"Yeah," Trent replied. "Look, I know it's none of my business, but—"
"Are there any customers in the studio at the moment?"
"No, just me. Crank went out for lunch and Rita took the day off."
"Is there any money in the till?"
"Yeah, uh...about three hundred dollars, give or take."
"Okay, here's what I want you to do." He had to get Trent out of there. "Take fifty dollars out of the till. You know that diner down the street, the one where they serve those great burgers you like so much?"
"Yeah."
"I want you to go have lunch on me. Have whatever you want, but I need you to get a booth near the front window. Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah, sure, man, but—"
"Don't leave the diner until I come for you. Understand? This is very important."
"What's going on, Luca?" Trent asked, trepidation starting to lace his voice.
"I'll explain everything when I come for you. I just want you to get that money and leave the studio and go directly to the diner. Go now."
"Okay, Boss."
Luca waited until Trent hung up before glancing at Rob. "I know where Ralph is." He couldn't help the grin that spread across his lips. "And I know how to catch him."
This bastard had fucked with the wrong human.
Chapter Sixteen
Randal adored Luca to the depths of his soul, but he was not thrilled to have him along at the moment. There were so many ways this plan could go wrong. If anything happened to him, Randal knew he wouldn't survive it.
He wouldn't want to survive it.
Luca was his world, his reason for living. To have him taken now, after he'd just finally gotten him, would destroy Randal. He simply could not live without his heart.
And he couldn't convince Luca to stay back at the mansion with Casey, Erik, Dwayne, and his nana either. Randal wanted to bang his head against a wall in his frustration. The mansion wasn't exactly safe either, but it was safer. Until Rob got the clans dealt with, and the riff raff cleared out, nowhere was safe.
"Okay, everyone know where they are headed?" Luca asked.
They were standing between two of the SUVs a block from Luca's studio and apartment. They couldn't exactly drive up to the front door and get out without being seen by Ralph, Raymond, and anyone else who might be in Luca's apartment. Luckily, Luca seemed to know a few different ways they could get in.
"Harvey and I will be coming in through the second floor window off the fire escape," Rob said. "You said it leads into your spare bedroom?"
Luca nodded.
"Billy and I will be coming in through the store next door," Jeb said. "We'll use the store to mask our presence and then follow you into the tattoo shop."
Luca nodded and glanced at the remaining two men. "George?"
"León and I will enter your apartment from the roof access on the west side of the building, going in through the window that leads to your bathroom." George frowned. “Is that right? Your bathroom?"
"Yes," Luca said. "Once you all see Randal and me pull up in front of the tattoo shop, start your entry. Be as quiet as you can. I'm sure Ralph and Raymond will see us coming, or hear us at least. We don't want them to know you are there until it's too late."
Randal was actually impressed with the plan, even if he didn't like the fact that Luca was involved with it. If things worked like they hoped, Ralph and Raymond would see them coming and assume they were alone. Once inside the apartment, Luca and Randal would confront Ralph and Raymond while everyone else moved into position to take them down.
Hopefully, Luca wouldn't be in the line of fire very long.
