Nya had a restless day knowing that Tag’s big job was supposed to be going down that night. Archer had been the one to clue her in about it because Tag hadn’t returned her calls since their conversation in her apartment yesterday.

Whatever Archer had said to Derren the day before must have worked because today the four of them, Ester, Derren, Archer, and her, had gone to apply for the marriage license. Nya didn’t get why the witnesses needed to provide so much documentation and sign things before the big day, but she was distracted trying to call Tag and trying to get information out of Archer.

Ester was high too and dealing with her when she was so excited was next to impossible. Every time Nya tried to focus on what was happening, Archer or Derren would ask her to entertain Ester who was getting on their nerves.

Given that this was such an important occasion, Nya didn’t mind sticking with Ester, the last thing she wanted was Derren to change his mind at this late stage. They weren’t even talking about waiting; they were going to get married the following day. But Derren knew about Ester’s habit of jilting her groom and probably didn’t want to give her the chance to do it to him.

Ester had less than a day to make plans for what was supposed to be the biggest day of her life. Nya was always going to worry about Tag, it didn’t matter what else was happening in her life, she still cared about the man who’d always been there for her. But the wedding plans did keep her mind off her own troubles, making her suspicious that Archer had maybe encouraged Derren not to delay the ceremony.

After spending most of the afternoon shopping with Ester, Nya was back in Archer’s apartment, sharing his couch and a bottle of wine with the bride-to-be.

Still, she couldn’t settle.

Archer was there, he wasn’t going on the job himself. Although she had no idea where he’d been that afternoon and evening before he returned to the apartment. He did tell her that he would have to go out later, after the job was done, so he’d told her that they couldn’t spend the night together. Nya had tried to fight him, but he’d been insistent, so in a while, she and Ester would be herded downstairs to spend the night in her bed.

There was a silent expectation that Nya would keep the bride-to-be in check and make sure she showed up on time at the courthouse, sober. The last part would be the hardest.

It was frustrating that this huge life event, this happy occasion was happening while Tag could be out there getting killed, and if anything went wrong tonight, Nya wouldn’t be in any fit state to look after anyone; she wouldn’t be able to look after herself.

Archer was being shifty and wasn’t answering questions, he’d been on the phone a lot, and hadn’t engaged much with the women. Ester was trying to party, but Nya couldn’t stop watching her man, pacing around, talking in whispers, his brow down in a permanent frown.

He’d tried to calm her whenever she asked questions or got anxious. Nya didn’t even care about the state of her friendship with Tag right now; she was too busy being worried about his safety. Archer’s words about not trusting this Lucas or his crew plagued her. How could she relax and listen to Archer’s comfort when he’d already made it clear that he wouldn’t throw his lot in with Lucas’?

If the job went off without a hitch, each man would take a piece of what they were stealing and go their separate ways to regroup the following day with their spoils, and she guessed, to meet up with Lucas. After that they’d have forty-eight hours to make their way to the rendezvous in Phoenix.

Nya didn’t know what was so important about this job. All she knew was that they were raiding some kind of protected warehouse for supplies that would allow them to start their own out-of-state operation on the other side of the country. Other than the fact that distance between the crime scene and their new home made sense, she didn’t know why Phoenix was relevant, especially since apparently Lucas was staying here.

That was one of the things that had been bugging her all day. Maybe Lucas had connections out there, maybe someone big had been taken down and there was a power vacuum waiting to be filled, she didn’t know. But why the hell did it have to be so far away? If it had been closer, she and Tag’s friendship wouldn’t be in this mess.

“You can walk down the aisle with me,” Ester said.

Nya snapped back into the present moment. Ester was glowing and it was so nice to see the woman this happy. Derren must have said all the right things. Ester was probably kidding herself, but from what she’d said to Nya, the woman believed her groom’s declarations to be spontaneous. Though Nya wasn’t dumb, she guessed it had been Ester’s plan all along for Nya to talk to Archer who’d nudge Derren along, but Ester wasn’t admitting it.

Archer didn’t like the idea of them getting married at all. He said it was just another crazy step in their volatile relationship and that it wouldn’t last. But it was important to Nya and it was important to Ester, so he did as he was told, just the same as Derren did.

Nya could understand the craziness of Ester and Derren’s relationship and how their love brought them together as much as it drove them apart. She didn’t really think much would change between the couple. Derren had apparently said he wanted to live together and be faithful, that’s what Ester had said. Now that they were getting older, it probably made sense for them to settle down, but like Derren had said, it would never be Walton Mountain around here.

