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“We need to get our hands on Aiden’s cell phone records, or find out if he has a burner. We need to get more information as to who Aiden texted and why. How’d he walk away from that?”
“You’re dry humping my last nerve.” Fred shifted in his seat. “I just explained it to you. It was fast, and even if any of my guys were nearby, I doubt they would have been able to get to me.”
“They’d have tried to stop the SUV, though.”
He tilted his head. “Huh?”
“The only bullets embedded in the SUV that were found were Zion’s from when he tried to stop it. If Aiden had put guys on the street, you and I both know they’d have unleashed on that SUV or at least chased it…and they would have caught it. Where were all your people that night, Fred, and who the hell did Aiden text?”
Fred visibly swallowed, and his coloring turned ashen. “I…I’m tired.” His voice cracked. “I want to go to bed.”
“Fred.”
“No, Vincenzo, I’ve heard enough. Good night.”
I watched Fred speed walk out of the sitting room, and I cursed myself for saying anything. Zion had told me not once but three times the play-by-play of that night, and more questions arose with no answers. I didn’t trust Aiden, but the truth was, I didn’t trust anyone outside of my own people. Well, maybe Fred, but that was an oddity.
I reached into my pocket and called Kehlani.
“Yes, Praeses,” they answered.
“I want eyes on Aiden’s and Fred’s doors and patrols every fifteen minutes along the premises.”
“Yes, sir.”
They didn’t ask why; they understood the order. If I angered Fred enough for him to grab Aiden and go, I wanted to be prepared. As it was, sleep wouldn’t find me tonight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Fred
Rage…yeah, that was what I was feeling as I glared at the ceiling all night. I might have dozed off one or two times, but I felt the opposite of refreshed by the time the morning light crept into the bedroom.
I pulled back the covers and moved right into the en suite to shower, brush my teeth, and get ready for the day.
Fear…yeah, okay, I felt that too. Something in the corner of my mind was poking at me after my conversation with Vincenzo. Doubt…which caused fear.
“Ugh!” I buttoned my pants and took a deep breath. “You’re going to concentrate on today, focus on the meeting with Albert. Stay vigilant.” I pressed a hand to my stomach. “And trust your gut.” I closed my eyes and saw Uncle Sean’s face, his life seeping from his body, telling me to trust it.
“What the fuck is it telling me?” I whispered to myself before opening my eyes and leaving the room.
I walked into the dining room and noted it was a full house. Aiden was sitting on the left side toward one end and Vincenzo on the right on the other. They couldn’t be farther apart if they were in another room. Zion and the others were spread about.
They both looked up at me as I entered, and I found I couldn’t focus on either. I took a seat smack in the middle of them both. If I chose one end of the table over the other, it would have been seen as a stance and I had to give off the illusion that I was neutral. Was I, though?
A plate of food and a fruit bowl were placed in front of me. I ate quietly as others made mundane conversation. I’d just finished my food, tasting none of it, when Aiden’s voice broke my trance.
“I’ll drive Fred; it would be odd otherwise.”
I lifted my head and saw that Aiden and Vincenzo were in a staring match.
“I’d think you’d want to be by his side.”
“I will be after I get out of the car,” Aiden sneered. “Besides aren’t you going to be practically sitting on his lap in the car?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I shouted, slamming my hand against the table and making my dishes and silverware clang. I didn’t shout often; I snarked. I was sarcastic and, dare I say, bratty. But rage wasn’t something I visibly showed. And judging by the shocked faces they understood how rare it was.
“I’m two seconds away from having you both stay here, and I’ll go with Zion.”
