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“Watch it!” one of them snapped. “You don’t talk about the boss like that.”

“Fuck it. He’s losing his mind over her.”

“Just stay away from her, and you won’t have any issues,” the reasonable one reminded them.

I stayed frozen even as the conversation ended. Their footsteps dispersed, and I peeked around the corner to see where the guy in the board shorts went. The wiser one might think it was over, but I didn’t agree. He was too heated, and he wanted to vent to someone who would agree with him.

He met up with a bunch of men, some in the black-clad security team and others in various levels of summer wear.

I turned and found an alcove that marked the restrooms and hid.

“Is there a line?” a woman asked me.

I waved her on. “Oh, no, I’m waiting for someone.”

She passed, and I scooted further in and pulled out my phone again, so I wouldn’t confuse anyone else.

“Did you fucking hear about Andre?”

There we go.

“Keep it down,” one of the guys hushed him.

“Boss is losing it, going around and having us killed for nothing,” he ranted, not caring about his volume.

“Stay in your lane, and you won’t have anything to worry about.”

“That’s bullshit. That woman is messing with his head.”

“Watch your mouth. That woman is with the boss. That’s all you need to know.”

“Are you kidding me? Three of your team were killed for answering an emergency alarm! They entered his house, just doing their jobs, and he shot them all! How are you okay with that?”

“Wait? Seriously?”

“They didn’t follow procedure. They didn’t even attempt to make contact first.”

“He could have been in trouble. What’s more important? Checking in or saving your boss?”

“He made the rules for a reason. If he wants us to call first, then that’s what we do. End of story.”

“It’s fucked up.”

“We have it good. Those bastards with Ruben were probably grateful for death at our hands. They were shot without warning, depending on Ruben’s mood. At least we know if we keep our heads down and don’t cause problems, we’re good.”

“Yeah, their crew wouldn’t have even noticed if one or two men were taken out for pissing off the boss. More like if it was only one or two.”

“Fuck that. I’d never work for a boss like that.”

“So stop spewing shit and be grateful.”

This was the first time I heard anyone mention the real purpose of this party. They didn’t say anything we didn’t already know, but their open discussion surprised me.

Their defeat over Ruben and his tiny empire was a victory for us too. One less player for the Pack to worry about.

I’d been gone for too long already, so I ducked my head and calmly crossed the pool area, hoping to keep from drawing attention.

Alessio’s men were noticing his behavior. That was good, but I didn’t want them pointing fingers at me and questioning if getting rid of me would make things go back to normal.