“Yeah. We tried to get big-brother Elias, of course. He’s the kingpin of the entire outfit. But we could only get evidence on Lexi. However, since RICO allows for a broader scope of prosecution, his conviction implicated other high-ranking members of their family and disrupted quite a few of their operations. Most were sex trafficking of minors, which was our main focus.” He met Joshua’s eyes. “Consequently, Lexi and the rest of the Moreno clan, are not happy with our office andreallynot happy with…” He arched his brows and left the sentence unfinished, giving Joshua a knowing look.
“Withyou,” Joshua finished for him.
Colin took a deep breath. “Yeah, withme. Our prosecution put Lexi in prison and poked a lot of holes in the family business.”
Joshua’s palms flattened against Colin’s shoulders as he lifted himself, staring into Colin’s eyes. Watching him, Colin saw his face go pale.
“Colin? What are you saying?” He slid off Colin’s body and sat cross-legged on the grass. “Colin?”
Colin pulled himself upright and turned to face his husband. “Yesterday, officials at Buckingham Correctional informed Esther that…” He paused and reached to take both of Joshua’s hands. “Lexi’s been putting out feelers, trying to hire someone to um”—he wrinkled his nose almost comically and gave a half-shrug—“to take me out.”
With a gasp, Joshua jerked away, and Colin felt his hands twitch as they tightened on his own. His eyes locked on Colin’s as he tried to speak. “He put out a contract on yourlife?”
“No. He’s fishing around to hire someone to?—”
“Colin!” Joshua burst out.
“Baby, it’s going to?—”
Joshua sucked in a trembling breath and lifted a hand. “Stop!”
Colin’s head bowed, and he fell silent.
“Please, don’t tell me everything’s going to be all right,” Joshua said, his voice a rasp in his throat. “Not now. Notyet.”
Colin lifted his head, and their eyes met.
Joshua’s hands clutched both of Colin’s, his grip almost painfully tight. “What is Esther going to do? What areyougoing to do?”
“OK,” Colin said. He pulled a hand free and reached to caress Joshua’s hair. “First off, take a breath. I’m only telling you this because it may involve some minor changes in my work hours, and…” He hesitated, then sighed. “And possibly to other areas in our lives. I want you to be prepared for that to happen.”
Joshua nodded but gave no response.
“Second, Lexi Moreno is being transferred to Red Onion and placed in solitary. They’re moving him tomorrow.”
“The… thesupermax.” Joshua stammered, referring to Virginia’s most well-known and strictly run prison.
“He’ll be in his cell twenty-three hours a day and allowed contact withno one.”
“But what if healready?—”
“Yes, itispossible that he has already lined someone up to…” Colin’s voice trailed off, and his eyes dropped.
“Tokillyou!”
“Josh, wehaveto take this thing one step at a time. So far, theonlything we know for sure is that Lexi Moreno shot off his big, fat, lying mouth. That’s not exactly proof positive thatanythingis actually going to happen, so please, don’t be afraid.”
Joshua stared at him, his expression blank.
“Even if he did try to line up a?—”
“Hit man?” Joshua offered.
Colin coughed out a frustrated sigh. “OK, yeah. A hitman. But, Josh, there’s no indication yet that anyone has—orwould—actually take the job.”
“Why not? The Morenos have a fuck ton of money.”
“It’s not about money. Going after a prosecutor hasdeadlyconsequences! Even a hardened criminal would think twice before taking on a job like that.”
