"Twenty seconds."
"I have information. About the people who've been circling Syndicate territory. The ones connected to Victor Kedrov." He pauses, lending gravity to what he says next.
"I've been doing my own digging. Trying to make amends. And I found something you need to see."
My hand tightens on the phone. Victor Kedrov. The name still makes my blood run hot. Men like Victor do not forget. They wait. They plan. They strike when you least expect it. I would be a fool not to follow up any lead that could reveal the snake’s plans.
"What did you find?" In the back of my mind, the devil on my shoulder says this is a bad idea, but I can’t ignore good intel. Not when Katriana’s safety is concerned.
"Sergei Markov. The one who's been sniffing around your docks." Jonah's voice drops lower, conspiratorial. "He's been working with Victor. I have proof. Documents, recordings, the whole network laid out. But I can't bring it to Redthorne. You need to come to the docks and see what I’m seeing."
"What’s that?"
"I know. That's why I need you to come to me." He rattles off an address, a warehouse in the industrial district near the river. "I have Markov here. Cuffed and waiting. Consider it a peace offering. Proof that I want to make things right."
“Plus, there’s this.”
My phone dings with the sound of an incoming message. Without hanging up, I switch over and when I do what I see makes my stomach churn with disgust.
“Why the fuck are there bodies in those containers, Jonah?”
“Get here as fast as you can. We couldn’t save these, but there are more.”
Every instinct I possess screams warning. But the address he gave is in territory I control. The warehouse belongs to a shellcompany that traces back to Syndicate holdings. If this is a trap, it is set on ground I know better than anyone.
"Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't." The honesty in his voice catches me off guard. "I've given you every reason not to. But I'm trying to change, Drake. I'm trying to be someone Mom wouldn't be ashamed of. Give me one chance to prove it. If I'm lying, you can finish what you started in that conference room."
I think about the gun he pointed at Katriana. The hatred in his eyes when Kon dragged him out of Redthorne. The boy I raised who became a man I no longer recognize.
I think about Victor Kedrov and the networks Luca has been trying to untangle for months. The factions testing our borders. The vultures circling, waiting for weakness.
If Jonah actually has Markov, if he has proof of the connection between Victor and the dock operations, that information is worth the risk.
"One hour. And Jonah?" I let the silence stretch, let him feel the weight of what I am about to say. "Fuck with me and I will not stop at breaking your face. I will put you in the ground beside our mother."
"Understood."
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone in my hand for a long moment, running calculations. The odds of this being genuine. The odds of this being a setup. The cost of ignoring information that could protect everything I have built.
I text Kon.
Meet me in the garage. Bring weapons. We are either making nice with Jonah or…
His response comes immediately.
On my way.
The drive to the warehouse takes twenty minutes through midday traffic. Kon sits in the passenger seat, his massive frame coiled with the particular stillness of a predator scenting danger. He has not asked questions. He does not need to. The address I gave him told him everything he needs to know.
"You trust him?" Kon finally asks as I pull the car to a stop a block from the warehouse.
"No."
"Then why are we here?"
