“I got the impression you don’t know him well,” she countered.
“I don’t. But I know my parents, and if they suspected Toby was even capable of something like that…” Reese honestly couldn’t see his parents ever associating with someone who could do something so heinous.
“Circling back to what you said,” Brantley said to Baz. “You have a run-in with this guy before?”
“His name was whispered at the precinct, yeah,” Baz said. “It came up anytime we dealt with a matter near his club.”
As a former Austin Police Department detective, that made sense. Reese figured there were quite a few criminals who’d become infamous within the department, people they looked at regularly in hopes of solving a crime.
Baz’s gaze locked on Reese’s face. “If it’s any consolation, there were rumors of trafficking, but never humans.”
“Arms?”
Baz nodded.
That made more sense, but still, Reese didn’t see Toby willingly getting involved in that. However, he would’ve been able to provide a certain level of protection for moving weapons back and forth into Mexico under the guise of his travel agency. Which meant he might’ve been the perfect patsy for Hartwood to exploit.
Brantley cleared his throat, drawing Reese’s attention.
“What?”
“Of all the names I never wanted to mention in this house again, there might be someone who could help us with this.”
Reese frowned, not following.
“Max Adorite.”
Reese’s insides chilled, his gaze holding steady on Brantley’s.
Brantley’s eyebrow rose as though lending merit to his following statement. “He does have control over the movement of weapons through the state.”
“He does?” JJ sounded sincerely concerned.
Brantley glanced at her briefly. “Among other things.” He turned his attention back to Reese. “And word is, he’s recently made some significant organizational changes.”
Yeah, Reese had heard that, too. Maximillian Adorite, the boss of the Southern Boy Mafia, as the media referred to his organization, had restructured after his sister’s attempted kidnapping. From what Reese had heard from Z, Max had hit pause on his legit business dealings and was focusing more on establishing a hard line for control against the Moroso family. According to speculation, they were on the verge of a gang war, and Max was hell-bent on coming out on top.
“It might be worth pursuing,” Baz suggested.
Reese held Brantley’s gaze. He knew Brantley held Max responsible for what had happened to Reese because the thugs who’d shot him had been working for Sabrina Moroso, the head of the Moroso crime syndicate.
“I agree,” Brantley said, his steel-blue gaze glittering with conviction.
Reese swallowed hard, hating that it was definitely something they needed to consider.
Chapter Twelve
JJ could feel the shift in theair. The tension that radiated from Reese was palpable, as was the regret that flashed in his eyes.
She kept her mouth shut while the staring contest between Brantley and Reese continued, but she had a million more questions. The first being: who was going to volunteer to have a conversation with the Mob boss because, yes, she agreed Max Adorite could possibly provide some insightful information, especially if he considered this sleazeball Hartwood to be some kind of rival. Would he? Did mobsters think like that? Did he even care?
Oh, just a few of the many questions she’d like to find answers for.
“It’s an avenue we should check out,” Brantley finally said. JJ wasn’t sure if he was attempting to convince Reese or himself.
JJ exhaled, not realizing she’d been holding her breath. “Does that mean we’re goin’ to Dallas?”
Once more, no one spoke, but Brantley and Reese shared a silent conversation with their eyes. If only she’d been born with the ability to read minds. It would’ve made life so much easier.
