Page 2 of High Reward

“Yeah.”

Silence stretches between us, filled only with the soft hum of the refrigerator.

“And then there’s the Lindon situation,” I continue. “If Grace’s name was in that suicide note, and Kara blames her…”

“We need to look into it immediately,” Owen finishes. “How much does Grace know about all this?”

“Nothing.” I slide the drink back to Owen. “She and Lili were asleep when I left. I want to keep it that way until we have more information.”

Owen nods, then downs his bourbon. “We need to call everyone in. Now.”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“And I’m sure they’d rather be woken up than blindsided by Hunter Novak’s private security force.” Owen grabs his phone from the counter. “The warehouse. One hour. You call Luke and Matteo. I’ll go wake Tobias.”

A grim smile twists my lips. “Finally found something that scares Owen Thorne. A death threat from the most powerful man in Vegas. Or are you just afraid you’ll lose access to all that fancy tech he’s got?”

“Fuck off.” There’s no heat in it. He’s already heading for the stairs. He pauses and turns to face me. “Next time you show up at my door at three in the morning, bring bloody better news.”

I pull out my phone, dial Matteo’s number. It rings three times before he picks up, voice sleep-rough and annoyed.

“Someone better be dying, Victor. I went to a stupid party with Skylar’s record label and just fell asleep half an hour ago.”

“No one is dying yet,” I answer. “But that might change if you don’t get to the warehouse in an hour.”

A pause. “I’ll be there. You call the others?”

“I’m at Owen’s house now. He’s waking Tobias. I still need to call Luke.”

I hear Matteo moving around, and he pulls the phone away to whisper something to Skylar. Then he’s back. “I’m on my way.”

I end the call and dial Luke. He’s not as angry as Matteo, which tells me he was awake. When I end the call, I slide the phone into my pocket and pull the hair tie from my hair with the other hand.

Owen reenters the kitchen, now fully dressed in jeans and a dark button-down. “Tobias is getting dressed. Bellamy says, fuck you but also keep Grace and Lili safe. Pretty sure she likes them more than she likes you, mate.”

I snort. “That just makes her smart.”

Tobias jogs down the stairs a minute later, and Owen jingles his keys.

“You following or riding with us?”

I glance at the empty bourbon glasses, most of which I drank and sigh. “Guess I’m riding in the backseat.”

Owen nods, and we head for the door that leads to his expansive garage. The only one in our crew with a more impressive garage is Luke, and that’s because he owns a VIP transportation company.

The warehouse sits on the outskirts of Vegas like a sleeping beast, windowless concrete walls under a moonless sky. Our headlights cut through darkness as Owen pulls into the gravel lot. Matteo’s sleek Maserati and Luke’s Range Rover are already parked near the loading bay doors. I check my watch: 4:17 AM. Hunter Novak’s ultimatum ticks in my head like a bomb, six days, twenty hours remaining to dismantle a man whose empire has stood for decades.

“They’re already here,” Tobias says from the passenger seat. “That’s a first for Matteo.”

Owen kills the engine. “Amazing what the threat of death will do for punctuality.”

We exit the car in silence. The desert air is still cold at this hour. I punch in the key code at the side entrance, and the heavy metal door slides open with a hydraulic hiss. The security panel inside flashes red until I press my palm against the scanner.

“System disarmed, Victor Serrano,” announces a mechanical voice.

The warehouse looks like what it’s supposed to be, a storage facility for High Card’s excess equipment. Stacks of chairs, extra bar equipment, and crates of specialty bondage furniture fill the main space. We used to have our meetings in the middle of it all at an improvised table made of boards and sawhorses, but with the threats against us, Owen recently made some security improvements. Now, our secret lair lies beyond a false wall at the back, behind a door that requires retinal scans from at least two partners to open.

Owen and I step up to the scanner, and the reinforced steel door slides open to reveal our new war room.