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“I can’t. Ainsy wants to meet up so we can discuss the next stage of the plan. I think we should stop.” I’m honest with her. This has gone too far. Innocent people are getting hurt.
She’s quiet for a moment. “I agree with you. You know I didn’t want to do this in the beginning. I’m worried about what happens if they find out.”
“I know. Right now, I’m worried about you. I came across some chatter. The Triad still has you in their sights. I’m trying to get a deeper look into it.”
“What?”
The door opens, and in walks the head of the Bratva.
“Say goodbye as soon as he sits down,” I say softly.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon.”
I sit there and listen in on the conversation. He talks to her a bit about how Dmitri cares for her and her sister Sparrow.
“I’m very sorry I put her in danger. It wasn’t my plan to hurt her or risk her that way. I thought I was doing the right thing. I guess I should have been straight and just talked to her. I didn’t know Daron had a gun. I’m sorry your guard got shot.”
I cough to cover up a gasp as it passes my lips. I text Leni, needing to know what the fuck is going on.
Me
WTF! He had a gun. Goddamn him. I knew we shouldn’t have trusted him. He’s just a fuck buddy of Ainsley’s.
Leni
Yes. He shot a guard and then tased Sparrow.
Me
That fucker. I’ll cut off his balls when I find him.
When she apologizes for being on her phone, that’s my cue to get out of here. I pack up my gear and quickly scrawl a note on a napkin before pushing back my chair. I leave the note on the table for her and then walk out the door. As I pass the window, I signal peace with two fingers so she knows I’m okay. Then I head for the bus stop so I can get home and question Ainsley about Daron. I remember Lennon mentioning it the night of the Bellagio. But so much happened that night, and we’ve never discussed it all.
I just hope she finds the note I left. With the Triad after her now, she is going to need the Bratva to protect her.
By the time I return to the apartment, Ainsley is already at work. I will have to wait to question her. In the meantime, I’ll research more into Jimmy’s disappearance.
A couple hours later, I watch the video footage, unable to believe what I’m seeing. I lean back in my chair and cover my mouth in shock. I figured out what happened to Jimmy. I watched him die. I didn’t know why they killed him, but I kept digging to find out. I couldn’t believe Andrei would have him killed just because he went after the Lucky Dice. I’ve done enough research to know that Andrei holds his family and those he cares about above everything, even business, which seemed odd at first, considering what Ainsley and I had believed.
So I went backward, and that’s when I found the footage of Jimmy boarding a flight to Eastport, Rhode Island. From there, I figured it out. When I couldn’t prove the Lucky Dice was stolen from him, he went after the one thing that means the most to Grayson, his wife, Erika. The woman from the tattoo convention. I piggybacked on security camera feeds, watching as Jimmy killed one of Erika’s guards. Then he shot Grayson and tried to kill another woman, who was heavily pregnant.
Andrei and his men took Jimmy to a warehouse near the water. They roughed him up but kept him alive until Grayson arrived. I watched as Grayson left the warehouse without killing Jimmy when he had every right to. I don’t know why the other man killed him. Was it because Andrei gave the orders, or was there something else?
I dig into Jimmy’s background next, knowing everything he told us was false.
“You in there?” Ainsley calls from outside my bedroom.
I close my laptop and walk over to the door. “Yeah, what’s up?” I ask as I open it.
“You’ve been going at it all night. Everything good?”
I realize she’s standing in front of me in her pajamas. I didn’t sleep at all. I stayed up all night, searching for answers.
“I’m good. I’m doing some research.”
“Okay, well take a break. You’ll give yourself a migraine.”
She’s right, I will. It’s happened in the past. “Okay, I will stop in a bit and lie down.”
