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She nodded. “No problem. Now, tell me about the next family.”
Tate went to speak, but then his cell phone rang. “Just a sec.” He grabbed the phone from the coffee table. “It’s Chen, one of the enforcers staking out the casino,” he told her.
Havana straightened. “Please let it be good news.”
Putting the cell on speakerphone, Tate answered, “Yeah?”
“A man fitting the description of Enrique just walked into the casino,” said Chen.
Tate felt his muscles go tight. He scooted forward to sit on the edge of the sofa. “Alone?”
“No,” replied Chen. “He has a guy with him who matches the description of the other jaguar.”
Tate pushed to his feet, every part of his body feeling charged. “The original plan still stands—we follow them when they leave and hope they’ll lead us to Gideon. I’ll leave here as soon as I can and park a few blocks away from the casino. I can’t tail the jaguars in the pride’s SUV—it’s too noticeable—so I’ll need you and JP to take the lead on this and give me directions as to where they’re heading. If they leave before I arrive, follow them. Don’t wait for me.”
“Understood.”
Tate rang off and turned to his mate, whose eyes were bright with the same anticipation that pumped through both him and his cat. “We nearly have them.”
“As time went on, I was beginning to worry that they wouldn’t return to the casino,” said Havana, placing the pen and notepad on the coffee table.
“So was I.” Tate held up his phone. “I need to call Luke and the others so we can all get going. I don’t foresee the jaguars leaving the casino very soon, so there’s no reason for us to rush, but I’d rather we were in place just in case.”
“And if they don’t lead us to Gideon?”
“We’ll just have a little talk with them. They must know where he is. If they have any common sense, they’ll quite simply tell us.” But Tate doubted they’d cough up the information easily, which didn’t bother him at all. He had no issue doling out a little pain after all the bastards had done. Particularly since they’d have handed Havana over to Gideon if things had gone down differently. His cat was looking forward to making them pay.
“I’ll contact Aspen and Bailey and tell them to get their asses here; they should come with us.”
Tate bit back the reflexive urge to suggest that his mate remain here. It would be senseless, since she’d never agree to do so. It would also insult her, because she was more than capable of handling this situation—she’d already proven that. Plus, she was his partner, his equal. She had every right to be there.
Although her girls were often laws onto themselves, he’d been well-aware of that when he instated them as enforcers. He couldn’t argue that they’d be useful, given the skills they’d picked up from their years working for the Movement. And he’d feel more comfortable if they were there, because he knew they’d protect his mate with everything in them if necessary.
He gave Havana a quick kiss. “You make your calls. I’ll make mine.”
Soon, they had Luke, Farrell, Alex, Vinnie, Aspen, and Bailey gathered around the living room. Tate quickly brought them up to speed.
“The jaguars probably plan to hang out at the casino for a few hours at least,” hedged Vinnie.
“Probably,” said Tate, his arms folded. “But I still want to leave as soon as possible. They could head somewhere pretty far from here when they leave. The closer we are to them when they head out, the better.” He looked at Luke. “Depending on where Gideon is and how many he has with him, we may need more people. Tell the other enforcers to be ready in case we have to call on them.”
Luke gave a crisp nod and pulled out his phone. “Sure thing.”
Tate turned to Havana, impressed she stood so still and quiet when he could sense through their bond just how restless both she and her devil felt.
Havana gave him a hard look. “Don’t ask me to remain behind, Tate.”
He squeezed her hand. “Not gonna lie, I did consider doing so earlier. But I know you’d never go for it, and I know it’d be unfair of me to ask it of you.”
Havana’s hackles immediately lowered, and her devil ceased snarling. They could accept that he’d always be so overprotective providing he didn’t expect she or her devil to cater to it. Havana could no more sit out of the action than he could.
Luke ended his call. “We ready?”
“We’re ready,” said Tate.
Inside the SUV, they didn’t take the same seats as last time. Vinnie and Farrell insisted that Havana and the girls take the middle row instead of the back row. Havana quickly realized it was an acknowledgement of her new status.
