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It’s the closest she’s ever gotten to admitting why she runs the business the way she does.
“Instead they’ve been on their best behavior,” Luca summarizes. “Keep a closer eye on Nic’s movements.”
“Already on it, boss,” Noah answers, ignoring Rachel’s protests. She sputters out her disbelief and rolls her eyes.
“He has been a dick,” Jade attempts to console her.
She ignores her, turning her attention back to me. “What about our biggest problem? Do we have more on Romano? How are we tracking him? What can we do to help?”
“Slow down there, Rach,” Declan teases her. “There hasn’t been much activity in the elite social circles. It seems as though the West Coast circles are tightening and hunkering down. Waiting for the storm to pass. At least as far as their criminal behavior goes.”
“Romano’s presence was stronger on the East Coast,” Luca explains. “He’s taken a hit to his reputation and business overall, but he hasn’t been wiped from the map yet.”
“We’re using that to our advantage though,” I start in order to answer her other questions. “It means we still have a list of known associates that we can monitor and track.”
Noah stands up and my eyes are immediately drawn to him as he takes over. “We know Donahue is helping hide him, but we also know from Charles he wouldn’t do that out of any sense of loyalty. There has to be something in it for him.”
“If he’s still bringing in money, he still has value rather than just being a liability,” Declan summarizes.
“Exactly,” Noah agrees. “And we all know money is traceable. We just have to sort through the records and find the right lead.”
Rachel and Jade both sit up a little straighter and I give them a nod of acknowledgment. “That’s where we could use your help. We need you two to start going through the records that we’ve been able to collect from Romano and his associates and see if we can find any hint on where he could be.”
The room fills with a thoughtful silence as we all get lost in our own thoughts. Trying to find someone who doesn’t want to be found isn’t really an exact science. It’s following a lot of leads that mostly lead to dead ends. It’s noticing patterns and being able to read between the lines of information.
“Is it possible he’s in your hometown, Scar?”
Noah’s spine snaps straight as his body fills with tension at Tyler’s question. I take a deep breath and look around the room to realize he wasn’t the only one to react that way.
“It isn’t likely,” I answer. “We’ve narrowed down where he could be and while Eastvale is on the list, Donahue isn’t one to keep a ticking bomb in his backyard. He’ll be where they control the authorities, and their power is well known, without being too close.”
“Charles thinks the same thing,” Noah adds. “His father isn’t willing to invite trouble. He’s far more meticulous than even Romano was at the height of his power.”
I hum my agreement and quickly change the topic and my fingers begin to twitch at my sides. “What about the business side of things?” I address the question to Luca.
He tilts his head to the side and studies me for a moment before finally answering. “Everything is moving faster than anticipated. We had accounted for more trouble than we’ve been running into. It seems just about everyone supporting Romano really has cleared out of these parts. For now at least.”
I take a moment to study him. There’s no lie in his words, not that I can sense, but there’s something I’m missing. My eyes flash around the room and all five of my guys are looking anywhere but at me. All holding entirely too still.
“That’s good news,” I say, my voice lilting at the end in my hesitation. Luca’s easy grin does the opposite of calming my suspicions. Since when does he grin so freely? I start to question him more on what progress has actually happened in the clubs but stop when I feel my phone vibrate. A quick glance down at it drives out any curiosity about what the guys are up to.
My neck cracks as I jerk it to the side in my irritation. “What the fuck does he think he’s doing here?” I demand of no one in particular. My eyes are drawn to Rachel at Jade’s side.
“Speak of the douche and he shall arrive?” Kade jokes, but it doesn’t mask the raw fury burning behind his green eyes.
Rachel groans and Jade pulls her tighter into her side. “Don’t tell me,” she whispers.
“Okay, we won’t,” I agree chirpily. My eyes cut to Kade. “Cut him off at the driveway and then at the knees.”
His knife is already in his hands before I even finish the sentence. “Your wish is my command,” he sings as he heads to the door.
Declan and Luca trade looks but neither seem all that inclined to interfere as they normally would. Ryder is just a step behind Kade, a matching pair of blades in his hands. My smile grows wider even as Rachel curses behind me and Jade’s giggles fill the air.
“You guys can’t actually kill him,” Rachel chastises.
“I don’t see why not,” I argue. “He doesn’t do anything for us. We have more friends than him too.” I weigh that sentence in my head. “Probably,” I amend. I don’t actually know what he’s all involved in. We hadn’t had the need to really delve into his past, that changes now. “It’ll still be worth it,” I decide. What’s a few more enemies to add to the table? “With his personality, I’m sure he has more enemies than friends. You know what they say about the enemy of my enemy and all that.”
Rachel is the only one to roll her eyes at me. That, more than anything, shows how much he’s pissed off everyone in this room. She shakes her head at me, before dropping her gaze to the floor. “He’s still Alec’s brother.”
