Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds 2)

Ian slumped in his chair and Snow was sure nobody missed the shudder that went through his slender frame.

“I need to know everything.” Hollis said. His eyes darted from one face to the next, pinning them with a dark glare, but Snow noticed that he skipped Ian, as if he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at the young man. “Right now.”

“Snow beat Gratton because of me,” Ian said softly. “It happened a long time ago. In another life.”

Snow looked at Hollis. “Suffice to say, I took care of a problem—”

“We took care of a problem,” Lucas corrected in a hard voice.

Snow stopped and looked at his long-time friend, nodding. Yes, Snow had been the one wielding the baseball bat, but Rowe and Lucas had been there too. They had been there to clean up the mess and get Ian out of there. And even Jagger, who wasn’t in any way a good person, had been so disgusted by Gratton taking off with Ian, he’d agreed to their deal. “So, it seems Gratton has come back with some psychotic idea of revenge. And at the same time, he’s obviously trying to get back into Jagger’s good graces.”

Hollis finally looked at Ian and visibly swallowed before turning his attention back to Snow. “I need proof and because I am familiar with how that asshole works, it’s going to be extremely hard to come up with it. He left no trace in your home—not a hair, a print—nothing.” He leaned over the table and grabbed a piece of bread. “I was on a couple of cases involving Gratton when I first moved here.” He began shredding the bread on his plate.

Snow recognized the gesture. The man needed to do something with his hands. His lips had thinned so much, they nearly disappeared. Snow glanced at Ian, hating the sadness that pulled the young man’s mouth down as he took in Hollis’s new awkwardness. If the cop was familiar with Jagger, he probably had some idea of what had happened to Ian. And Ian would hate that.

“So if he’s the killer,” Hollis continued. “He’s probably the one who rammed Rowe’s SUV. I take it that ‘we’ was more than just Snow and Lucas involved in whatever happened in the past. Rowe was as well.”

None of them said a word.

Hollis snickered, but it was a dry, raspy sound. “You guys are so damn tight, I’m surprised I got this much out of you.” He looked up at Snow. “You do understand you’re going to have to share everything with me, right? Every last detail.”

“No, I don’t.” Snow leaned closer to him and curled his lip. “I’ve told you all I know. I beat the man years ago the exact same way that man was beaten in my home.”

“Without the death part,” Andrei added.

“I should have killed him,” Snow grumbled.

Hollis glanced at Ian quickly, then away. “Probably,” he murmured. “You didn’t hear that. Look, I know there’s more to the story and—”

“And Snow is never going to tell you the parts that involve me.” Ian straightened in his wheelchair, still pale but thankfully, anger seemed to have snapped him back to attention.

Snow held up a hand to stop Ian, then stared at Hollis. “I’ve seen Gratton in Covington. He was watching us the night we played pool at Molly’s. And he was at that auction last night. That’s all I know.” He sat back. “That should be enough for the police to go on.”

“He was there with us that night? He was inside that bar?” Ian cleared his throat. “I need to check on something in the kitchen.” He pushed his chair away from the table and began to maneuver around the table. When he got to the door to the kitchen, he slumped.

“His wheelchair won’t fit in the narrow aisles of that kitchen,” Lucas murmured. He turned and snapped his fingers at the blond giant who immediately moved to Ian. He leaned close and when Ian nodded, he gently lifted him from the chair and carried him through the door.

“Who the hell is that?” Hollis snarled as he jumped up from his chair and threw a fiery glare at the door. “Why is he picking him up?”

“Sit down, cop,” Andrei said with a slight sneer that reminded Snow of Lucas so much, he chuckled.

“I need to talk to Ian,” Hollis said as he took a step toward the door.

“He said sit down,” Lucas said. “Sven is the bodyguard we hired for Ian. With Gratton in town, Ian is in danger and because he’s hurt, he’s even more vulnerable. Sven works for Ward Security.”

“Damn.” Snow murmured. “A big blond named Sven? Really?” He laughed harder. “Between him and the massive stunner you hired as his nurse, Ian should have plenty to keep him from worrying at home.”