“Do you have a positive location on Brooks?” Lachlan asked.
“Not yet, but I’m working twenty-four-seven until I get it.” Bobby glanced over at the stack of computer devices from Tony’s aunt’s house.
Lachlan cleared his throat. “Well, it’s good that we’re all back and working together. I may have another mission for us to take on.”
“Nothing related to Paloma, right?” Kane asked.
Sebastian held his breath, waiting on Lachlan’s response. From the look of the other guys, they were doing the same. They’d all move mountains to keep Lachlan’s little girl safe from Quattro.
“No, no, she’s fine,” Lachlan assured them. “This is about Ike.”
Relief washed over Sebastian, and not just because Paloma was safe. The one person he needed to help him navigate the conflicting emotions about him and Gabrielle was her brother and his best friend, Ike da Costa. But he needed to find out what Lachlan knew before he got his hopes up about Ike coming home.
Sebastian looked around at the guys and saw the same reflected in their eyes. They all missed Ike and wanted him back. Nothing was the same without him.
“Kane, did you discover anything when you were in Miami?” Lachlan asked.
“No, I went to a few clubs, but no one had seen him. I didn’t have time to stick around since I had to deliver a package to Austria. Got back to St. Felipe last night,” Kane responded.
“Well, we stopped off in Miami for a few days at the beach after visiting Hershey, and I ran into a few old friends. Word on the street is that the Brazhenskys put out a hit on Ike for not paying his gambling debts, and another Russian mafia sent thugs to kill him. But he was saved by a mystery woman, who then booked a private meeting with Alexei Brazhensky to discuss Ike’s debt,” Lachlan said.
“Mystery woman?” Everett frowned. “Think it could be Serena?”
“You know Serena isn’t going to lift a finger to help Ike. Ever,” Bobby said.
“Well, it wasn’t Gabrielle. When she got to the islands, she mentioned she hadn’t heard from Ike in a while, and she’s been preoccupied with the stalker since,” Sebastian said.
“No one in Miami knows the mystery woman,” Lachlan confirmed. In the background, his daughter's high-pitched chatter and squeals filled the air. “Just a second. Paloma, stop throwing your dolls. They could get hurt.”
“But you will fix the hurt, Daddy. I know you will,” Paloma said with sincere belief.
“Still, you need to take care of them. Be gentle,” Lachlan pleaded.
Paloma reluctantly agreed.
“Sorry, I’m back,” Lachlan said. “Rumor is that Alexei met with the woman a few days ago, and they reached an agreement. The woman paid off Ike’s debts, and the Brazhenskys called off their hit on Ike. Problem is that no one has seen Ike since all this went down.”
Bobby banged the table. “We don’t know if this bitch helped Ike or if the exchange was because Ike is in bigger trouble with her. Who drops twenty-two million without expecting something in return? Nobody.”
“That’s why we must figure out what’s going on and find Ike. He could be fine, or he could be in big fucking trouble,” said Lachlan.
“Daddy! You say bad word! Stop it!” Paloma interrupted.
“I’m sorry, honey,” Lachlan said. “Alright. Gotta go. Keep me posted on the search for Tony Brooks.”
Sebastian ended the call, then turned to the others. “Everett and Kane, the two of you start looking for Ike. Somebody has to know who this mystery woman is. Finding her is the only shot we have of tracking down Ike. If Ike is off the grid on purpose, we won’t find him.”
The guys nodded in agreement.
“Bobby and I will keep searching for Tony Brooks. I’m going to the equipment room to grab supplies.” Sebastian had a feeling the next few nights would be filled with stakeouts all over the island until he could nail down Brooks. Ike had invested a lot of money in night vision equipment and more guns than they’d ever need.
Bobby blocked his path to the door, a look of concern on his face. “Before you go, take a look at this.” He shoved a cell phone toward Sebastian.
Gabrielle defiantly stared at the camera in a live social media video. She spoke with confidence and no fear as she put her new stalker on notice that he wouldn’t get away with terrorizing her.
“Fuck!” Sebastian muttered, then stormed out of the compound.
Chapter35
