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Scar slid from his lap, peering down at him in disgust. “See, I don’t think we will. The men you work for aren’t as untouchable as they think. And the minions you have planted in my city? I’m fucking coming for them,” she seethed, dropping her face closer to his. “We know about your friends at the FBI too. Their hands aren’t as clean as they want the public to think, huh?”
Maxim’s face twisted in rage, but the life in his eyes was already dimming. Nothing but a gurgled groan escaped his garish lips.
I’d thought love was bullshit, but this woman had all three of us by the fuckin’ balls, and the feelings swirling in my heart no longer felt like lust alone.
CHAPTER 40
SCAR
EVERYTHING IS GOING TO HELL
Worry shot up my spine when my burner vibrated in my pocket. Caleb’s eyes caught my own in the rearview mirror, his smoldering with tension in the darkness.
“Don’t worry,” I said, digging the phone out of my blood-crusted pants. I should have brought a change, but I hadn’t planned on being in Maxim’s fucking lap when I slit his throat. “It’s the burner I use when Ryan calls.” Caleb’s and Kenji’s shoulders relaxed at the knowledge that it wasn’t my uncle calling.
Earlier today, I’d looped the video feed from a few weeks ago. There wasn’t any trace of us being there tonight, and the staff was all hired out—people loyal to the Syndicate. Maxim and his bodyguards were piled in the walk-in freezer, and I had my cleaners scrubbing blood from the oak plank flooring of the lounge.
But fear still crept up my spine, and sweat beaded along the back of my neck. I’d given this number to her years ago, and she’d never once used it. Now this was the second call in a short span of time. “Ryan. What’s wrong?” Three sets of eyes landed on me at the note of panic in my voice.
The masculine tone startled me, and I instantly set the phone to speaker, not wanting to have to repeat the conversation for the guys later.
“Not Ryan. But she’s in trouble,” Gunner said.
My breath hitched at the news. She had to be in some deep shit if he needed to call me for backup. And what the fuck did he want me to do from New York? All that kept me grounded was my training because I wanted to go ballistic at what I’d been told.
“What do you need from me? I’ll help however I can, but you should know I’m no longer in Tucson.”
His sigh of relief echoed through the SUV. “I need access to the parts of Lotería that are biometrically locked, and I need camera feed access so I know where Ryan is in the building,” he said.
I scoffed at his request. “You’re going to need more than that.” I yanked my laptop out of the backpack at my feet, placing it in my lap. “I know you’re used to working with shit resources and intelligence, which is ironic, but that’s not how I work.” My fingers flew across my keyboard. The phone was tucked between my shoulder and ear as I worked to get everything he’d need. “A message is coming through. You’ll find the blueprints to the club and a link to watch the live feeds from the cameras.”
Relief flooded my veins when the grainy feed popped up on my screen. Ryan was currently walking into Lotería, guns blazing. Caleb jerked the car to the right, taking us away from our penthouse.
“Well, our girl is currently blowing holes in people. I’ll be watching the feeds for when you and Dex arrive.”
I rolled my eyes at Dex’s amazement that I knew he was with Gunner. It was honestly a lucky guess. Gunner’s file said he’d taken this undercover job in exchange for a deal for his best friend, who’d beat the ass of a man who had sold his sister. To me, it sounded justified, but the legal system was fucked.
“Damn right I’m a wizard. Now pay attention. This is important. I’ll have to send the system into emergency power mode. It’s the only way to override the biometric scanners. All the house lights will cut out, and the emergency lighting will trigger. Be aware that a fucking annoying alarm will also sound, but the chaos will probably help you out. The doors will still require a code to enter, but the scanner will be disabled. I’ll change the code to four zeroes when you arrive. Got it?” My fingers were flying across my keyboard as I called out the instructions.
Caleb’s deep voice barked out instructions of his own. “Kenji, tell Gregori and Niko to get to the warehouses now and blow the fuckers. The plan has changed and we’re moving on Dominick.”
Niko had stayed behind to make sure there hadn’t been any loose ends at the restaurant. Nervous energy surged through me at the thought of him going alone to the warehouses. This hadn’t been part of the plan. We were supposed to kill Maxim tonight, and then in the following days, we’d do Dominick.
Caleb’s eyes found mine once more. “The news of what’s about to pop off in Tucson is going to spread fast. We can’t afford for Dominick to find out we’ve taken out Maxim.”
He was right.
* * *
We pulled up in front of my uncle’s house. Déjà vu hit me at the sight of the arched black doors of the brownstone.
“The camera feed doesn’t show anyone else but him and a few guards,” I said, watching as Dominick poured himself a finger of whiskey in his living room.
“Everyone knows what they’re doing?” Caleb asked, his voice steady.
I nodded, checking the slide on my gun before tucking it back in the band of my pants and looking up to lock eyes with him and Kenji. Kenji’s face was pulled into a frown, deep creases marring his forehead.
“Hey,” Caleb placed a hand on his shoulder, “she’s going to be fine. She’s fucking Cain. She lives for this shit.”
