Page 5 of Our Tricks

I patted Cognac’s leg and motioned for him to follow me, hoping the others would do the same. I headed to the second floor, where there were five rooms, meaning another was downstairs. Peeking in all of them, it was clear to see that they’d once been the kids’ rooms based on the bold color choices on the walls. The last room at the end of the hall was the largest and had two twin beds set up. Flopping down on one, I looked at my guys as they filed into the room.

“So it’s clear to me that we need to make a bigger effort in keeping Harper out of things if we can,” I reasoned.

“She’ll still want a purpose,” Cam said as he sat beside me. “Harper’s never been one to leave work to others if there’s work to be done.”

“True, but finding something we can have her do away from the real action has to be a thing,” I countered. “Speaking of out of the action, any new thoughts on the whole FBI situation?”

“No, but give me time, and I’ll get there,” Cam assured me. “What we really need to worry about is now that you called Marco out, what’s he going to do next?”

“He’s lost his connection to the States now that Diego is gone,” Cognac commented. “I imagine he’s losing his mind wherever he’s hiding out.”

That had me snapping my finger with an idea. “Wes, is there any way for you to possibly hack into the feed they were broadcasting from at the fight?”

Wes frowned as he scratched his chin. “If Betta could give me a backdoor into their systems, that could be a possibility. I’d need some way in… they’re locked down tighter than a virgin nun.”

“Really?” I drawled with a raised brow. “Had the occasion to find that out?”

Weston rolled his eyes. “When we started this whole thing with them, I tried to hack into their system, but they’re smart and keep most of it offline unless they’re using it like for the video feed. If Betta could plug in a jump drive with a tracer for me to follow, I’d be able to get into their network and find what I need to trace the video feed.”

“Who has a phone?” I asked. “It’s a good thing I’m a master at memorizing numbers because the rate I’m losing or breaking phones is record-breaking.”

Eagle pulled a burner phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Betta told us to use this if we needed her or Tommaso. She slipped it to me last night before shit hit the fan.”

“I knew that woman had potential,” I boasted as I found two numbers had been inputted. Taking a wild guess, I picked the one with a ‘T’ and switched it to speaker phone.

It rang three times then was picked up, but there was a rustling sound like someone might be getting out of bed. “Yeah,” a groggy Tommaso answered.

“I’m so sorry, did I wake you, Mr. De León?” I teased.

“Cute,” he grumbled. “Did you have a reason for calling me, or have you had your fun so I can go back to bed?”

“Nope, sorry, boss man, you might be the newly crowned king of a cartel, but we have lots of work to do,” I said cheerfully. “My group has relocated, and we are about a half hour away now, but better to be safe than sorry.”

“I agree that was smart. You have just as many enemies as friends right now, all camped out in my city.” Tommaso sighed. “So now that you have me up, how can I help my dear friend and supporter?”

Looking up at the guys, I gestured for them to speak up if they had something to say.

“Do you have any idea how things were left last night with Betta and the rest of the Four?” Wes asked.

“They believe the whole thing was well worth the trouble. Many of Dax’s supporters told them to keep the money they bet since they took the risk of broadcasting the change of leadership here in New York. Many have already been reaching out to me, offering their support as I settle things which was surprising on many levels. Who knew when you convinced a person who’d never been political in our world to step up and make such a massive move, it would be taken seriously,” Tommaso shared. “So that’s the long answer to saying Betta has proven herself tenfold to the Four, and if I want her to be my second, that might be trickier than I thought.”

Something he said had stuck with me. “Back up a second… are you saying people are supporting you even more because I picked you to be the new leader?”

“Ah, caught that, did you?” Tommaso said with a chuckle. “They were all asking how you found me, what made you pick me, and why now? I hope you don’t mind that I glossed over a few things and might have made other circumstances less embarrassing for myself. There’s also a story about your best friend also advocating for me during a meeting with François in Bali?”

“That’s not at all accurate,” Magnus announced as he stepped further into the room. “His son tried to make a move on Harper, and I killed him. That meeting was an apology of sorts, where he seemed to take a shine to my woman.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me? François seems to find himself in the most interesting situations by chance,” Tommaso muttered. “Now that I know the truth, I’ll make sure to correct the information. Either way, our alliance has done more for both of us than I think either of us planned.”

“So does that mean we don’t need to stick around and babysit you?” I asked.

“Dax, I’ve never been one who needs to be watched over, but I do feel it would be in both our interests to make a show of comradery. I was planning on going to the main headquarters later today… any interest in joining me? I’ll even promise to carry an extra clip of ammo when we do,” Tommaso offered.

“Hell yes, we want to do that,” Wes cut in before I could say anything. “If you don’t mind me using the access to root around in his hard drives, it might help us find more information on Marco. Diego was his right-hand man here in the States.”

“Not at all. Everything will have to change anyway, so what you see now will be old news in a matter of months,” Tommaso said. “I’ll be heading over there after lunch and checking in with my family. Be in touch, and feel free to give Betta the same lovely wake-up call I so thoroughly enjoyed.”

Wes shot up from where he’d been sitting, practically vibrating with excitement. “Do you know what this means, Dax?”