Big Tony just quirks a brow at the Irishman.
The others seem stunned into silence.
Until Caelian turns to Killian, his eyes hard and skeptical behind the wire-rimmed glasses. “You have proof of this claim, I assume?”
“He sent me the DNA results, I’ll forward them to you,” I butt in. I’m ready to get to the important part of this meeting. Finding Lennon. We only have a few hours. “Oleg Romanov wants a meeting at 10 PM, so we have to hustle. Where are we at with Bratva locations?”
Fausy slides his tablet across the table.
I pick it up and stare at the map he has pulled up.
He leans his elbows on the table and steeples his fingers. “The places where you see the red dot are known Bratva properties owned or rented. The yellow dots are possible but unverified places.”
My vision is blurry. I blink a few times and force my eyes to focus on each red dot. There are warehouses, two known whorehouses that we haven’t burned down yet, a run-down hotel, an apartment building where a lot of their soldiers live, and two residential homes.
“I’m thinking they’re probably keeping her in one of the warehouses,” Caelian says.
“Or the whorehouses,” his brother chimes in.
“For fuck’s sake, lad,” Killian says at the same time Big Tony smacks Fausy in the chest.
“Sorry.” Fausy holds up his hands and has the good sense to look sheepish. “You’re right. Probably the warehouse.”
“No,” I say suddenly. I enlarge the two homes. “She’s at one of these houses.” I glance up. “She said something about Ford’s Garage. It was a clue. She’s being kept in a garage. Which both these houses have.” I slide the tablet over to Caelian.
“Clever girl,” Gunnar grunts beside me.
“The house on Davis Island is where the captain lives. It’s going to be heavily guarded. The other one is his son’s,” Fausy explains.
I lean back in the chair, giving my aching ribs more space. “We can split up and hit them both at the same time.”
“I know I’m the new guy here and not in the circle of trust,” Killian says, his eyes sparkling. “But let’s think this through. We go in with violence, busting heads and Lennon’s not there. Then what? We’ll be putting her in serious danger.” He glances at me.He knows I’m the one who will be most affected by her getting hurt.
I study Killian.
Is he right?
All I can think about is getting her back—it's the only way to escape this suffocating black anxiety that's consumed me since I woke up in the hospital. But is this the safest way for her? I blow out a breath and rub my temple. “I admit I can’t think clearly right now so let’s hear your suggestion.”
His sharp gaze flits around the table and then back to me. “Well, the Russians said they just want to talk and they’d release Lennon unharmed afterward. They’ve asked to meet in a neutral, public place. Why don’t you hear them out? And while you’re keeping their boss busy, we can take two teams and keep eyes on the houses. If you don’t feel like they’ll let her go after the meeting, we’ll breach.”
I rub my sore ribs while I think. “Those two Russian pricks who took her will die. But I guess it doesn’t have to be tonight. Though I’m not sure what we have to talk about. If they want to make a deal to keep trafficking in Tampa, that’s not going to happen.”
Rocco has his arms crossed, and he shakes his head as he adds, “They tried to take you out, Sandro. That’s a declaration of war.”
“No, I agree with our new friend,” Caelian pipes up. “I think you should go to the meeting, Sandro. Take Gunnar and Big Tony.Hear what they have to say and buy us time to get two teams together to prepare a breach on those houses.”
I glance around the table. Everyone else nods their agreement. I’ll have to order Gunnar and Big Tony to stay in the car when we get there. They’re going to be pissed. “Guess that’s the plan then.” I check my watch. “We have three hours. Let’s get it done.”
As my men continue the discussion to create two teams to send to the houses, I take slow, uneven steps into the kitchen and motion Gunnar to follow me. After grabbing a bottle of Ibuprofen from the cupboard and downing three pills, I turn to him. “Can you bring Killian up to speed on the Russians, and put him in charge of one of the teams? I’m going to grab a shower.”
Gunnar runs a large hand over his square jaw, which is sporting a dusting of blond regrowth. “You trust him that much?”
I glance past his shoulder and watch Killian for a second. “I do. He cares about Lennon. There’s no faking that. So, he’ll do what’s in her best interest. Plus he saved my life.”
Gunnar looks unconvinced, but he nods. “And you want Rocco to lead the second team?”
“Yes.” I grab the edge of the counter and fight a wave of dizziness. “I’ll meet you and Big Tony at the elevator at 9:30.” I leave him and take a scalding hot shower, keeping it short because my mind keeps dragging me to dark places. They’ve had Lennon for over twenty-four hours now. If any of them has touched her, I will cut off their fingers and shove them down their throats.
