Page 25 of Free to Judge

Instead of going home to plan my next strategy, I need to feel free so I can get the sick images out of my mind.

Kalie.

She’s in their sights.

I yank my tie loose as I try to outrun the city lights that dim as I abandon the high rises in search of something else.

Something pure. Something untainted.

Knowing they deliberately pulled a photo with Kalie’s back to the camera means they know exactly who she is. But still, they made me aware of what could happen to her if I didn’t take care of their problems myself. Is that what’s really the issue?

Then, I face my reality. No, that’s not what’s bothering me.

It’s the idea of her appearing back in my life at absolutely the worst time.

To avoid killing myself or someone else, I whip my car off the Merritt and pull into an underground garage six blocks from my condo. Not my usual spot. I switch the Ferrari I drove into the city for the Lamborghini—one registered to a dead man in Kentucky who’s been under Hudson’s guard.

I’ve taken as many precautions as I can, always have. But tonight, I almost crumbled when I saw the photo.

Fifteen minutes later, I pull up to a nondescript storage unit—one of my off-the-books safe spots. From a steel box bolted into the floor beneath a crate of rusted engine parts, I pull out a phone.

Not a real one.

A burner I only use for my handler.

I dial.

One ring.

Two.

Then Jon’s voice comes on the line. “Talk.”

“They’re piecing things together,” I say. “Not everything. Enough to make veiled threats.”

“Who?”

“The Italians. Possibly Jack. They implied that I’m deliberately bungling legal jobs. Used a photo of Kalie to try to smoke me out.”

A beat of silence. Then, “Do you think you need to walk?”

My bark of laughter is hollow. “Do you really think I can walk now and live?”

“If they know what you’re doing?—”

“They don’t. Not really. But they’re circling.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Move up the timeline. Have Cal hunt the next trafficking route and go to the Feds to see if it’s enough. We prove Jack’s alive and has been using the Byrnes to cover his ass. Not to mention helping them launder side deals that the Italians don’t know about. If we split them?—”

“You’ll be expected to testify.”

“I was always going to have to,” I say. “But if we do it fast, I can do my best to keep your cousin out of it. Cal’s intel is accurate. They’re looking at her, Jon. It’s the last thing I want.”

He doesn’t speak for a while as he considers everything. “You sure about their interest in her?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my goddamn life.”