Page 18 of Sworn to Defend
Joker shifted on the beanbag. “What vegan will go out on a boat to hook a fish?
“Exactly.” Silver set his empty bottle on the coffee table.
“Put that shit on a coaster, you animal.” Ransom leaned forward and placed a round disk resembling a slice of rock beneath the glass.
“You’re like Brynn’s personal Dobby.” Silver smiled and shook his head.
“The hell is that?” Ransom raised a brow and leaned back on the couch.
“House elf,” Joker said. “Bald creature. Huge ears and eyes. Wears a rag? Jacob literally has one on his shelf. From the Harry Potter books we’ve been reading him? Sometimes, I think you live under a rock.”
“The elf has a compulsion to keep the house tidy to please his master,” Silver said with a glint in his eye. “Like setting out coasters and lighting scented candles.”
A year ago, if someone said Ransom would turn into a homebody who owned items like candles and coasters, he would’ve laughed at the absurdity of it. The scent of something citrusy but not overpowering did indeed perfume the room, wafting from a trio of candles on the mantel, right below the long oak plank with the words Always Keep Fighting scrolled across the distressed wood.
“Wait until you find your woman, old man,” Ransom muttered. “I can’t wait to give you shit.”
“Never gonna happen,” Silver muttered and stretched his arms out on the back of the couch.
His jaw ticked. Usually, his friends’ banter amused him, but not now. Not when they could be walking into trouble instead of a wedding. “Can we get back to Hannah?”
They all quieted. He rarely got uptight. A low growl rumbled from Oscar.
“Easy, boy,” he soothed.
“Sorry, man,” Joker said. “We’re all taking this seriously. Hannah and Collin are important to us, too. What happened during the investigation, Silver?”
“The uncle dropped the charges and moved out of state abruptly. The following year, the state police department got a new fleet of patrol vehicles courtesy of a corporate real estate company that was bought up in a merger by Donald Day, Hannah’s father.”
“Jesus, if that doesn’t sound like a cover-up, I don’t know what does,” Joker said, voicing what they were all thinking.
“Do you think the family killed him?” He was two seconds from rescheduling the destination of the flights to some tropical island where he could keep Hannah and Collin safe.
“Or had someone do it.” Ransom’s voice was cold, as if he was remembering his own childhood. “Money makes people do stupid things.” Ransom would know, as he’d grown up in the same sort of echelon as Hannah did. He enlisted the moment he turned eighteen to escape.
“I don’t like this one bit. It was bad enough that they were inconsiderate assholes. Now they might be murderers, too?” And how the hell did he broach this topic with Hannah? He didn’t believe for a second that she was aware of the investigation, but maybe that was one more reason her family let her leave without an ounce of struggle. Hannah was the black sheep, the squeaky wheel of the family. He had a feeling if she’d known about the claims Russell’s uncle made, she wouldn’t rest until she knew the truth.
“You are going to need backup,” Silver said. “Especially with Collin in tow. There are too many unknowns. I’m going to reach out to Iron. That bastard needs a good adventure.”
“Don’t let Axe catch wind you’re going on a road trip.” Ransom stood and collected the empty bottles. “He’ll insist on driving, and you’ll crash before crossing state lines.”
“Dobby.” Joker coughed, earning him the middle finger as Ransom walked out of the room to dispose of the empties.
“No way is he gonna leave his new woman, but if he wanted to go, nothing would stop him.” He’d never met someone more stubborn than Axe.
“Either way, you’re not going in there alone.” They all had their place on the team, but of all of them, Silver was the father figure. Hunter was more of a mother hen if he was being truthful. “If Iron wants to go along, great, and if not, I’ll start driving tomorrow morning. That should put me there on Wednesday morning when you arrive. Joker and Ransom can keep an eye on things at home.”
Ransom had walked back into the room but didn’t sit. “Branch, I know when I say this, it won’t resonate, but are you up to this? I can count on my hands how many days ago you got released from the hospital. You got shot off a helicopter. Only that thick skull broke your fall.”
“Shot off a rope,” he corrected.
“That’s a technicality. It was a long-ass fall that you shouldn’t have survived.” Ransom crossed to the couch.
“Hannah and Collin are mine.” The sliding glass door to the deck flew open.
Collin poked his head through the door. He could’ve been standing there for a long time, listening, but he didn’t think so. “Me, Mom, and Hunter are all in the same blue circle.” Collin had a towel around his shoulders, his red curls dark and damp against his head, like he’d just jumped out of the water. Collin shook his dripping-wet hair, misting them, and smiled. “Hunter likes kissing Mom.” With a shriek, he flew down the hall toward the bathroom. Oscar leaped off his lap with surprising agility and followed him.
“That was a devious smile. He see something he shouldn’t?” Silver leaned back, a smirk on his face.