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Kade was all tooright with his joke.
We settled back into working mode pretty quickly. It was easy to see that Noah and Luca were both fading fast, so I sent them off to bed. Of course, that inspired Kade to make some mommy jokes, but was anyone surprised? Not even remotely.
I know those two barely got any sleep while Kade, Ry, and I all passed out. I also knew they were going to keep pushing themselves unless I told them to knock it off. We are back to business as usual tomorrow, which means early wake-ups and long days. Even more so than usual.
Declan didn’t have as long of a night as we did, so he decided to go and see the kids. Ryder went with him since no one was left to spar with. I wanted to go with but Kade pointed out how we didn’t have any routes planned for Jade and Britt this week, nor had we agreed on an actual training schedule yet.
I wasn’t happy about it, but I could tell neither was he. We had too much to plan to go over to Charlene’s tonight. Maybe tomorrow after training we can sneak over there. I miss Roe something fierce.
Kade and I are quick to jot down the routes as soon as everyone else clears out. We are trying to keep them pretty simple for the girls. Only giving them the ones they really need to know on their own. How to get between our places, to the gym, Thorns. Basically all the places we will most likely be going back and forth between.
We have no idea what is coming, so every little bit of advantage we can have in our arsenal is vital.
My phone starts ringing and draws me away from the plans I just handed to Kade to check over. We like to have two sets of eyes on everything.
I look down to find Rachel calling me and cringe. I’m already getting the feeling that I’m not going to love what she has to tell me.
“What’s up, Rachel?”
She sighs, and I can hear the anger in her voice. “Jackson Davis is dead.”
Jackson Davis, why does that sound familiar? It’s on the tip of my tongue. I know that I should know who that is. Ahh, it hits me.
“The supplier in NorCal?” That’s right. He started growing and selling and Rachel had us look into him before deciding how to deal with him. She ended up bringing him into the fold. “With the sick mom?”
“That’s right. His product was quickly becoming our most popular. Romano must have gone after him because of it.”
I hum to myself as I think through the possibilities. It’s too soon for this to have been retaliation for our little spree last night. He must have already been planning this. He’s not going eye for an eye. I mean, neither are we. Both sides are trying to obliterate the other. We can’t wait to make our next move.
“What are you thinking?” Rachel asks.
“It’s too quick to be retaliation,” I answer her. She was just as much a part of everything that happened last night. She knows as well as I do what that means.
“We need to make our next move,” she echoes my own thoughts.
“I just have to figure out what that next move should be. Send me everything you have on Davis’ death.” She stays silent on the line, waiting for my thoughts to come into some semblance of a plan. “Come to the house.” I hang up before she even has a chance to respond. I need some time to think about this before she gets here. Kade is already putting away the plans as he gives his attention to me.
“Romano’s already made his next move,” I explain. He nods, immediately understanding all of the implications of that. The guys have only just gone off to bed, not even that long ago. They need more rest before they will be of any use to me.
I pull out my phone and shoot off a text to Ry and D letting them know we need them back here. With the convoluted way they have to take to go see the kids, they probably haven’t even gotten there yet. It sucks, but ultimately this situation being dealt with will keep the kids safer.
I dig back up my list that I was using to attack Romano during my separation from the guys. It has a good amount of how his business runs. Buyers, sellers, informants, dirty cops and FBI agents. There are even judges and politicians on his list.
I’m not naive enough to believe that what I managed to get my hands on is all inclusive. But there was enough here to rock Romano to his core. To take a huge chunk of his business and make others wary of working with him.
We’re limited in what we can do openly, as to not gain the ire of others in this world. It’s a fine line to walk but taking Romano out will solidify us at the top of the food chain. Even with our morals. We just aren’t there yet. The last thing we need is to give Romano another ally to use against us, or a reason for others not to support us.
Kade watches me from the corner of his eye as he starts pulling up security footage, judiciously going through it to ensure everything is as it should be. It’s obvious Romano is on the war path and has no intentions of stopping.
We spend the next twenty minutes in silence as I try to plot out who would be the best candidates to take out. Preferably tonight. While Romano is still reeling from his other losses.
Declan and Ryder come out from the back hallway, anxious expressions on both of their faces.
“What’s happened?” Ryder demands before either of them even sit down.
I sigh, “Romano killed one of Rachel’s suppliers. We need to cause even more havoc to keep his hands tied for at least a little while longer.”
Declan nods slowly. “The safe houses will have him preoccupied, but we’ve already agreed he will have others still secured.”
