Page 220 of Chaos Kills

“I could call him,” she retorts. “But I want to see him.”

“He’s busy.” Her nostrils flare because she knows I’m not going to tell her where they are. “Since we have two of De Leon’s men, Ozzy wants to gain intel from them, just like you and Wallace agreed on. I’m here on his behalf because he trustsme and to keep you from getting hurt by Matteo or one of his gangbangers. Torin is here to bug the living shit out of you.”

She doesn’t speak, and it’s almost as unnerving as when she does.

“You good?”

“Do I have achoice?” she clips back.

“How about I buy you ice cream?—”

“I’m not a child, Sinatra. Buying me chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream isn’t going to make me forget that my best friend just kidnapped two of Matteo’s guys. My ex is going to be looking?—”

“Then you should get home so we can keep you and your sisters safe.”

She scowls. “You suck at this.”

Fucking brat.

“I’ll make it up to you then, like I said.”

Bay drags her eyes away from me. “You don’t make me wet anymore. Don’t bother.”

Now, there’s her lie.

Starting up my car, I get us out of the woods. She doesn’t say a damn word to me the whole way back.

We need to get this resolved so we can be a unified force again.

And with Bay Astor, I have a feeling we may be unstoppable when we do.

FORTY-NINE

bay

“Everything is fine,”Levi assures me on the other end of the call, not taking an ounce of anxiety from my veins. “I promise. I’d tell you otherwise.”

“Would you, though?” I mutter, not fully convinced that my best friend would save some of my sanity if shit went sideways.

Tonight was a shitshow, something I’m used to starring in, but as soon as I got home after Cairo dropped me off, I had to call Levi to make sure he was alright.

“I would.”

Right.

We’re doing the whole survive-together-and-neither-one-of-us-will-be-dead thing.

“You’re talking to me,” I state, pacing my backyard like a freak because I can’t sit still, and I didn’t want to wake up the girls. “So, I’m assuming it didn’t go well.”

Levi inhales. “No. Dudes didn’t talk. I got nothing.”

“I’m not surprised. They either don’t know a thing about it, or Matteo has that much mental power over them?—”

“We’ll get the video, Astor. Don’t worry about it.”

“And you allowed Cairo Black to be there.”

It’s not a question, though, I’m curious as to why my bestie is becoming more lenient with him.

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