Page 62

He wasn’t sure how in-depth he should go on his capture and release. Or at least the capture part since the fact it happened still stung. Not only his ass, but his ego.

“The short story is: they figured out someone was intercepting their communications, they just didn’t know who. They fed us tonight’s specific location to control the narrative.”

“And did they?”

“Unfortunately.”

“But you didn’t fall into that trap,” Vi stated confidently.

It pained him to say, “I did.”

Vi blinked at him. “But⁠—”

“They questioned me, I fed them bullshit, and they bought it.”

Her eyebrows hiked up her forehead. “What kind of bullshit?”

“That I’m one of those mercenaries hired on the dark web and I don’t know who paid me to take out their people, since it involves anonymous transactions.”

“Smart.”

Impressed and not disappointed? He’ll take it. “I didn’t think getting caught was smart at the time, but the more I mull it over, the more I think this might’ve helped us out.”

Her brow scrunched low. “How so?”

“This next part is the good part, but I’m not sure if you’ll feel the same. They’re going to pay me to take out the Chens the same way I was targeting them. I get a bounty for each Chen I can prove is no longer breathing.”

She stared at him without blinking once.

“Close your mouth, boss.”

Her lips took a downward turn. “Don’t call me that when I’m naked in your bed.”

“Proof?”

She whipped the sheet off, giving him a quick glimpse of her hard-to-resist body before pulling it over herself again. Then she gave him a smile so big, it lit up the entire bedroom.

But that smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. What they were discussing was serious business.

“I don’t see any injuries, but as your…you-know-what, I want to make sure.”

Like her snoring, it was kind of cute she didn’t want to say she was his boss while in his bed.

“I’m good.” Now.

“How did they get to you?”

“They realized we could hack their phones, texts, and emails and began to use a company called Glacier. They sell secure devices, like phones and tablets, and encrypt all communications.”

“Oh, very spy-like.”

“Yep, it’s like top-secret squirrel, government coup type shit.”

“They can’t all have those devices yet, as we’ve intercepted important information.”

“Since this last location was a setup, they had to have used an unencrypted phone on purpose. And remember, they weren’t mentioning any illegal activity, just where they were meeting for ‘dinner.’ Would that give the feds a location to stakeout if they’re being monitored? Sure. But the Russos have been running Pittsburgh for so long, they probably have someone on the inside of certain federal agencies to give them a heads-up, anyway.”

“That would make sense. They also weren’t expecting so many losses in a short amount of time.”