"You were at The Manor?" Miller asks Cora before I get a chance too.
"Not like,therethere. I was with June; Alec was driving us to the game and we picked Simon up from there. Ricardo was talking to him and came over to forcefully introduce himself to me and June." Cora shivers at the memory. "Simon said he wanted to kill him, but that he couldn't because he's powerful."
At least I know Simon feels the same way about him as the rest of us, making me only more convinced that I should discuss things over with Dom to come up with some kind of power play to take him out.
If he's meeting with guys at The Manor, that complicates things, because he's truly untouchable there. It would be an act of treason and blatant defiance to hurt a single hair on anyone's head at that building. Not only would you be barred from doing any business with anyone who is anyone, if they catch you, they kill you. Simple as that.
As far as them meeting at his house, that's a different story, and if I could get creative enough, maybe I could make a silly little accident happen to wipe them out. Miller has already proven how well he can sneak around without being caught, so maybe this very loose plan is more possible than not.
"London also told me that her dad was involved in some medical trials." Cora glances between me and Miller. "He often talked to a guy named Bill. Does that ring a bell?"
I had already started looking into the trials that Ricardo has his dirty hands in to uncover anything I could about the condition of Cora's mom. This entire situation is because of her mother, and she's been a variable none of us have any knowledge of. "I'll ask around," I say, making a mental note of the new name.
"Don't ask the wrong people though, I don't want it to get back to Ricardo that we're trying to undermine him." Cora nervously fidgets with her latte.
"I've been doing this a long time, Angel. I know how to be discreet," I reassure her even though her concerns are totally valid. Ricardo is a snake and has spies everywhere. "I have an idea." I reach for my phone and take a step back from the counter, putting a bit of distance between us. Punching in the number I have memorized; I wait for it to connect.
It rings three times before it does.
"What?" the grumpy person on the other end says.
"Archer, it's Silver, I need a favor."
"No."
"You owe me," I mutter those three magic words that work like a charm for anyone in our industry. No one, and I repeat no one, enjoys being indebted to someone else, especially in the form of favors. We sure love to collect them, but we go out of our way to avoid owing them.
“How did you get this number?”
“Does that really matter?”
"I'm retired," Archer tells me even though I'm already well aware of the distance he's put between himself and the criminal world.
It’s unfair of me to pull him back in when he’s already made it clear he’s done, the loss he experienced causing him to burn a bunch of bridges before he secluded himself completely. I’ve kept tabs on him, partly because I’m nosey but mainly because he’s a great asset.
Miller trains his gaze on me like he's trying to figure out what I'm doing before I've done it. His impatience is something he could stand to work on, too.
"You don't dabble, not even a little bit?"
"What do you want, Silver?"
"I need eyes and ears."
"On what?" Archer sighs and I grow confident he's at the very least entertaining the idea of helping me.
"The Manor."
Archer lets out one abrupt laugh. "Yeah, right."
"And Ricardo Gardella's house."
"I'm hanging up now," Archer says.
"I'll consider us even."
He breathes in deeply and sighs. "Even?"
"Even," I confirm.
