an hour, a day, a lifetime.

Freya reached up, running her fingers over his busted cheek. He knew he had a broken face. Too many fights. Too many punches he didn’t deflect. He held still. If she wanted to look, she could look.

She lifted up on tip toe and pressed her lips to his.

It was just a peck, the briefest and most innocent of kisses. And yet, she kissed him.

“Thank you, Jax.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” His phone vibrated, reminding him once again of the outside world. “If you think of anything, need anything, I’m on the other side of that door, okay?”

Freya nodded and stepped back.

He kept his mouth shut. He would not make promises he couldn’t keep.

Jaxon forced himself to walk toward the door and away from Freya.

She was safe. She was physically unhurt.

“Jax?”

He paused at the door.

“I want a rain check on that date,” she said.

“Me, too.”

He stepped through to the other side, circled the desk and hit the button.

The door slid shut, blocking Freya from sight. He missed her nearness immediately, but at least now he knew where she was.

Jaxon pulled out his phone, keeping it low and out of sight.

Shelby had replied. Several times.

WTF?

Where r u?

Meet us @ TH.

Jaxon still had two hours on shift, but there was no telling how long Thomas would want to keep him on the door. Jaxon didn’t like it, and he knew Zach would be pissed, but it was time to bring them together. Kade, Shelby, Zach and Jaxon. Maybe between the four of them they’d figure something out.

Ask Zach. B there if I can. Might not b able 2 get away.

Thank goodness Jaxon’s exam was out of the way. He wasn’t going to focus on anything besides Freya until they had her and her sister free. If he were really lucky, they’d manage to do all of that before finals. The simple get-in-and-get-out plan was more complicated now. Something was going on, something much bigger than exploiting a Senator’s daughter.

If he could confirm that Yuri was gone, maybe he could have a look around the office. See if there were more security feeds in there.

The radio on the desk crackled.

“Wilson, call Thomas.”

He frowned. That was Thomas’ voice. What was going on?

Jaxon scrolled to his boss’ contact and hit dial. Had something happened while he’d been away from the desk?

“Wilson?” Thomas answered after a single ring.

“Yes, sir?”

“How would you feel about doing the overnight shift?”

“I wasn’t aware there was one.” Jaxon leaned back in the chair.

“We keep a guy onsite at all hours. We’ve run into a bit of a manpower issue. This is a chance for you to step up, prove yourself. You can keep your mouth shut, can’t you?”

“Depends what you’re paying.” Jaxon wanted—needed—to say yes, but he couldn’t.

“Let’s just say it’d be worth your time.”

“Then I’m your guy.”

“Good. I’m cutting you loose at your regular time tonight, but tomorrow I need you to report at midnight and be ready to stay until the morning. Think you can handle that?”

“Not a problem.”

Eight hours of privacy to be with Freya? To figure out where she’d been and where her sister was? Jaxon could think of worse ways to spend his nights.

Yuri drummed his fingers on the desk.

He shouldn’t have to pay attention to such mundane issues as handling his club security, but things were getting out of control. Ever since the job he’d done for Ogden had gone south.

His assistant Donny hadn’t shown up to work in days. Yuri had a few clients conveniently back out on their agreements. They were not major clients, the goods were nothing that couldn’t be repurposed, but it was starting to add up, and the common denominator was Donny.

Yuri couldn’t blame Donny for getting ideas.

It was the same thing Yuri had done.

He’d capitalized on his superiors fucking up, creating an opening for him to succeed in overshadowing them. Which was why he could not allow for Donny’s slight to go without notice. Because Yuri knew what a fuck-up like this could do for someone like Donny. And that was why Yuri had to waste so much valuable time on something as mundane as security issues. It would start small and snowball.

He’d known after the bust at the country estate there would be repercussions; that business would slow.

Yuri couldn’t lose a big-name client like Iestyn Ogden without backlash.

The fact that Ogden had been taken down at Yuri’s facility was hurting business, which was to be expected. Customers who’d never taken their business elsewhere were now canceling appointments, leaving Yuri with too many birds in his roost, so to speak. That the clients went to Donny first was the most telling.

Yuri had been expecting Donny’s double cross at some point. Had been for some time. Now it was just a matter of dealing with Donny and maintaining business. He’d lost the country estate, which meant his other facilities would have to pick up the slack, namely the club in the heart of Seattle.

