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“I wouldn’t be so lax if I thought it was a problem. Then again, I’m lax now… and there’s definitely a fucking problem.”
“Had a feeling you might find out before you heard from me.” I narrow my eyes.
“I was mulling over whether to barge onto your set and drag you out by the collar, Ghost.”
“I’d stab you three times before you got close.”
“It wouldn’t be enough,”Donny growls.
I’m the only one who can talk to him like this, because I don’t give a fuck that he’sDon Stallion. He’s my little cousin, and I gave more than anyone for this fucking family.
“I have my reasons for what I did, and it’ll never link back to you,” I say.
“That’s what I can’t figure out. If you wanted the target spilled, the bratva would’ve done it themselves, which must mean you need him alive for something.”
Clever prick.
“…And if he’s alive, that means he poses a risk to us, because he could know he was rescued by you.”
“I acted Russian. He never got a glimpse.”
“You missed your call in acting, Aros. Now tell me, what the fuck is going on?”
“Do you want my report? Or are you going to drill me about my own business?” I counter.
Honestly, I’m in the wrong. I know it.Heknows it. If I cut the captain loose, there’ll be trouble. It’s inevitable… because ofher.
“Speak.But this isn’t over.”
My heart thumps as a Jersey PD marked car pulls behind me, and calms just as quickly when the car switches lanes. Paranoia can become blinding sometimes.
“I hit Nikolaj’s game undercover, targeted two bratva mid-levels talking about a ‘pig-load,’ so I infiltrated and concluded on the old Palisades warehouse. The target was there. Only five guards. Two grunts carrying another job, and three soldiers working the captain. Barren otherwise. The whole job stinks of foul play.”
“Mm,”Donny grumbles. “You chasing something here? Saying the job’s not over?”
He’s giving me an out. I should take it to get the big fuck off my back, but he’s family, so I’m not going to lie to him.
“Protecting someone,” I say. “Leave it fucking there, Donny.”
The other end of the line goes quiet.
“What?” I prod.
“I’m in a state of shock,”he says. “You? How long’s it been since you’ve said something like that? I’m pretty sure I was still peddling dope.”
“Fuck off.”
“Must be serious.”
“When have you known me to put the family second?” I say, driving in the knife where it hurts.Sure, it was under his father—Don Gio’s reign—but still, those aftershocks will be felt for generations.
“Never,”he says flatly.
“So let me figure this out on my own.”
“Mm,” he groans again.
“Back to my report. The captain was taken because he put away Yuri Patrovski’s brother, Viktor. It seems Yuri has grown bold since his dealings with Castor, and thinks himself above the rules of the underground. Who do I think the players are? Nikolaj and Yuri.”