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“Have you ever told him?”

Of course Penn knew I was lying out my ass. “No, and I’d like it to stay that way.”

“I won’t say anything to him. You know that.”

Thankfully, we pulled into the clinic and the conversation died, but knowing Penn, this wouldn’t be the end of it.

Ever since Penn had been attacked last year while getting an MRI, I was under strict instructions not to leave his side, which Penn hated but realized it wasn’t worth the argument. It did look ridiculous when his name was called and two grown men followed the nurse to the room.

The phlebotomist eyed us like we were weird.

“I don’t like needles,” was how Penn responded to that, which only made her eye us like we were even more strange.

On the drive to the house, a call came in from Toni. I hit the button on the steering wheel.

“Hey.”

“Hi. I just got off the phone with Alex and informed him, so I’m calling you now. Some news for you. The two guys that were searching for Maksim at Pricilla’s the other night do, in fact, work for his father. Maksim said oftentimes if his father caught him with men, he’d drag him out of there and punish him. Don’t ask how; I didn’t ask.”

“Yeah, I think he mentioned something like that to me and Alex.”

“Right, but those two guys are also staying at an Airbnb, and I got the address.”

I peeked at Penn, who wore the same confused expression. “So? What do we want with some muscle? They aren’t going to have any information.”

“Nope, you’re right. Maksim said the same thing, but if you want Vladimir to come here, maybe we start leaving him more bodies to find. It wasn’t the original idea, but Maksim agrees that if you want his attention, that’s how you’ll get it.”

“Toni, did you tell Alex the address?” Penn questioned.

“Yeah, but I told him to wait for Danny to return to the house.”

I groaned. “Fucking hell, Toni. You told him he had the okay to kill two of Ivanov’s men. Do you really think he waited for me?”

My question was met with silence.

“Give us the address. Maybe we’re closer and we can beat him there.” Penn was already pulling up the GPS.

We did, in fact, not beat Alex there, but when we stepped up to the door it was eerily quiet.

“Do you think he already killed them?” Penn whispered.

“I dunno.” I tried the door, and the knob turned easily. I made sure Penn was behind me since he refused to wait in the car. “Don’t get hurt. If you do, Gideon will murder me.”

He snorted softly but followed me. The place they were staying at was a cape house, and it opened to a living room that was silent. I gestured to Penn to stay close, and we made our way through the house, passing a bedroom and a bathroom. Still, there was nothing.

“This is weird,” Penn hissed.

I nodded. “Maybe they’re outside in the yard?”

A light thump sounded from a little farther down, and I pressed my finger to my lips as we moved closer. I peeked into the archway and saw the kitchen, and in that room were the two men and Alex. My blood boiled as I saw Alex tied and gagged, blood dripping from his forehead as he lay on the floor. The two men, unaware that Penn and I were there, were standing above him and talking in Russian.

I saw Alex’s chest rising so he wasn’t dead, but he’d passed out. Using hand gestures, I told Penn to get the guy on the right and I’d get the one on the left.

On three, I mouthed.

We had suppressors on our guns and while not perfectly silent, if someone heard and called the police, we’d be long gone by the time they arrived. The fact that these guys already had their death warrants signed made what to do with them very easy.

We aimed, and on three we got each one in the head. They collapsed with a loud crash but thankfully neither of them landed on Alex.