They would probably scream and hate each other, storm off in opposite directions and come back together again as they had done for the last two decades or so.

“Sure,” Nya said. “I can do that, if you think Derren will be ok with it? It’s not a big fancy day.”

“No, that would be silly,” Ester said. “We’ve been around the block too many times to have a fucking fairytale wedding.”

“Your dress is beautiful though. Archer’s been really generous with the budget.”

“Budget?” Archer called from the kitchen, proving that he listened in even when he wasn’t present. “Derren’s covering this wedding bullshit, not me.”

Ester hid her laugh, maybe Archer was paying for more than he realized. Nya could understand a woman getting excited about her big day except Ester had had more than a few weddings, she’d just never managed to go as far as saying ‘I do’ and Nya found herself hoping that she really would this time.

A knock on the door didn’t slow Ester’s chattering down. Nya tried her best to listen past the woman who was talking about her big day as Archer went toward the door. He opened it but not all the way, so she couldn’t see who was on the other side. Archer was there for a while and she got more and more worried the longer he stayed in the doorway. If it was a friend he’d have invited them in. If it was an enemy, he’d have sent them away.

Phasing Ester out of her consciousness, Nya watched the back of her lover and tried to read his thoughts, although that was impossible when she couldn’t see his eyes or any of his expressions.

“So I think the most important thing is just to get it done,” Ester said. “That’s why we’re not waiting and why it was so important to get the marriage license today. It’s exciting, isn’t it?” Ester lunged forward to grab for Nya. “You and Archer should get yours when we’re at the courthouse tomorrow!”

Nya’s concern was still on her man in the doorway blocking her view of the hallway as she muttered her response. “Archer hasn’t proposed.”

“He will. He can do it tonight or in the morning. Maybe you could get the certificate, you know, just in case. You want to marry Archer, right?”

“Just in case?”

That actually made Nya smile and for half a second she forgot about Archer. Of course, that was the second he came back in and he didn’t come in alone. Shaw was with him, looking a bit more frazzled than he had the last time he’d seen them, but just as silent as the first time he’d entered.

Archer closed the door and turned his back to it. Nya could see now that his mind was filled with a thousand thoughts. He focused on the floor like he was trying to sort them through and make decisions. Nya put her wine glass on the table and rose. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Archer looked up like he’d forgotten anyone else was here. “Shaw, he… yeah…”

That didn’t even make sense and it worried her as she crept closer. Her concern only grew when Shaw refused to look at her. “He, um, yeah, what? What’s going on? Someone talk.”

“Who’s she?” Shaw asked, nodding at Ester who had her mouth around her wine glass.

“Little me?” Ester asked, extending her body as she stretched to put her glass on the table. Slinking off the couch, she began to strut toward Shaw. “Sugar, for a big, handsome hunk like you, I’m anyone you want me to be.” Draping herself against Shaw, Ester stroked a hand up his arm and gave his bicep a squeeze. “Mmm, you are a strong one, aren’t you?”

“Ester, fuck off,” Archer said.

Ester huffed, but Nya was a bit disappointed in her friend that her default had been to flirt with the man in the room when she was supposed to be getting married tomorrow. She fooled herself that Ester wouldn’t have followed through if given the chance—flirting wasn’t the same as cheating. But while Archer and Shaw looked so alert, Nya’s concern became less about Ester’s marriage and more about Tag.

“I’ll just take myself off to the bedroom then,” Ester said, flouncing over to the table to grab her glass and the wine bottle. “Nya, come on, daughter, we’ll—”

“Nya stays,” Shaw said.

That Archer didn’t argue made Nya worry more. Even Ester lost some of her glow as she observed everyone. “If you need me, daughter, just shout,” Ester said and scurried off into the bedroom.

“Loyalty,” Archer said, making eye contact with Nya when she turned back to the men in expectation of an explanation. “Everyone going on the job has to prove their loyalty. Lucas only wants half the men on his crew.”

“I’m not one of them,” Shaw said. “And neither are your boys, Taggert and Gio.”

Nya panicked. “I don’t understand what that means.”

“They’re gonna kill him,” Archer said. “They asked Shaw to do it after the job went down tonight. If Shaw told them to go to hell, he’d be on the block too so he told Lucas he was still down for the job, but he won’t be showing up.”

