Page 65 of Dangerous Intent

“I’ll see you in a couple days.”

“Looking forward to it.”

I ended the call, feeling less unsettled than I had when it began. Being overly cautious could be a burden for those around me, but the alternative didn’t work for me. Not when it came to protecting my wife.

Milo stormed into the office at the dealership and slammed the door. “We have a problem.”

“Milo, get the fuck out of here!” I pounded my fist on the desk because we never seemed to have a day free of chaos. “Solve the damn problem without me. That’s why you are here.”

“Do you know how many problems I take care of without consulting you? Who do you think held up this organization when you were playing house with your hostage a few months ago?”

I took a breath and rested my chin on my fist. “I would just like one day without a problem.”

“So would I.”

“What is it?”

“We lost track of Collins.”

“What!” I jumped out of the chair. “How?”

“He’s an elusive son of a bitch. He’s good at evading people.” Milo checked his phone. “I have every available man on this. We’re going to find him.”

“Lissia.” I grabbed my phone. “I have to call her.”

“I already called Dom and warned him. He’s not going to let her out of his sight.”

“Thank you.” I wanted to hear her voice. “Are they still at Gian’s house?”

“They were a few minutes ago.” Milo ran his hand through his hair and stared at me. His hesitation irked me. The look in his eyes said he had more bad news.

“What else?” I asked.

“Angelo paid Lissia a visit.”

“What did he want?”

“Dom doesn’t know, but Angelo left agitated.” Milo held up his hand. “Before you freak out, I put a guy on him to see if he makes any moves.”

Great. Collins was a ghost, slipping through our fingers every time we got close, and Angelo… He wasn’t just a pest. He was a snake, coiled and waiting for the right moment to strike. Between the two of them, it felt like my world was closing in. One wrong move, and it could all crumble.

“You know she pushed his buttons.” I kicked the side of the desk. “She can’t fucking help herself. God knows what she told him.”

“I’m sure she handled her shit.”

“She can hold her own, but that usually means trouble for us.” I called her, but she didn’t answer. “Fucking voicemail. Lissia, call me as soon as you get this. Get in that car and get home.”

“She doesn’t respond well to your demands. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

She’ll respond to my belt.

“I’ll handle Collins,” Milo said. “I don’t care how many witnesses were there the other night. We’re going to have to finish this. We can’t afford to have him loose in the city.”

“I agree.” I leaned against the desk. “If we have the opportunity, get it done. We can call in a favor or two to cover our tracks if we have to.”

“No one in the organization will challenge us. It’s just the Feds we’re going to have to keep off our scent. After they raided those shipments, they are looking for any excuse to come at us.”

“Call Senator McCoy and work out a donation to his upcoming campaign. His brother might be able to help us. His ties to the Feds are far-reaching.”