Kinsley returned to her seat. "Great question."
I addressed the room. "Have we turned the discussion from offering an alliance with Casper to taking them all out?"
Logan shrugged. "If it's war either way, shouldn't we stack the deck in our favor?"
Kinsley tapped her pen on her knee. "We've yet to approach the Carmichaels. Without the Peraltas on their side, they might be more open to forming a friendship with us."
I had to admit, at least to myself, that my wife was damn smart. "I haven't reached out to them because we're nowhere near the same as the Peraltas. If that's the type they want to make friends with, we're fucked before we even ask."
"If you don't ask, you don't know."
"I'll think about it." I picked up the phone on the desk. "We need to get back to the warehouse."
Logan snorted. "Hope Randall was gentle with our friend since the last time we were there."
"What will you do if the guy died?" Kinsley asked.
Logan stood, stretching his back. "Grab a new one, I suppose."
"I didn't think it was that easy."
"It's not."
I set the phone down. "Randall says our reluctant snitch is still breathing and he can have him coherent by the time we get there." I looked at Kinsley. "Coming or staying?"
Her expression made it clear that she seriously contemplated joining us. "I'll pass. I want to study more for my test tomorrow."
"Fair enough. I might miss dinner."
"Understandable."
Though it wasn't in my nature, I stopped on the way out the door, turned back around, and wrapped my arms around Kinsley as she stood from her chair.
"Thank you for your input."
She braced her hands on my shoulders. "Y-you're welcome."
With fervor, I took her mouth with mine, showing how I felt with actions when the words wouldn't come. She swayed on her feet until I steadied her, then I left the house.
We needed to find out more about Casper's movements if we had any chance of pulling off a double hit. It needed to be perfectly timed, or one of them would go into hiding and we'd all be fucked. Alternatively, we could take down Carlos and pretend to hold out an olive branch to Casper, taking him down in person when he met with us. There were so many variables to consider that my mind was focused on that and nothing else the entire ride to the warehouse.
"Boss, we're here."
I surveyed the surrounding area before stepping from the car. It was not the time to drop my guard, not even for a half second. The warehouse smelled like piss and vomit, scents to which I was unfortunately accustomed.
"How are we on this fine day?" I asked, walking closer to the man tied to a metal folding chair in the middle of the empty room.
Not really expecting a response, I wasn't surprised when the man said nothing. However, I had expected him to be awake. I looked over at Randall, one of my lieutenants, who'd been charged as the babysitter overnight. "You said he'd be coherent."
"He just needs another few minutes."
I glanced at my watch. "What am I supposed to do in that amount of time, Randall? Find ways to trade you for him?"
Randall stepped over quickly, slapping the man's cheeks a few times and holding an ammonia pellet under his nose. He roused enough to open his eyes, though his head lolled.
"Listen up," I said, squatting in front of the chair. "What can you tell me about Casper?" The man's eyes slipped closed again. "Fuck!"
Logan rounded on Randall. "He's five seconds from dying, dumbass. You said he was alive and willing to talk."
