Page 88 of Riot

I squeeze her hand. “I know. We’re having fun but it’s also getting serious fast, and he’s as sweet as pumpkin pie. We’re getting to know one another. Don’t worry about me. If I need his ass kicked, I know who to call.” If I tell her we already told each other how we really feel, she’ll flip. She’s always been protective of me, and I know she’ll think I’m jumping in way too fast.

She snorts a laugh. “You know how well I like a good ol’ butt kicking.”

I smile. “Oh, you haven’t heard the best of it yet. That asshole Ian showed up at my apartment.”

“What?”

I roll my eyes. “I’ll make us a coffee and fill you in.”

“Jesus, woman, it’s been twenty-four hours since I last saw you. I feel like I need to keep up a little better.”

“Life’s one big roller coaster, what can I say?”

17

RIOT

A few hoursearlier

“What the fuck do you mean everyone’s dead?” I bark at Rock like it’s his fault the Mancini issue has been keeping me awake at night. I never let shit worry me, ever, but now I’ve got Halo and my sister in the same vicinity, and if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s worrying myself to death. I’ve always had a watchful eye over everything my sister’s done, unbeknown to her for the majority of her college years, and now she’s older, I’ve let go a little. Still. You can never be too careful about the people you care about.

“I thought you knew that.” Rock scratches his head. “Everyone that did Mancini wrong is now dead.”

He doesn’t need to give me a pointed look to tell me what he’s thinking. I mean, I killed the guy and all. I get where he’s coming from.

“Uh, noteveryone.Mancini, his brother, a cousin or five, and whoever the other fuckers were the Bratva took care of in the underworld are gone. Yeah, I get that part. But now we’re talkin’ business execs, politicians involved in the Mancini vs Bratvatakeover, and a fuckin’ mafia associate.” That was on the news this morning. Apparently Chicago is on high alert for this rogue sniper, and I’ve no goddamn idea what the hell to make of it.

“Probably couldn’t hurt askin’ around.” He gives me a chin lift. “Got any friends in low places?”

“When don’t I? But back then I worked alone.” I stare at the paperwork, something isn’t adding up. “What am I missin’? Someone has a vendetta, but who and why?”

“That’s the million dollar question.”

I let out a deep breath. “This is fucked up.”

“You worried it’ll lead back to you?”

“Don’t see how it can. My handler is dead. He’s the only one who knew who I was, and even then, he didn’t really know. I never dealt with the Bratva, or Mancini, or got involved in any of the underworld shit. I was there to do a job.”

“Get that, but sometimes these things come back to bite us.” I don’t want to hear his words, but I know that he has a point. It’s not like I haven’t thought about that. It’s all I can think about.

“Need you to dig up anything you have on a fuckface called Ian Brewers.”

“Who’s that?”

“Someone I wanna pummel into next week.”

“So let me guess, somethin’ to do with your girl?”

I meet his gaze. “Not my story to tell, but let’s just say her parents are overbearin’.”

He chuckles. “My ol’ lady, her dad was a piece of work. I get that he’s only ever had her best interests at heart, but fuck me, the man was hardcore. He was so protective of her, she barely left her apartment back home.”

“So he did what any loving father would do and sent her to the MC.” I wipe a hand over my face.

“Well, Cash owed him, and frankly, the useless bodyguards she had already proved their worth when they let a stalker get into her life.”

“That didn’t say much for the best friend.” Aspyn was betrayed by the one closest to her, but it all worked out in the end.

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