She pressed her warm lips to his ear. “I killed the Bratva who was going to kill you. I’ve got a date with another that isn’t going to end well… for him.”
“I need to rethink our idea,” he said.
“I didn’t have a choice when Donskoy asked me out,” she whispered. “You’rethe one helpingme. I feel better knowing you have my back. There’s nothing to rethink. If you bail on me?—”
“Never.”
She hugged him. The second he held her close, he felt the shift. It was immediate and intense. Being with Halston changed everything.
In the truck, Gabriel started the engine. “Your perfect evening?—”
Halston leaned over, kissed his cheek. “Let’s head back to the restaurant. I want to see the video of the woman who sat with Angelo in the owner’s booth.”
“What about the museums?” he asked.
“I’ll tell them we had a family emergency and we’ll reschedule.”
He handed her his phone. She handed it back. “It’s locked.”
He rattled off the code.
She unlocked it, scrolled through his recents. As he headed back to the restaurant, she made the calls.
“This is Mrs. Santini,” she said. “Unfortunately, we’ve had a family emergency come up and have to reschedule. Can you hold for one second?” She muted the call. “Can they keep the donation?”
“Of course,” he replied.
She unmuted the call. “Thank you for waiting. Please keep the donation.” She ended the call, relayed the same information to the second museum employee, then set his phone in the cupholder.
“Done,” she said. “I need to let Evangeline know.”
“Why?”
“She’s my handler.” Halston made the call.
“Hello?” Evangeline answered.
“You’re on speaker. G is with me. We had something happen tonight you need to hear about in person, Sin too. We’re heading back to G’s family restaurant.”
“We can be there in thirty,” Evangeline said.
“I need a weapon and a vest,” Halston said.
“I can get you those,” Gabriel said.
“I got you,” Sin said. “You too G?”
“I don’t own a vest,” Gabriel replied. “Only wore one with you, Sin.”
“After tonight, you have to,” Halston said. “Evangeline, Sin, thanks for doing this on such short notice.” She hung up, shifted toward him. “Whoever wants you dead will killanyonewho stands in his way. Going forward, we have got to protect ourselves. This is war, Gabriel, and we’re in the middle of it.”
“No, Halston, you are not. You have a job to do, and this is taking you off point. I will not put you at risk. I just lost my closest friend. I will not lose you. I have to warn my brothers, my cousin Carrera too. Elsa is an easy target.”
His thoughts jumped to the person in the parking lot. Who was he? Why was he trying to kill him? He had no answers, absolutely none. If there was anything he was good at, it was hunting down and annihilating his enemies.
Halston is right.
This is war.
