Like the stiletto on my hip, I decided to start carrying the phone with me. After I got dressed this morning, I slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans in case my husband wanted to check in with me during the day.
I have one missed call from Damien. It puts it at twenty minutes ago, around the time he should’ve arrived here.
Was that him calling to tell me something came up? If so, why don’t I have a text or a voicemail?
It doesn’t matter. And I’m sure he never expected I would need to track him so soon as he gave me this phone, but I jab my finger on the blue app he pointed out last night, then select his name.
A green dot appears on the screen—and it’s moving.
Vin looks over my shoulder at the phone. “Is that Damien?”
There’s no time to explain. “Yes. And it looks like he’s heading toward the West Side of Springfield.” I don’t understand. “Did he have to see Devil about something?”
The more Damien opened up to me about his life as a mafia leader, the more I couldn’t stop referring to his truce with Lincoln Crewes as a ‘deal with the devil’. Lincoln is the only one who has access to his location—well, apart from me now—and Damien prides himself on protecting his Family by keeping this relationship with the Sinners Syndicate solid.
Maybe that’s what happened. Maybe Lincoln needed him, and he went.
The look on Vin’s face says that’s impossible. “No. And he wouldn’t head onto Sinner territory without back-up. I’m his back-up. Something’s not right. The boss is in trouble. I’ve gotta go after him.”
He reaches for my phone. I hide it behind my back.
“Savannah…”
“No. If you’re going after Damien, I’m going, too. I have the tracker. You have to let me.”
He so doesn’t have to let me.
If he uses force, not even my self-defense lessons will keep Vin from snatching that phone from me if he wants it. But I think he knows that, if he does, Damien will have his ass for laying his hands on me…. And it’s a lose-lose situation for the big guy.
Even worse because Genevieve pipes up with, “What about Orion?”
Shit. I didn’t forget about my cat, but she’s holding the cat carrier, lifting it up so she’ll see any change in him.
“The clinic’s closed,” Vin begins.
“Obviously. But just because one vet is on vacation, that doesn’t mean they all are. We’ve gotta find one and take Orion there.”
“Genny—”
I’ve never seen Genevieve so serious. “I know you have to make sure Dame’s okay. I want you to. But Orion… this is my fault. I’ll take care of him. You two go.”
“And leave you alone?” asks Vin. “No. I can’t?—”
“You have to. Look, I have a friend, okay? He can help me.”
“He?”
These Libellula men. “Can you call him?” I ask her. “Get him here?”
“I’m sure I can. It might take him twenty minutes or so to get here, but I’ll be okay by myself until then.”
“Is it Christopher?” demands Vin. “Why is Christopher twenty minutes away?”
She didn’t say ‘Christopher’, did she? I noticed it. I know Gen did… but her cousin didn’t.
“It doesn’t matter. Gen, you know about the dragonfly decals on the windows, right?” I hurry over to the one on the clinic’s locked door. “A safe space for members of your brother’s Family. Find one. Hide out there with Orion until your friend comes. If you need us, call Vin. I’m sure you have his number. We’re going to make sure Damien’s okay.”
She nods in determination. “And I’m going to make sure Orion is okay.”