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I can’t take this to Luke with only Tom’s word against Paolo’s. I need some hard evidence to have Luke jump on board.
Gauge steps in front of Tom and stares him down with his cool green eyes. “When was the last time you had contact with him?”
Tom eyes Gauge warily. Gauge is the smallest of my brothers at six-foot, but he has an eerie calmness to him that can set you at ease or put your nerves on end. More than once, he’s used this Jedi mind-trick on me to cool my temper. “A week today,” Tom says.
“He’s due to make contact,” Gauge surmises. “We need to get a jump on this, Atlas.”
“Agreed,” I say. “Tom, we’re going to have you wired for the next few days. When Paolo makes contact, I want you to alert us with a text. If at all possible, I want you to record the conversation with your phone in case the wire is faulty. We’ll try to have eyes on you at all times. Do this for us, and I may let you walk away intact. Do you understand?”
Tom looks sick, but nods.
“Very good. Chase is going to get you geared up and walk you through the process. You’ll follow his instructions to the T. Brass will be your shadow, and he’ll be watching your exchange with Paolo. If you alert Paolo that you’ve been compromised, or warn him that your conversation with him is being monitored and recorded, Brass will know and drag your ass back here for me to deal with,” I threaten.
Tom sobs, but clearly understands the seriousness of this. “I’ll do whatever you want. Please, don’t hurt me.”
Josephine glares at me, livid. “Maceo, is this necessary? He was threatened into doing this by Lorenzo’s men, and now you’re doing the same damn thing to him. How does scaring him make you any better than Paolo?”
My normal reaction would be to roar my dominance, flip a table, or throw a glass bottle, but after nearly losing Josephine at Jacob’s hand, I’ve learned to get a better grip on my emotions when it comes to my protectiveness for my woman—well, it’s a work in progress.
“Josephine, I don’t want to hurt him, and I won’t as long as he does everything we tell him. I understand he was coerced, but now he’s righting a wrong. I’m tolerant enough with this piss-ant after learning he was watching us together for weeks.”
Josephine shakes her head, clearly disappointed in me.
Punk gives a frustrated groan. “Atlas, this is why I suggested you’d let me take her inside. Jo doesn’t understand why we work the way we do. She shouldn’t have to be here for this shit. It’s fucking hard on her; can’t you see that?”
Before I can retort, Josephine turns her fury on Punk. “I’m not a child. I’d know what’s going on, whether I’m present or not. Removing me from the situation doesn’t solve the problem.”
Punk looks remorseful. “Ah, come on, sis. Don’t be mad. I’m only looking out for you.”
Gauge, always the diplomat, says, “I know this seems cruel, Jo, but Atlas is being lenient considering the situation. No man would be any more tolerant in his shoes. Bianchi is out of line and violating your privacy. This shit needs to stop. Peeping Tom here is our best chance at nailing the fucker. What we’re making him do is no different than what the police would demand.”
Chase backs up Gauge. “Exactly. You can hardly blame Atlas—the kid was creeping on you. Shit, I’d be no different.”
“He’d be no use to us if I was in Atlas’s shoes because I’d have strangled him,” Punk mutters, and Brass and Reaper nod in agreement.
I’m grateful for my brothers validating my tactics, but Josephine is still upset. She walks out of the garage without giving me a backward glance. Hades stops his growling at Tom and hightails it after hismamá.
I jut my chin out at Chase. “Handle the kid. I need to go talk to Josephine.”
