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“What’s up?” Vincenzo asked, and Zion peered up from his tablet.
“The detective said they found a fourth gun, a blank gun. It doesn’t shoot bullets, just makes it seem like they do. It was near the turn by Molly’s where I was shot at. Suspicious, right?”
“Very.” Zion glanced at Vincenzo, then me. “Why would someone toss that? Unless it was no longer needed.”
Neither man said it outright but they were thinking it…and so was I. The niggling feeling that Aiden truly was behind this was getting stronger, and no matter how much I pushed it down, it bobbed up again. But why would he do this? Was I paranoid or just refusing to see it in technicolor?
I went up to Aiden’s room after breakfast. He let me in, and I made my way over to the window.
“I’d like you to call Finn, Rowan, and Oscar, and arrange a meeting with them.”
“What? Why?” Where he was solemn a moment ago, he was now, dare I say, trepidatious.
“It’s time I find out what they know, and I’m never going to get it by hiding out here. They want a boss; I’ll give them one.”
“What are you planning on doing, Fred?”
I grinned. “You can’t be raised by a man like my father and not learn a thing or two. I know how to extract information.” I shrugged. “And if they won’t listen to me, I’m a doctor. I know places on the body that when sliced don’t kill right away, but the pain will make you wish you were dead.”
“You’re going to slice up your lieutenants?”
I stepped up closer to Aiden. He was taller than me—most people were. “I’m going to do whatever I have to do to end this. It needs to be over.”
Neither of us moved an inch. Of course Aiden was going to call for the meeting, and the three men would attend. I just wondered if this maneuver would bring the old Aiden back or unveil a monster he’d been working hard to keep covered.
“I’ll make the call.”
I nodded curtly and left the room.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Vincenzo
I had no idea what Fred was going to say or do. I was both nervous and excited. The redheaded brat kept me on my toes, and I found that the longer I was around, him, the more I was on the edge of my seat to find out what would happen.
Aiden had arranged a meeting in the back room of Rowan’s butcher shop. It was a place where they all congregated often.
“You need to bring unknowns here?” Rowan was a man in his late forties. He had black hair, clearly dyed, a round belly, and the beginnings of jowls.
“When the people you’re supposed to trust prove they don’t have your back, you find an army that will.” Fred sat at the head of the table and to their credit, the three men said nothing.
“You’re saying you don’t trust us?” Oscar was a little younger than Rowan, thin with light brown hair and glasses that rested on a long nose.
Fred snorted. “Let’s talk about trust, Oscar.”
Aiden was behind Fred, in the corner. I was keeping my eyes on him the entire time. Any twitch, move, anything—I was cataloging it all.
“Did you call this meeting to lecture us?” Finn brought a cup of coffee over to Fred and then sat in the seat beside him.
He was the oldest of the three, with a receding hairline, medium build, and a permanent scowl.
“Does it matter if that’s exactly the reason I called this meeting, Finn?” He lifted a brow.
“Well, lookie here, you found your balls.” Oscar was joking, but only the three men laughed.
“I always had them. I am my father’s son, after all. The difference is, I don’t chop people’s heads off just because they glance at me wrong. If I did, the three of you wouldn’t be here.”
That silenced the trio, and I had to concentrate on not smiling.
