I stare at the far wall thinking about that. “Honestly? I’d say neither. The only appeal to the Bratva life for her is the money. The status. But she hates the rest.”
“Don’t we all,” Baron says as he finishes off his beer.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s a security notification.
“Fuck,” I mutter as I pull it out.
“Something wrong, boss?” Baron asks.
I’m just staring at the screen, my heart a jackhammer in my chest.
“Yo.” Maverick stands up straight. “Was there a breach?”
“No,” I lie. “Just a truck update. Traffic at the border, but I’m not worried. Ricardo is on detail; he’ll get the driver around it.”
The answer seems to suffice for both of them.
I click a couple buttons and shove my phone back in my pocket before slipping my jacket back on.
“Where you goin’?” Maverick asks. “The night is young.”
“Home,” I answer. “You boys stay out of trouble.”
With that, I make my way out, ignoring the look of concern on Baron’s face. He reads me well, but I’m leaving this one at that.
My phone feels like it’s burning a hole in my pocket as I walk out the door back to my car. Even after I get inside, I don’t look at it again. I don’t check it at all until I’m home.
Jenica isn’t there, which doesn’t surprise me. She goes out a lot. It doesn’t look great, having a wife that likes to party, but her lips are pretty tight. She mostly just goes out to escape the world we live in. And right now, her drinking cosmos with her friends on the other side of town is the least of my worries.
The notificationwasa security breach. But it has nothing to do with the trucks.
I crack open my laptop to investigate it. I need to see it on a secure system. I need to make sure the notification wasn’t a mistake.
Unauthorized login from an unsecured device.
It’s an Apex login. But it’s not Apex related.
I click on the device information and it confirms my suspicions.
It’s Amara’s login. A login I didn’t change after I terminated her. I did that for a reason. Just in case she came looking, came sniffing around, I’d know. And from the looks of it, she couldn’t stay away. Couldn’t resist.
I pull my phone out and text Mav and Baron.
RANSOME: Sober up, boys. I have a job for you.
BARON: What’s up?
MAVERICK: If this is about the night shift, we’re behaving. Sort of.
RANSOME: Amara logged into Apex.
BARON: Shit.
MAVERICK: Shit.
I type my last text with blood pumping hard through my veins for the first time in three months.
RANSOME: I have her location. And I want eyes on her.
