Page 21 of Penalty Killer

“Now what?” Filippo finally asked. “How do we find this man?”

“I’m asking Sergei where we are with The Loop’s bank records.” They were pulling all the credit cards used at the club from the last month, but it was taking forever. Something about Canadian banks and advanced security.

“Good idea. Wasn’t Sergei hacking into the team’s personnel files, too?”

Nico opened up a secure email to Sergei. “Yes, I will ask about this, too. All of this is taking too fucking long!” He rapidly typed out his questions for Sergei and sent them. Then he put his phone face-down on his knee and stared through the car window.

“And you’ll still lean on Verreault, right? Pressure our mole on the inside?”

“No.” The word came out of Nico’s mouth before he could stop it. And instantly, he knew how ridiculous it sounded.

So did his cousin. “What do you mean, no? He’s our best lead. And you said you have dirt on him, that he can’t refuse to help. We should make his life a living hell until he gives us⁠—”

“I said no.”

Filippo was quiet for several seconds. “Would you like to tell me why?”

“Verreault’s of no more use to us.”

“But he’s the captain. He knows these men.”

Nico had to shut down this line of thinking, so he went with a half-truth. “These men are famous, in the public eye. Being around them will only bring unwanted attention to us. When we eliminate the man responsible, we must ensure it is not traced back to us, capisce?”

“I suppose.” Filippo scratched his neck, something he did when he was thinking. “It just seems like you’re taking this on alone for some reason.”

“Because this is personal business. Sofia asked me to handle this personally—and I will.”

“Your father said the same thing, I’m sure, right before he was gunned down in a stairwell.”

That made it sound random, but it had been the stairwell of an apartment building belonging to Lorenzo Marzano’s mistress. She’d sold him out to a rival for fifty thousand dollars. There was no chance of that happening to Nico. There was no mistress or girlfriend at the moment. He preferred to keep things casual and short. “If I die, you take over. Buona fortuna.” Good luck.

Filippo made a rude gesture in Nico’s direction. “I don’t want to take over, stronzo. I am fine where I am. But you shouldn’t have a fucking death wish, either.”

“I don’t have a death wish.” He exhaled heavily, the weight of the evening like a boulder on his chest. “I will handle it. Sergei will get the boys working harder on finding the records. I’ll also ask him to set up surveillance at The Loop in case this guy comes back. Make sure the club has photos of the Reign players to compare.”

“Good idea. And I know you said no before, but I can talk to my CI at the police department.”

“No. When this player dies, which he will, we need the police caught unaware. They can’t suspect us.”

“My CI won’t talk. No chance.”

Over the years, Nico had learned there were no guarantees when it came to informants. Their loyalty could shift in a heartbeat. “If the case is high profile enough, he could give us up. I don’t want to risk it. I will find the man responsible another way.”

“You are the boss,” Filippo said with a dismissive flick of his hand.

It was Nico’s turn to give a rude gesture. “Stronzo.”

Filippo only laughed. “Let’s go to a club. Watch some hot women and drink shitty wine.”

“I’m exhausted,” Nico admitted. “Another time.”

“You need to get laid, cugino. You work too hard.”

Nico said nothing. His sex life was not up for discussion, ever. Filippo knew this, which meant he was trying to irritate Nico tonight as much as possible. But Nico was exhausted. That part was true. Between work and fucking Verreault, only to learn almost nothing, Nico was drained. “No need. You are getting laid enough for the both of us.”

“It’s not hard, not with money and access to good coke.” Filippo opened his phone and started scrolling. “And I love to eat pussy. You’d be surprised how many men don’t.”

Nico loved pussy—and he also loved dick. He wondered what his cousin would say if he admitted that right now. The idea brought back memories of Verreault earlier. I’ll call you whatever you want, if you just suck me already. So needy, so responsive. Nico would be thinking about tonight for a long time.