Page 94 of More Tricks

Shifting, he looked at me with regret and sadness in his eyes. “Jeff, he got me a job helping fix things a few days a week when I wasn’t here with Sprocket. He thought I was some down-on-my-luck guy who just needed a break. Jeff paid me cash under the table whenever he had things for me to work on at first, then brought me into the shop. He vouched for me with Ivan, and I was in.”

My heart squeezed at the mention of the man who’d been Brian’s partner in crime and someone I worked closely with for a long time. Jeff had gotten married a year before, and his wife had just had their first child. Since Jeff had been like family to me and died because he was one of my people, I was making sure that little baby girl and her mother had the life they deserved and would worry about nothing. It killed me that the funeral had happened, and I couldn’t be there, but from what Brian told me, Brenda understood. That woman was a saint to put up with me and what I put those men through as my enforcer squad.

“Tell me one thing,” I managed to choke out. “Did you kill him?”

Demitri’s eye widened in horror. “No, there’s no way I could ever have done that. He died trying to save me, thinking I’d gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd. It was actually what got Ellie’s finger cut off. They wanted me to get him somewhere Anthony’s men could grab him and torture the information out of him. Instead, he was shot, saving my life, but they used it to send a message. When they found out you’d been taken by the Saints, they decided to pull me from infiltrating the Empire to gathering information from you, Dax.”

“That’s good because I would really hate to ruin my chances with these men, but I would have killed you,” I answered bluntly. “Jeff was family to me, and I will never let that kind of act against my people go, no matter who they are that did it. Let that be a warning to you and anyone else who needs to hear it,” I added, meeting Gabriella’s gaze.

She met mine unflinchingly, rage simmering just under the surface. “So if Enzo and Teo are your family now, what does that make my kids and me? Are we valued enough for you to put that same emotion behind getting my daughter back? Or is she a lost cause because my son sold you all out?”

God, this is why I wasn’t friends with many women. They always had to come at you with their claws out. I mean, seriously, what the hell?

“Just to be clear, your son isn’t the only one who sold me out. You did too,” I rebutted. “As for the question about your daughter, she's innocent in all of this. How you’ve managed to keep her alive this whole time is beyond me with how sloppy you’ve both been. If anyone deserves to be rescued and given a fresh start, it would be Elena.”

Wes groaned with irritation behind me, letting me know I’d done something I shouldn’t have.

“The answer is yes, Gabriella. We will get your daughter back to you. While I can’t speak for the ramifications for Demitri like Dax said, Elena hasn’t done anything to deserve this,” Wes translated for me.

“I’ll take whatever punishment you and Eagle choose to give me,” Demitri said to Picasso. “If there is anything more I can do to help with getting Ellie back, just say the word.”

Picasso looked over at Wes. “What information do we need for you to start breaking down the network? I’m sure you already have a filing cabinet of information on them, but I’m sure Demitri will have some sort of new nugget of information.”

“I’ll sit down with him and go over everyone he’s met, talked to, or been contacted by. Also, nailing down how they relayed information can be helpful. I’ll also need the location of that drug house you got pulled from in the beginning,” Wes explained, grabbing his computer.

Since those two would be lost for the next few hours, it looked like I should find something useful to do. Getting up from the couch, I slipped on my shoes and headed for the door.

“Ah, ah, ah, beautiful,” Cam whispered in my ear. “You don’t get to leave the house without one of us as your shadow, or did you forget you’re grounded.”

“I was gonna go check in on Tilly before Eagle gets back,” I answered. “You up for some girl talk?”

“That sounds like more of a job for Cognac. Tilly’s husbands didn’t seem to like me much,” Cam said, making me snicker.

“Riiight,” I said, drawing out the word to punctuate my absolute disbelief in that statement.

Void ambled over, waving Cam off. “Those two are good friends. I'm sure we can find a way to entertain ourselves while the women chat.”

“Better you than me,” Cam answered with a shrug and headed out the door.

I dashed out after him. “Hey, where are you off to?”

“What kind of agent would I be if I didn’t check in on my fellow man?” Cam shared cryptically.

“He’s going out to the battle site,” I muttered to myself. “Damn, the asshole played me.”

“Come on, little demon, let's go. I believe Mutt got the new Grand Theft Auto game, and we haven’t had a chance to play in a while,” Void commented as he headed off in their home's direction.

I took in the scattering of homes that orbited outside the center of the compound and clubhouse. Eagle’s house was directly across from the clubhouse, which I’m sure was purposeful as president to keep near the center of things. The houses were all of different styles and sizes but were basic in appearance. Trees were scattered throughout, giving us shade as we walked down the gravel path that intertwined from house to house.

“Do you think Eagle would ever be open to the idea of adding on to the house or maybe building a new one?” I asked, kicking at a rock and sending it off into the trimmed grass.

Void didn’t answer right away, but I knew he heard me. “Eagle is an interesting man when it comes to his home and personal space. Until you crashed into our lives, creating chaos wherever you go, he never allowed someone into his room. Now he emptied a drawer and got you a toothbrush to use that he keeps in his bathroom. I don’t think he ever thought he’d find a person to settle down with.”

“Really?” I questioned. “That doesn't seem right to me.”

“He was never willing to risk letting someone be more important than the Saints,” Void explained. “That’s one reason he created the rule we would all be with the same woman and everyone had to agree on it. If one person wasn’t interested, it was a no for us all.”

“Damn, that seems kind of crazy, doesn’t it?” I muttered to myself. “Like how many women are out there and would be fine with having five men to deal with all the time?”