Page 83 of Falcon’s Forever

Rook stays long enough to give Ice Pick an update I try not to eavesdrop on and then decide is ridiculous to pretend I'm not owed.

"Anything new?" I ask him directly.

Rook looks at me instead of Ice Pick, waiting for permission before he continues. I give him a small nod.

“The north fence has been repaired, and the cameras have been replaced,” Rook reports. “Condor believes whoever attacked the house used the same jammer as the earlier outage.”

“Do you know who they are?” I ask.

“Not for certain,” Rook answers. “We have a better idea now, but Vulture wants it confirmed before he says more.”

“No.” I hold Rook’s gaze. “I don’t want another situation where the club decides the information is too uncertain to share until you’re completely sure.”

He considers my objection before nodding. “I get that.”

Ice Pick pushes off the wall. "We think it's connected to whatever's left of the trafficking network."

Every muscle in my body goes tight. Sarah's laughter's gone. Frankie sets her sandwich down.

"How much is left?" I ask.

"That's the problem. We don't know."

Castellano's dead. The operation we knew about got dismantled. I wanted that to mean something final. Of course it doesn't, because men who profit off women don't vanish because one monster does. There's always somebody willing to take his place.

"They hit Falcon and the compound at the same time," Ice Pick says. "That wasn't random."

My heart reacts to his name again, and I ignore it. "They wanted the men away from the house."

"Yes." Ice Pick nods his head.

"Did they know Falcon would leave?" I ask.

"We don't think so. They knew somebody would collect the medication. The pharmacy account was compromised."

I feel sick. Rachel's prescription, something that ordinary, was used to create an opening.

"They're watching everything," I say, half to myself.

"We're assuming they can, until Condor proves otherwise."

Frankie crosses her arms. "Medical information too?"

"Knox is dealing with that now. Nobody at the club sees your records, but whoever accessed the pharmacy system may have seen Rachel's."

Anger's easier than fear, so I let it come. "What happens when Emily leaves the hospital?"

"We plan with you," Ice Pick says. Not for you. With. They're starting to understand.

"Good."

Rook leaves a few minutes later, and Frankie and I sit with our thoughts after that, Sarah’s eating half a sandwich, Frankie’s eating an entire brownie and lying about only having half of it, my coffee is going cool in my hands.

Falcon sent coffee. No, Falcon asked what was needed and Harrier sent coffee. Words matter, especially tonight.

Sarah brushes the crumbs from her lap. “Can I ask you something?”

“Apparently, nobody waits for permission around me anymore,” I reply.