“Hey, Ricky. Long time no chat,” I answered.
“You have my other son.”
“I have youronlyson. And he’s now my prospect. Anything else?”
“I will fucking kill you!” Ricky roared through the phone.
“I’ll make it easy for you and wait right here. Are you coming for me now? Or are you gonna swing back by after you get No Nuts?”
“Fuck. You.”
I ended the call and slid the phone back to Tripp, who picked it up with shaking hands.
“Let me know if he calls back,” I said. I didn’t think he would. Ricky had a history of running his mouth before doing what he was told to do in the first place. We ran him out of Croftridge years ago, and we hadn’t had a problem with him until his offspring unknowingly returned.
“I need a fucking nap,” I said and closed my eyes.
My phone rang,startling me awake.
“Clubhouse. Church. Ricky,” Ranger said, as if I needed someone to tell me where I was and what was going on. I did, but that wasn’t the point.
Luca.
Why the fuck was he calling me in the middle of the night?
“This can’t be good,” I said and cleared my throat to answer.
“My apologies for the late phone call,” Luca said. “You unknowingly provided an opportunity for me, and I haven’t been able to express my gratitude until tonight.”
Possibilities flooded through my mind as I tried to figure out what he was referring to. Then it hit me. “The fire.”
Luca chuckled. “Not exactly. I didn’t find out you were the one who put Calvin in the hospital until after the fire.”
“I see. What did No Nuts do to earn your attention?” I asked. No Nuts was far below Luca’s pay grade.
“He harmed one of mine,” Luca said darkly. “I came for him the night he tried to hurt your girls, but your men had already been there. I easily found outwhathappened to Calvin, but no one would tell mewhohappened to him. After your handiwork, I paid someone to retrieve his testicles from pathology. They are now preserved in resin, dangling from a keychain. I think they’ll help with healing.”
“Fucking hell, Luca,” I nearly choked.
“As my way of saying thank you, I blew up Ricky’s car after he collected his son. Problem solved.”
“I hope I never piss you off,” I chuckled.
“I can say the same about you,” he said. “Ah, almost forgot. Coleman was in the car with Ricky.”
“Two bitches, one bomb,” I laughed.
“Something like that,” Luca chuckled darkly.
31
PRESLEY
Istared at the monitor and let the steady rhythm of Ariel’s heartbeat ground me. Mom and Dad had fallen asleep shortly after the dinner Jacquelyn promised was delivered. At first, I was grateful for the quiet, but after several hours of silently spiraling, I longed for a distraction.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t watch this any longer,” Carbon said. He’d moved his new and improved chair into Ariel’s room when dinner arrived. “You’ve almost rubbed your neck raw.”
I grimaced and clasped my hands in my lap. “It’s a nervous habit.”
