“You’re think you’re having trouble with it? Jim’s got his hands full,” Dad says with a nod. “But soap opera shit aside, I want that Italian dead.”
“Bad move letting that shit with your woman cloud your judgment. I still think the Italian can be useful,” Duke says, his voice rising slightly. “Junior trusts him, and I’m starting to trust Junior. Plus, that prick could have hurt Sweets, but he didn’t. It was a fuckin’ scare tactic.”
“Scared my old lady,” Dad says as his voice lowers into a timber.
“Pissed you off—I get that. But he could be of use to us. Junior swears Leo is more interested in finding out the truth than he is in causing real trouble.”
“Still want him dead,” Dad gripes. He’s a hard-ass, sure, but the way he’s so protective of Holly makes my stomach do crazy weird butterflies. For a long time I was pretty much convinced that Grandma and I were going to be the only long-term women in his life—and that’s just sad.
“Okay, let’s say Scavo isn’t of use to us—how do we go about that when we don’t even know where he is? What about Jennings? Can’t find him either,” Duke says.
“He’s close,” Jeremy says quietly. His eyes are fixated on the floor, his brows furrowed, and he seems to be speaking more to himself than the men in the room.
“Heh?” Duke says, his voice showing his confusion. Dad and Wyatt both turn their attention to Jeremy as they wait for him to speak.
“He found the safe house, he knows our routines, and he even found Miss Priss at school. He knows who we are, he knows your kids, and he knows our weaknesses, even if we don’t. Scavo went after Holly and Mindy before you two were together, and he went after Cheyenne when he could have gone after getting Alex and Michael back,” Jeremy mutters as his attention shifts to Dad.
“He can’t get to them. They’re protected,” Duke says adamantly. I know he’s smarter than that—there’s always a way if you’re determined—but he doesn’t want to think about it. Considering that Alex isn’t totally safe reminds him that neither is Nic and their baby. He can’t handle going down that road, and I get it.
“Cheyenne was protected,” Dad says. “And the safe house was invisible for over thirty years, but he fucking found it.”
“Baby Boy’s right,” Wyatt says as he grabs his beer off the mantle and finishes it off. “Scavo is close. We just have to find him.” The men around him nod and murmur their agreement as they all seem to stretch their muscles at the same time and stir in place. They don’t like to sit still for too long.
CHAPTER 6
December
16 months to Mancuso’s downfall
The room falls silent, except for the faint sound of slurping. Everything else the brothers seem to be able to drink quietly, but not beer. It’s like some kind of big event every time one of them brings a beer bottle to their lips.
The alarm sounds at the front door, startling everybody in the room. They each jump to their feet, draw their guns, and train them on the front hall. The telltale click clack of high heels grows near as Aunt Ruby flies around the corner. Her eyes are wide, her face is pale, and her hair is a total disaster, as if she’s been pulling at it relentlessly for the past hour. Each of the brothers relax and lower their guns before returning them to the back of their waistbands.
“Sorry, big fucking problem,” Aunt Ruby says. I highly doubt that. But this is Aunt Ruby, and she’s a major badass, so she gets a certain amount of wiggle room that the rest of us don’t.
“Where’s Pres?” Jeremy asks, obviously not in the know.
“Transport mission. He’s got Trigger with him,” Wyatt says. The president’s old lady running into a room and addressing the brothers as though she’s one of them means there’s not just trouble, but big fucking trouble. And this is what being voted in means—it means your problem is the club’s problem, and they won’t think twice about having your back. It’s the closest any woman will ever get to wearing a Forsaken patch.
“What’s up, Ma?” Dad says.
“Is the room secure?” Ruby asks.
Shit. The last thing I need is for them to come peeking around the corner to make sure. Dad may yell and scream, but Aunt Ruby is sure to tan my hide. The only times in my life I’ve ever been spanked have been by that woman.
“Yeah, it better be,” Dad says. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but with that comment, it almost seems like he knows I’m listening.
“Gloria called, and she said Leo Scavo showed up at her house asking questions about me and Mike. He wanted to know what our history is, if there is even is one, and if she knows the real reason he was sent out to California.”
I know enough about Alex’s aunt Gloria to know that this Italian guy showing up at her house is bad news. Gloria is the one who orchestrated Alex’s escape from New York and transport to California. She put her neck on the chopping block to keep Alex safe, and that’s something that Forsaken won’t forget.