He wouldn’t say that unless he had intel. I scan the faces around the table, settling on Ash’s grim features. I wait for him to fill me in, but he says nothing.
I don’t believe it. They’re not only limiting Quinn’s access to our business, they’re freezing me out too.
“You don’t trustmenow?” My words choke me. I thought Ilya was the enemy, but Quinn and I are being attacked by my own family.
“We have to be realistic, Reid,” says Ash. “Quinn iscompromised through her sister, and there may come a time when you’re compromised through Quinn.”
I’d dismissed Quinn’s warning last night, but maybe she was right. The day may come when I have to choose between the woman I love and my brothers.
“We don’t want to keep anything from you,” Ash adds. “But we have to be honest about the challenges we’re facing.”
I’m shaking my head. “And you think keeping me in the dark won’t make me even more vulnerable?”
Ash winces, conceding the point. “We do trust you, Reid. That hasn’t changed,” he says. “But if we’re about to discuss the information we have, it can’t be shared with Quinn. We can’t have Ilya knowing what we know.”
“I understand,” I say although my words are clipped. I’m not angry with my brothers. I’m angry at the impossible situation we find ourselves in. “And Quinn wouldn’t want to hear anything that Ilya might find of value. She’d rather avoid giving him any more reasons to coerce her into doing something she doesn’t want to do. She doesn’t want to betray us. And she won’t.”
Ash and Hunter share a glance, but they don’t come right out and challenge my faith in her, and thankfully, Mace is too preoccupied with his eavesdropping.
“We’ve intercepted messages that suggest a shipment is imminent,” Ash says at last. “The Russians have amassed over thirtyunits. That’s how they describe the women they abuse.”
“You can read the messages if you like,” adds Hunter. “It’s completely dehumanizing.”
We all turn to Mace, who will have gathered the intel. He’s chuckling to himself quietly, and it takes a second to notice we’re all staring at him.
“They’re currently debating whether the withdrawal method is a safe form of contraception,” he explains, like we were all waiting for him to share the joke. “Lily’s horrified. She’s just asked if they’ve never heard the saying, ‘It spits, before it fires.’ I swear she makes this shit up, but she has a point.” My look of confusion makes him laugh harder. “She’s talking about precum. It’s mostly lubricant, but your boys can send out a sneaky little scout party before the big show.”
“Mace,” Ash says through gritted teeth. “Monitor their location and the surroundings by all means, but keep your focus onthisconversation.”
“Fine. They’ve just ordered a bottle of rosé for breakfast, so I’m probably better off not hearing what’s coming next.”
Mace switches his attention briefly to his tablet. A local map comes into view showing the location points of his multiple trackers, and he monitors it as Ash sets out what we know so far about Ilya’s plans. The shipment is due to arrive in Poulton Springs in a matter of days, and we’re walking through options to intercept when Mace straightens up.
“Have you got Quinn’s phone?” he asks me, interrupting Ash mid-sentence.
“No, it’s in her purse.”
“Then why is her location showing as here?”
The tension in Mace’s voice sets my nerves on edge. I don’t know if it’s because I’m about to face another attack on Quinn’s character, or if there’s something genuinely wrong. She had her purse in the car, but I don’t remember her carrying it when we got into the elevator.
Mace adjusts the map view to account for altitude. “Itlooks like her phone’s in the parking garage. She must have left it in the car.”
“Levi’s confirmed she doesn’t have her purse on her,” Jake says after speaking low through his earpiece.
My default is to defend Quinn, and I shrug. “So, she forgot it.”
Mace seems about to accept my explanation when he presses his fingers to his earpiece. His eyes widen as he jumps up from his seat. “Did they drink them?”
Fear tightens its fist around my heart as the rest of us stand too.
“Get them the fuck out of there!” Mace yells.
There’s no time for questions, and chaos erupts as we all race for the door, our guns drawn. Jake and Mace are barking orders to all our nearby teams as we reach the elevators. I feel so damn useless. The women are only on the other side of the street, yet completely out of reach. I should have given Quinn a gun.
“It’s confirmed,” Jake shouts as the elevator doors open. “There’s an attack in progress.”
As I go to step into the elevator, Hunter slams a hand into my chest, forcing me back. “You need to stay out of this!” he growls.