“I’m gonna lay low,” Shaw said. “Thought I’d warn you about your boy first though. If he shows tonight, Lucas’ men will take him down.”

Nya rushed forward to grab hold of Archer. “Kill him? Kill Tag? How can that… Why would they…”

Tag hated her right now and their friendship was in tatters, and now she was being told that he could lose his life tonight. They had to warn him, had to pull him back. Her mind was going too fast, she couldn’t figure anything out and her breathing got shallower.

“Lucas asked Shaw to put a bullet in Tag to show his loyalty. Shaw failed the test. Lucas says he’ll give him another chance tonight, Shaw doesn’t plan to hang around and find out if that’s true, he’s in serious fucking trouble.”

“I thought you worked alone,” Nya said to Shaw.

“I never wanted to be on his damn crew,” Shaw said. “I was going on that job for my own reasons. They need me to get them in, that’s what I do, I get people in, get people out. There’s something in that warehouse I want that’s nothing to do with those bastards. But I needed back-up, and Lucas’ men came along right on time, least so I thought.”

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but Nya couldn’t follow. “You get…”

Archer pulled her against him, giving her a physical support. “Locks, breaking and entering, that’s Shaw’s thing, he’s a thief, a burglar.”

“Do we have to put labels on it?” Shaw asked. “I like to think of myself as more of an… opportunist.”

“He was joining forces with Lucas’ crew temporarily; Lucas thought Shaw would jump at the chance to sign on.”

“I didn’t.”

It was tough for the big guys to understand why some guys wanted to maintain their independence. Archer often got similar offers that he always refused too. “Lucas needs a guy of his skill; Shaw has a rep, he’s the best in his field.”

“Gee, am I blushing?” Shaw asked, digging his hands in his pockets and turning his back.

Archer kept on with the explanation. “Lucas told Shaw, if he took down Tag, he was in. Shaw wasn’t interested in being part of the crew and he’s no murderer, far as I know.”

“But why, I… why would Lucas want Tag dead?”

Archer was thinking about this and she could tell he had been since Shaw revealed the truth. “I know he had business with Hex a couple of years back, could be Tag’s chickens coming home. Hex couldn’t be direct or he’d know you’d tug on my leash to take him down. This way looks like an accident.”

“But Shaw said no,” Nya said.

“Yeah,” Archer said. “And Shaw has his own tail to worry about. But I guarantee there will be a team of guys ready to step up and do the job.”

“So if this Lucas guy is after Shaw, why did he come here?”

Shaw turned slowly to narrow his focus on her. “Loyalty,” he said. “You told me to start somewhere… I’m starting here.”

Her words had an effect on the man she’d written off as a lowlife. For a second, Nya was touched. But Archer was in action mode and didn’t give her much time to reflect. “Tag won’t make it through the night if he goes on this job,” Archer said. “Lucas and his guys will take him down.”

“Then we have to tell him not to go!”

“Will he listen?” Archer asked. “He’s sure he’s important in this, he’s got his mojo back, right? You know what an arrogant fuck he is.”

Yes, Tag might believe he could stand up for himself, but he was still smart enough not to go on a suicide mission. “He doesn’t want to die,” she said. “We’ll make him listen.”

“Shaw’s already not showing up tonight,” Archer said. “If we pull Tag too, we have to do it quietly.”

“He can’t go!” she said. “I don’t care that you don’t like him and probably would love to see him dead! Tag can’t go do this job.”

“Fuck that,” Archer said and grabbed his jacket. “Where’s your phone?”

Nya ran to her purse that was on the breakfast bar to pull it out. “Here, why? What are you going to do?”

“I can’t believe I’m about to ask this,” Archer said, as he pulled on his jacket. “But I need to know where your buddy Taggert is.”

That was one of the first questions he’d asked her and the reason they’d come together, the reason she’d spent those days chained to his floor and wore the brand on her wrist, because she was the only one with the power to get in touch with Tag and locate him. Archer needed to find him now. But there was no time to be nostalgic about symmetry.

Nya dialed Tag’s number and listened to it ring. Her relationship with Tag wasn’t on a great footing and he wouldn’t want to be distracted this close to a job, so he may not pick up, he may not want to be found. But if they didn’t get in touch with him to warn him of what was going to happen tonight, she would lose her oldest friend, permanently.