The Swan Palace had always been a vetting ground. Clients with unusual tastes were referred to him, Yuri granted them access to the VIP area, and then he waited. They always asked for more. It might take some time, but what Yuri’s working girls eventually couldn’t provide, Yuri could.

He couldn’t squeeze much more profit out of the VIP areas, and that was the issue. He needed to bring in what he’d lost earning at the country estate. The only space that was underutilized was the Queen’s Nest. At most, he’d used the suite for a single client’s use. A very well-paying client. But now he might have to rethink that. It could be divided up into two suites. Smaller, less luxurious, but private.

He had to increase his bottom line, while losing manpower.

Bringing business closer to home was one solution. Just for a little while.

Someone tapped at the door.

Yuri turned toward it, gripping the gun attached to the bottom of the desk.

Thomas stepped through.

“How’d we do tonight?” Yuri asked. He didn’t let go of the gun.

“We covered all our bases. I took care of the mess in three. We’ll need to fill the girl’s spot, but the others didn’t hear anything.”

“Good. I was thinking we’d bring on a man, instead. There have been a few requests.”

“I’ll get on sourcing someone.” Thomas opened his mouth, hesitating for a fraction of a second. “I’ve got a lead on Donny.”

“Good.” Yuri eased back in the chair, releasing the gun. He really had to reward Thomas for stepping up the way he had. “What about our new Queen’s Nest man?”

“Wilson?”

“That one.”

“Jaxon Wilson, thirty-three. Almost two years ago he was fighting mixed martial arts professionally. He had an injury, something to his shoulder and back. He’s a career bouncer now.”

“Hm.” Yuri had seen the man’s email. A former tough guy turned student? Thomas didn’t appear to know that, though, which meant Jaxon was keeping it quiet. The smart ones were useful.

“Michelle also called. She wanted you to call her back.”

“Of course she does.” Yuri grimaced.

There were drawbacks to taking a more hands-on approach. Namely in dealing with Michelle Thorburn. The woman was a near-constant pain in his ass.

Might as well get that over with.

“Anything else?” Yuri asked.

“No, if you’re good I’m going to go collect Donny.”

“I want to involve Jaxon when you find Donny. Jaxon could prove a useful asset, but we need to test him. He was cleaning off the desk tonight and found these.” Yuri set his hand on a stack of papers.

“What is it?” Thomas frowned.

“Reports Donny never showed me.” It wasn’t the reports themselves which were telling, it was how the data was sorted. Each line correlated to a client. There was a section three-quarters down. Every single one of those clients were gone. Donny had stolen them.

“What do you want me to do about it?” Thomas asked after a moment.

“Nothing. Just, when we’ve found Donny, I want Jaxon to be involved.” Yuri found it too coincidental that Jaxon would happen on such sensitive information. Either Donny had been that careless, or Jaxon wasn’t who he appeared to be.

“I’ll see that he is.”

“Godspeed.”

Yuri picked up his phone and scrolled to Michelle’s contact.

Procuring Freya had merely been the beginning. Working out a deal with her twin was the real kicker. Michelle was cut-throat when it came to getting what she wanted, even at the price of her sister’s life. She made Yuri glad he’d been an only child.

Jaxon turned into the parking lot of Trinity Hall. He blinked back the grit in his eyes. Long days and longer nights were wearing on him. It was well past two. Several familiar vehicles were parked up close to the back door. The pub should have been empty and locked up tight, but from the looks of it there was still a bit of a crowd here.

He muttered under his breath and got out of his car.

Who else had they told?

Jaxon crossed to the back door of the pub and pulled it open. The music was off. He braced himself and walked into the bar proper, frowning at the guys lining the bar.

It wasn’t everyone, but it might as well have been.

Erik and Aunt Liv were behind the bar.

Shelby and Kade were leaning over Zach’s shoulder.

Blake and Owen, former homicide partners, were ignoring each other.

Ryan, Vito, and Ian had their heads together, at least until Ian caught sight of him.

“Hey, there ya are,” Ian called out.

“What the hell are all of you doing here?” Jaxon shrugged out of his coat. The bar was too warm. Or maybe it was just him.

“Jaxon Wilson.” Shelby stalked up to him and jabbed her finger against his chest. “Why the fuck are we just now finding out about this?”

“I didn’t know there was anything to know.” He batted her hand away. After the night he’d had, what he’d seen, he wasn’t in the mood to be prodded. Not after having left Freya in that hell hole with no confirmation they hadn’t been compromised.

