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“I’ll fucking end you.” Tizio glares.
“Nadia wouldn’t be happy.”
“Eyes forward.” Then he looks at me and sighs, rubbing his temple, his gun back in place beneath his jacket. “I don’t think they need to get dead. But they do need to be our guests for a while. Until this is over.”
I nod tightly as he pulls out his phone and starts shooting off texts.
“So—”
“Wendy will be with you. My people and hers will be watching outside, you’ll be safe.” My heart sinks at his words.
“You’re going after others, aren’t you?”
“This is bigger than you and Fallon. Bigger than me.” He looks into the front seat, and the other two nod. “We’ve been tracking this since Nicolo met Avah. It’s complicated, but it started on another crime family’s land, and they’re very territorial.”
I frown. “This Lowlander group?”
“Yeah, run by a man named O’Grady. And he’s been everywhere that trouble’s shown up.”
“That’s a big coincidence.”
“Don’t believe in them,” says Diego.
“Yeah.” Tizio glances at me. “There’s something there.”
My mind ticks. “You said something about war if the wrong steps are made, right? And you have piles of puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit, and you’re thinking, what? That O’Grady and the Lowlanders could be that?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know enough about the Smith Group. There are gangs, the Mexicans, then the Irish, and the missing girls.”
This is like trying to make something magic out of codes. One thing shifts and it comes together. Or one thing is removed or added.
“You have, for simplicity’s sake, the girls. You know there’s a network and you haven’t worked out how to fit it in. So, let’s just group. The girls, Smith, and the gangs, and the Mexicans.”
“That leaves the Irish. What’s he like?”
“Dangerous, hard, closed.” That comes from Nicolo. “Takes care of his own in his way.”
“The Lowlanders are a group that wants money. The core’s at the top, but the rest, they don’t fuck with him. They get to stay as a Lowlander. It’s good for the bottom feeders and drifters who go from opportunity to opportunity,” says Tizio.
“Has he been here a while?” I look at him.
Tizio shrugs. “Yeah. It runs itself, O’Grady oversees and drifts in from Ireland or the West or East Coast.”
“The De Lucas, do they like him?”
“We don’t have much cause for business with them. Sometimes, it’s best that way. What are you getting at, Karlee?”
“He’s something you can know. He’s Schrödinger’s cat. Both evil and good until you step in and find out. The other names youdon’t know or deal with, so it sounds like you know. He could be the link. Have the information you need,” I say.
“Karlee.” His mouth turns up a little. “You’re too smart, kid. I’ll run talking to O’Grady to Christian, if he’s still in town.”
“We should?—”
“Not we, Karlee.” The smile disappears completely. “It’s my people dealing with this and our bosses. But I’ll put it out there.”
I make a small growling sound, and we pull up at the house. Wendy and a big guy are there to greet us. I’m betting the big guy’s one of the De Luca people. He’s not even trying to look discreet.
“Go in with Wendy and Frank.” Tizio’s only half speaking to me, he’s already gone.
