“We got that device planted that Holden gave us,” Ghost announces. “If Jay calls, we’ll know.”
“Do you think he knows anything?” I ask.
“He would only let Alexey and Dmitri up. I guess he doesn’t like gangbangers,” Ghost chuckles. “They said they were positive he did.”
I glance at Ryder. “Meet us back at the house.”
“You want us at your house?” Ghost asks in surprise. I usually have meetings with them in Concrete Row, so I can see why he’s shocked.
“I happen to like gangbangers.”
“Fair enough,” Ghost laughs.
“We’ll stop and get some food. Meet you back at the house,” Ryder says, then disconnects the call.
I shoot a message to Micah to let him know the plan while Ryder pulls through the closest drive-thru, picking up a bunch of pizzas before heading home. When we pull in, Ghost and the guys are already there with Micah, Evander, and Mateo.
While the guys get set up on the back patio, I run upstairs to change into something more comfortable. I’m just pulling a shirt on when my door opens, and Dex walks in.
“How are you doing, Baby girl?”
I bury myself in his arms, soaking up his strength. “I’m fine now.” He tightens his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. I feel all the nerves and tension ebb away just from his hug.
“We’ll get him,” Dex promises. I know at some point, Jay will try to grab me again; this time, I’ll be ready.
Dex squeezes me one last time before leading me downstairs, his hand tucked into mine. The guys are already plating up the pizza when we step outside; Gage hands me a plate with a smile. I take it gratefully and sit in the empty seat between Ryder and Zane. Once I’m done eating, I fill everyone else in on what went down at Viktor’s and the phone call with Jay.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get a trace from him, Bright eyes,” Holden says from his place in front of me.
“It’s not your fault,” I assure him. “He knows how long to stay on before we can pin him down.”
“Do you think you should be poking at him?” Micah asks from Holden’s left. “He’s unpredictable.”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” I say evenly. “He won’t get the drop on me this time.”
“You can’t know that,” Micah says harshly. “You didn’t think he would before. Look what happened.”
“I’m well aware of what happened,” I say between clenched teeth. Micah and I have never argued like this, and it’s starting to wear on my nerves. “I’m playing it smarter this time.” Zane and Ryder each squeeze a thigh under the table at the same time, sensing what I’m feeling. Grateful for them, I take a breath. “What happened at Whispers in Russian?”
“I caused a scene,” Mateo laughs. “We got kicked out.”
Micah shakes his head. “This motherfucker is worse than Gage.”
Gage snorts. “I doubt that.”
I somehow doubted that too. I’ve seen the scenes Gage has caused over the years, but something in Mateo’s eyes tells me he might give him a run for his money.
“It’s enough to get his attention,” I say, with a plan forming in my head. “We need to mix it up. This is a daily thing now. The more we piss him off, the more he’ll want to come after me.”
“I got an interesting voicemail earlier,” Alexey informs us, pulling it up on his phone. Viktor’s voice booms through the speaker in a slew of Russian. I lift a brow in question. “Loosely translated, we’re fucking dead if we don’t realign with him.”
Alexey and Dmitri splitting from their father was the biggest insult to Viktor. He took it very personally that they were aligning themselves with the Italians now and won’t tell him where Nina is.
“You guys need anything; let us know,” I tell them. They stuck their necks out for me more than once; I owe them a lot.
Dmitri snorts. “He won’t kill us until he finds out where Mama is.”
“How is she?” I ask with a smile. I’ve talked to her several times, and she seems happy.