“Babe, easy.” Kade walked up behind Shelby and grasped her by the shoulders.

“Where is she? Why didn’t you call sooner? I could have uniforms there already.” Owen frowned.

“Everyone—just stop.” Jaxon held his hands up. “Yes, Freya is at the Swan Palace, where Zach and I thought she might be. But we can’t do anything about it. Not yet.”

“Why not?” Shelby demanded. Though Shelby had only met Freya briefly under duress, she’d become almost as fixated as Jaxon on finding her.

“Because Yuri has her sister.”

“God damn it.” Shelby pivoted, took two steps and turned again. “Of course he does. That’s what Yuri does.”

“What do you mean, that’s what he does?” Jaxon asked.

“When Ogden and Gabor had me, their deal was that as long as I didn’t try to escape, they didn’t kill Kade.” Shelby turned toward Kade. “I’m pretty sure that Ogden learned that trick from Gabor.”

“Okay, so big picture? What are we lookin’ at?” Ian sipped his beer, brows drawn down into a slash across his brow.

“Why does Gabor want Freya?” Shelby crossed her arms over her chest.

Jaxon glanced around the room.

“You don’t all have to be here,” he said.

“You’re fuckin’ mental for not tellin’ us what you were up to sooner.” Ian threw a balled-up napkin at Jaxon. It fell short, but the surly Irishman’s glare didn’t. That hit home.

“Ian’s right,” Kade said. “Freya wouldn’t be in this if it weren’t for Shelby and me. We want to help.”

“Why Freya? Is it because she’s a Senator’s daughter? Does Yuri want something from him?” Shelby asked.

“I...don’t know.” Jaxon scrubbed his hand across his face. “I was going to go back later, ask her some questions, but Yuri returned and I couldn’t. Not without blowing my cover. I’ll be on night duty tomorrow. I can talk to her then. I wanted to sneak a burner phone in so she’d have some way to signal us for help.”

“Good thinking,” Shelby said.

“Do you guys hear yourselves?” Owen shook his head. “We need to call the FBI. They’re the ones who should be handling this, not us.”

“We do that, and Gabor disappears,” Shelby said. “They’ve been looking for him as long as they were looking for Ogden. Maybe longer. We tell the FBI, they swoop in, he disappears. We still don’t know how he slipped out from under our noses with Freya. He’s going to have another way in and out. Best case? We call in the badges, get Freya and lose Michelle. Worst case? We lose both women. I still think the only reason we caught Ogden is because he slipped up. He let things get personal. This is business for Gabor. He’s not going to make the same mistakes. He’s trying to shore up his resources as it is. He’s careful. He’ll be harder to get at, unless we play him better than he plays the system.”

“He doesn’t have an inside man anymore,” Kade said.

The FBI guy both criminals had leverage on was free and clear of them now. But if they’d had one, could they have another? Jaxon was pretty certain he’d seen a few cops in the VIP area, which meant their personal interests were in keeping attention away from the Swan Palace.

Jaxon hated the idea of skirting the law, but the way he saw things, Yuri had too much to lose if there was a bust on the Swan Palace. He had to have a contingency plan, and whatever that was, it would kill people. Shelby was right. They had to be better than Yuri at his own game.

“All right, what can you tell us about our guy, Shelby?” Ian finished his beer and set the glass on the bar.

Shelby blew out a breath and pushed a hand back, over her hair, and tugged on her ponytail. “Yuri Gabor, he was born in the Ukraine—”

“Wait—Yuri Gabor?” Ian’s eyes widened.

“I hope there’s not another one. Why? You heard of him?” Shelby asked.

“Fuck. Yeah. Go on.” Ian shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

Jaxon had a bad feeling about this. Ian’s background before he came to the US was working for the UN as a sort of international detective.

“He was part of a Ukraine crime syndicate. He sweet talked his way into being the top guy’s go-to person for supplying whatever his current taste was. Yuri outgrew him.” Shelby glanced at Ian. “What do you know?”

“We’re talkin’ about what I remember.”  Ian scrubbed his hand across his jaw. “I was workin’ this case and we arrested this guy in Germany. Ukrainian gangster. Old timer. Used to be somebody. He was real bitter about a young upstart who ruined them.”

“It was Yuri?” Jaxon asked.

“Yeah, seems like he was some sort of gofer, then they turned him into a business and he took it over from the old guys. That’s all I knew about him until now. I didn’t even realize it was the same guy.” Ian shrugged.

