“Yes, Boss,” he answers immediately.
“Thank you.” I disconnect the call and stare at Playboy’s phone like Zane is going to pop through the screen.
“What are we doing, Boss?” Dex asks.
I run through my options as fast as I can. We can kill Xander, but we don’t have enough time to frame the Russians if Zane is on his way. The message was sent fifteen minutes ago, which could meanhe’s here, or he could be busy and hasn’t read it yet; the chances for that are close to zero. Why the hell did he call me a dime, and why would Zane care I’m here? I turn to the kid, and he looks close to pissing himself.
“Why did you tell him I was here?” I ask as softly as I can. I’m teetering on the edge of burning this garage down with their bodies inside.
“He was here today,” the kid whispers.
“For what?” I ask impatiently. “Don’t make me drag the shit out of you.”
“He was asking about the fosters up the road. Told him that the twins that used to slang for them disappeared, and you were here right before that.”
“Do you know who she is?” Dex asks, and the kid shrinks again. Dex’s voice is rough all the time, but when he is pissed, it’s raspy and deeper.
“N…n…no.”
“Do you know who the Poletti’s are?” I ask, and he nods. “I’m Alessa Poletti.”
I give that a minute to sink in before his drug-addled brain catches up, and his eyes widen. “I didn’t kn...kn…kno…know.”
“Clearly,” Gage says dryly.
I need to figure out what to do with the other guys in here besides Playboy and the one I shot. He was a good choice because he’s been on my list for the Black Demon hit for molesting a fourteen-year-old boy. Of course, Xander has to die to send a message to Viktor. I also need to call Alexey and Dmitri to warn them about what’s going to go down. Their dad is such a pompous ass he never lets them know anything; they are pushed out to the sidelines, which suits them just fine for the time being. They’re content with cash and cars being thrown at them to stay out of the way. They hate Viktor on the best of days and are good friends, but how will they handle me starting a war with their dad?
“Les. We need a decision,” Ryder remarks. I have no clue what to do. Zane will turn a blind eye to stuff he doesn’t see me do but cold-blooded murder? He would bury me, the guys, and a very innocentLeo. “Les.” We can take Xander with us, but what about the six witnesses staring at me? Xander was going to die whether we found the coke or not; I didn’t issue second chances. The coke just let me know Viktor is coming for my income, taking over my street factions; none of this is good. “Les!” Ryder yells, jerking me from my thoughts.
I whirl around, pissed off. “What?!”
“We need a decision,” Dex repeats for him, trying to use that soothing voice that never fails but to piss me off more.
I look at Playboy’s phone; there are messages back from Zane.Fuck.
Z-Mack
Still there?
Playboy? Fucking answer me.
“If you let us go, I swear to God, dude, we won’t say anything.” One of the other guys is pleading with Gage.
“Do I look stupid to you?” Gage asks with a laugh. “No fucking way.”
“We didn’t know whose coke that was!” another one speaks up.
“Everyone shut up!” I yell and make one of the many decisions I’ll make tonight; I dial Zane from Playboy’s phone.
“What the fuck, Playboy?” Zane growls when he answers.
“I’m sorry. Playboy can’t come to the phone right now. He’s a little…tied up.”
Silence. “Les?” Zane says like he doesn’t want to believe I’m here. “Where’s Playboy?”
“You see, we came to see Xander, but we stumbled upon this little fucking rat. And you know who he was texting, Zane?” I pause for the dramatic effect. “You.”
“I have informants everywhere,” Zane says casually. Ryder and I exchange a look. This isn’t good.
