Page 35 of Tone Deaf
“Jesus Christ. Alright. What else?”
“Dean called earlier. He conveyed that Levi found some dirt about Brian Fitz’s past.”
“What was Brian involved in?” I can only imagine the shit that bastard got into.
“Back in Australia, Brian was hanging with this group connected to drugs, gun running, and human trafficking. From what Levi dug up, Fitz got caught for selling illegal firearms to an Aussie undercover agent. Once the NSW police task force discovered who Brian was associated with, they leveraged him for information about the group.”
“What’s NSW?”
“New South Wales. Their task force is the equivalent to our DEA.”
“So NSW gave that asshole options.” I don’t need a confirmation from Tobias to know what he’s saying is true.
“Yes, they did. The task force wanted to bring this organization down with prejudice, and this was their in. Brian bargained for his freedom in exchange for ratting out the group. That’s why he was able to flee Australia with his life, but he’s never been allowed back on Aussie soil—Levi’s words.”
“Damn.” I rub the back of my neck. I don’t think Callum or his mother know of Brian’s history or why he left Australia—well, not the extent of it anyway. “You think this group is after Brian and his family for payback? Even after all this time?”
“Dean thinks it’s a good lead to follow,” Tobias says, looking around us.
“Brian has to be the common denominator in all of this,” I say. I turn to leave when I catch sight of Fig standing there, listening.
“Sorry,” Fig says unapologetically. “Everything is almost packed, but Danny’s arguing with John about leaving Callum here alone. I’m telling you, if your guy keeps it up, you’re not going anywhere—not without Callum.” He shakes his head.
“He’s not going to be alone,” I growl in Fig’s direction.
He raises his hands up in surrender. “Don’t bite the messenger.”
“I’ll talk to Danny,” Tobias says and turns back to me. “We good?”
“Yeah.” My shoulders drop as I breathe out, the tension easing. I just have to wait for Pen to get back and my groveling will begin.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Fig utters, staring off at Tobias, who’s face to face with his irate boyfriend. Dante is also standing there, their face pinched in agitation.
Not sure what he meant by that, but sometimes what Fig says doesn’t make sense.
“The label wants the band out of here, in case…” Dante finally says, but I get what they are saying.
“In case his attacker comes back to finish the job.” The label has money riding on the band, and they don’t want any of them to get hurt, or worse. And again, I get it.
For the next few minutes, the discourse between Tobias and Danny is loud and clear. Then Tobias shuts his boyfriend up with a smoldering kiss that makes even my dick go hard. And… It works. Danny’s malleable. But I have a feeling his compliance won’t last long.
Tobias walks back over to me and pulls a set of keys out of his pocket and dangles them from his index finger.
“What’s this?” I stare at two silver keys threaded onto a thick ring.
“The keys are to my lake house. I don’t think this place is safe enough. Furthermore, you’ll be closer to San Francisco—to us. So as soon as Pen gets back, go there until we can regroup and figure out who is behind all this.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, gripping the keys tight in my hand like they are a lifeline.
“Yes. While Dean’s men track down Brian’s location, Callum needs to be in a safe place. This isn’t it.”
“I agree, but is your place secure enough?”
“Yeah, it is. Don’t worry about anyone getting onto the property, there are sensors along the perimeter. If anybody decides to come onto the land, you will be notified of it. Each building also has sensors on the doors and windows. Trust me, after all that shit with Danny, it’s the safest place on earth.”
“Sounds like it’s where we need to go,” I say with relief. “Thank you.” And for the first time, my gut isn’t twisting up on how to protect my two men.
“There’s a small cabin near the front end of the property, for Fig, Jordan and Joel and three of Dean’s men—Patch, Pete and George. It sleeps six so they’ll be fine. Lyric will stay with you, Pen and Callum in the lake house. There’s plenty of room and space,” Tobias says with a smirk. “And there’s a he-shed?—”