“I’ve heard of him, too,” Aunt Liv said. She braced her forearms on the bar and stared at nothing, her expression haunted. “When I was working in Amsterdam, we’d warn the red-light girls about a man hiring them for jobs no one came back from.”

“When was that?” Shelby asked.

“Maybe...fifteen, twenty years ago?” Aunt Liv shrugged.

“That would be about the right time. He’s spread out since then.” Shelby sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “He moved from the eastern bloc into Europe, but there were too many already-established people for him to set up shop there. Gabor came to the US and has been the go-to guy for all of North America. If you want something badly enough, if you want someone to clean up after you, Gabor is your guy.”

Kade hugged Shelby to him, kissing her temple.

“It sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Ian said.

“What am I supposed to do? I can’t just ignore what’s going on.” Owen paced back and forth.

“Dude.” Blake turned, addressing Owen directly. “What’s more important? Following the rules? Or getting these girls back safely?”

“I want Yuri to pay,” Jaxon blurted out.

“We get Freya and her sister, then Owen can make the call.” Shelby glanced at the detective. “We aren’t asking you to let him get away, just...let us work a little before you do. If Jaxon can find out what Gabor’s exit strategy is, maybe we could really get him.”

“Yuri has a private elevator,” Jaxon said. Besides Yuri’s office, that was the only off limits area in the club.

“This isn’t an FBI sting, it’s a couple of people being vigilantes.” Owen put his hands on his hips. Even without his badge, he still breathed cop.

“Then maybe you need to leave, man,” Blake said.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

Owen and Blake stared at each other, some sort of nonverbal communication going back and forth.

Jaxon didn’t want to further fracture the friends, but his priority had to be Freya and Michelle. In this situation, he agreed with Shelby. A whiff of the feds and Yuri would be gone, likely with both girls.

“I see how it is.” Owen smiled, but it wasn’t a happy gesture. It was tight, strained. Someday very soon that powder keg was going to blow, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

No one spoke a word as Owen saw himself out.

The back door banged shut.

“Sorry, guys.” Blake glanced around.

“You were right.” Ian lifted a shoulder. “Sometimes you get more done workin’ outside the lines. Not always.”

“What do we do now?” Jaxon asked.

“I’ll make some calls. I bet Rusty will be willing to talk to me. Off the record, of course.” Shelby glanced at Jaxon then Kade. Her former FBI handler had become caught in a similar bind. His lover held hostage to manipulate the federal agent. He’d been Ogden’s inside guy.

“I’ll get you a burner with bells and whistles.” Ian stood and stretched. “I’ll see what I can find out about Michelle, get with Zach to fill in what holes we have.”

“What should I be doing?” Jaxon wanted to go straight back to the Swan Palace and sit outside.

“Get some rest.” Ian slipped his coat on. “I doubt we’ll get much sleep once we find out more about her sister. Everyone else, stay on call. It’s late, so check in tomorrow.”

“I wish I could go in there with you.” Shelby’s face was a mask of pain.

“Gabor knows your face,” Kade said.

“Yeah, I know. I just...wish she wasn’t alone in there, you know?” She blew out a breath and stared at Jaxon. “It’s good you’ll be on the inside with her.”

Aunt Liv circled the bar and squeezed Jaxon without offering further comment. One by one they trickled out, until Jaxon couldn’t think of a reason to stick around.

He needed to go home. Sleep. Study. Something. But his head was buzzing.

He’d found Freya and he couldn’t help her.

Jaxon headed out to his car, only to find Zach waiting for him.

Besides Erik’s Jeep, they were all that was left.

“What? Find something?” Jaxon could hope.

“No, I was just...” Zach hefted his laptop back higher up on his shoulder.

“If you learn something let me know.”

“Do you want to come over?” Zach scrubbed his hand across his face. They used to do that. Hang out at Zach’s place with his crazy cats. Without the others and the noise. “I mean, I imagine this is stressful and you might want to... I don’t know... Talk?”

“Would I be in the way?” Jaxon asked. It was time to put his hang-ups about what he didn’t know about Zach’s past to rest.

“No.” Zach glanced over his shoulder, frowning

“I need to pick up some things. Be over in an hour?”

“Sure thing.”

Zach had—was—risking more than anyone realized to help. That was the kind of loyalty Jaxon understood. Maybe Zach would trust Jaxon with the truth someday. All of it. But tonight, it would be nice to have his friend back.