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“Kennedy, meet us at Slater Security, okay? In like half an hour?” Eric nods and Kennedy confirms with Aidan that will work for them. “Okay, great. We’ll see you then.”
After saying a quick goodbye, I hang up, turning my attention fully back to Eric. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, but I can’t keep the excitement or the trepidation out of my voice. “Do you have any idea what they found out?”
“I think Ryan might have made a positive ID on the men you caught with your camera.”
???
Less than half an hour later, Kennedy and I are hugging each other. It’s so good to see her again. After chatting quickly, we sit down at the large table in the conference room and I look around at the group. The entire Slater crew is here as well as Aidan Wolf, who doesn’t leave my sister’s side. Eric sits beside me and turns his attention to Ryan.
“What have you got for us, Ryan?” he asks. This isn’t the playful Finn everyone knows and loves, and they all immediately take notice of his serious tone.
Ryan lifts his laptop and transfers the images on his screen up onto a larger one on the wall so everyone can see. “The two shooters are hired guns with records a mile long and connections to the local mafia—specifically Anthony Vitello’s crew.”
Beside me, Kennedy leans forward and squints at the image, studying it closely.
“What do we know about Vitello?” Dash asks.
“He’s not the biggest fish in the pond, but he has his hands in the gambling circuit and knows a lot of people in D.C.” Ryan points to the man they killed. “And the victim is—”
“—Maxwell Sharpe,” Kennedy finishes, recognition flashing through her bright green eyes.
“Who’s Maxwell Sharpe?” Aidan asks, leaning forward.
“A politician who used to do business with my old boss.” Aidan’s hand immediately reaches out and they lace fingers. My stomach goes tight. The man Kennedy used to work for was a horrible person. One of the men behind Project Phoenix. A manipulative, evil monster of a human.
“Leeland Goddard,” Aidan growls.
A collective groan fills the air. Clearly, no one wants anything to do with the clusterfuck that was Project Phoenix, an experiment that involved Aidan’s former Navy SEAL team. But Kennedy said they were able to stop the people behind it. And now I can’t help but wonder why Sharpe was murdered.
“What do we know about Sharpe?” Dash asks.
“Well, if he used to hang out with Goddard then we know exactly what kind of person he was. He probably deserved every bullet they put in him,” Aidan states.
“But why was a well-known politician executed by a couple of thugs in an alley?” Fallon asks.
Ryan begins tapping away on his computer and I glance over at Eric.
“Maybe he owed someone money or a favor,” Eric suggests. “And like most politicians, he didn’t deliver.”
“Executing him in broad daylight is ballsy,” Maddox comments.
“Not for the mafia,” Sailor comments dryly with a pop of her gum.
“Sharpe was known for always indulging too much,” Kennedy says thoughtfully. “Drugs, alcohol and women.”
“How about gambling?” Ryan asks, his dark brown eyes lighting up.
“What have you got?” Dash asks.
“Looks like Sharpe lost big in Vegas last month. Let me do a little more digging, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he owed money to the wrong people.”
“And when they came to collect, he didn’t have it,” Colt states.
“Exactly,” Ryan agrees.
“If that’s the case,” Dash says looking over at me, “Ivy witnessed a mob hit on a prominent politician.”
Beside me, Eric swears under his breath.
