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I hesitated to share this next piece of news; he was already walking a fine line.
“By the way,” I took my glasses off and cleaned the lenses with the side of my shirt, “Mr. Griple called again.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I watched Cameron’s face fall. For years we’ve worked on keeping Griple out of prison, but his trial wasn’t going to wait. No matter how much money he and Cameron tossed at people, he still faced a life sentence for a hit back in Carson City. This was bad—really bad.
“Fuck,” he closed his eyes, “why of all people did that tattooed shithead have to kill my fall guy?”
“Martin Castillo had a lot of enemies, Cameron. If it wasn’t Grim, it would’ve been someone else. It was a matter of time. We all knew he’d be taken out at some point.”
“Are you siding with him now?” He peered over his reading glasses at me, his face red. “You know what it means if Griple goes to jail.”
“I know,” I didn’t need a reminder; it had been the elephant in the room since practically the day we met, “but avoiding his calls will mean he’ll send more sharks.” I paused. “Speaking of which, where the hell is Sasha?”
“Fuck if I know.” Cameron shrugged. “You ask Kenna?”
“No.” My mind went to how she’d looked when I saw her on her way to the rooftop bar.
“Calli’s back.” He shifted some papers around, and I knew he was pleased I was off the Griple topic. “She was looking for you this morning. Something about a case number.” He waved his hand at me. “Make sure you find out what she wants.”
“Of course.” I could use a good night of stress release.
“Oh, yes, I need you to get rid of that envelope I was sent. I want it out of here.” He leaned down and opened his desk drawer. “What the hell?” I moved close as I saw him freeze. He shuffled some things around. “I put it in here, but it’s gone.”
“You sure?” I moved around the desk.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s gone,” he snapped. “It was here, and now it isn’t.”
“Maybe you moved it?”
“I’m not senile, Simon. I know when I move something!” He leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I need to think.” I knew what that meant, and I rushed to get out of there. As I passed by the trash on my way to the door, I noticed a cup of coffee sitting on the top. It had a bit of coffee dripping from the lid.Odd.I looked over my shoulder at Cameron, who still had his eyes closed, and gently touched the cup with my finger. It was full. I turned the cup around and saw Kenna’s name written on the side of it.
“Did Kenna come by to see you today?”
“No. Why are you still here?” He sounded annoyed.
Oh, shit.I charged toward the rooftop to find Kenna.
Grim
The noise in the bar faded in and out as I thought about Leo and how I was never going to see him again. Death was a normal thing in my world, but if I was honest with myself, I thought if any one of us was ever going to go, it would have been Knox because of his reckless behavior. It was why I’d hired an extra security team to watch over him—not that he knew. He was young and stupid, but I’d give up my life for him in a heartbeat. I was the oldest. It was my job to protect them, and I felt sick that I was still alive and Leo wasn’t.
“I know that look.” Elio sat down next to me. I couldn’t believe he’d come all this way to support me in the loss of my brother. I knew he had a lot to deal with back in Italy. “I can’t imagine losing one of them.” He nodded to his cousins Niccola and Vinni, who were like his brothers. “I can’t imagine how you must feel, but I do understand loss. I lost Sienna, perhaps not in death, but twice in my life I had to face that terrible feeling that I’d never see her again.” He sat back and studied those around us, then pointed in Kenna’s direction with a question.
“She’s just a distraction.”
“Perhaps no longer.” He shrugged and nodded toward Benny. He had his hand on her hip as she moved aside for someone to order at the bar. A tiny part of me clawed out from behind the curtain in my head and begged me to rip his hold off her. I squeezed the glass in my hand then put it down before I cracked it.
“All right, I’m here now as a friend. Tell me what you need me to do.” I knew he referred to Leo. “All my resources are at your service.”
I licked my lips and knew if I was going to catch whoever killed my brother, I’d need to go loud.
“Get the word out I’ll give a million US for anyone who can tell me who did it and two if they bring him to me alive.”
“Done.”
“But,” I ripped my eyes from Kenna, “I want proof.”
“Of course.” We both sat in silence. I knew Elio had a network of people who could get the word out quicky and effectively, not just here in the USA but across multiple countries. Transnational organized crime had no limits. My family were well known, and there were no borders or rules that would stop someone who wanted to hurt us.
Elio tapped his temple. “Be careful in here.” He lowered his voice. “Trigger spent most of his life lost inside his head, thanks to his father. Allen was truly a cruel man. I’d hate to lose another of my friends in that darkness. Remember, it was only the love of his woman that pulled him back from that awful place.” He glanced at Tess, who seemed to realize she was being talked about and looked over and smiled. “Leo wouldn’t want you to go full Grim Reaper.” He paused. “Well, perhaps a little.” He grinned to lighten the mood.
