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“Very funny. I meant from Luca’s apartment.”
I pick up the first photo and study it. “We need you to identify his friend from the alley, baby.”
“Oh,” she whispers, the color draining from her face as she nods and picks up the stack of photos. “Okay.”
Fuck.
I hate this.
Ever since the night Luca attacked us in the radio station parking lot, Izzy’s fear has been through the roof but she seemed better today and I can’t stand taking that away from her. But we need answers and we’re running out of time.
She sucks in a breath and I drag my hand gently across her back as she looks down at the first photo and shakes her head. Setting the pile back down in her lap, she starts flipping through them but she only gets a few photos in before she stops and pulls one out.
“Him. This is the guy.”
I take the photo. “You sure?”
“I will never fucking forget either of their faces so yes, I’m sure,” she answers, a shudder running through her body as she stares off in the distance. In her eyes, I can see the horrible memories of that night haunting her and I pull her into my embrace and press a kiss to her forehead as she settles into me. Nodding to Jumper, I hand the photo to him and he examines it.
“Yeah, I wondered about this guy. He came by a couple times.” He stands up and tucks all the other photos under his arm. “I’ll get this and his license plate number to Streak right now and we should have a name soon.”
“Good work,” I say with a sigh that I feel all the way in my bones. Finally, we have progress and it’s like my insides are vibrating as my mind spins with the next steps we need to take. Izzy nods, looking up at Jumper.
“Yes, thank you, Jumper.”
He nods, color staining his cheeks as he turns toward the door and calls over his shoulder, “Don’t mention it. Catch y’all later.”
As soon as he walks out of the clubhouse, Ali turns to her husband and mentions that Jumper seems to be less of an asshole lately but I tune them out as my mind turns back to the next steps. Streak should get us a name fairly quickly but then what? From all the reports I’ve gotten from Fuzz, Luca hasn’t even left his house except to run down to the convenience store on the corner to grab cigarettes so I’m more convinced than ever that he’s working for someone else, someone bigger, and I need to figure out how to get him to lead us to that person.
Maybe if he felt threatened…
“What are you thinking about now?” Izzy asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shake my head and nudge her so she’ll climb off my lap. She does it with a scowl before turning back to me, demanding an answer.
“I think I’m going to head over to Luca’s apartment and scope it out myself, see if I can push him into leading us to whoever he’s working for.”
The conversation around us stops and Storm’s brows shoot up. “You’re sure it’s not just him and this other guy?”
“Yeah,” I answer with a nod. “I’m more convinced every day. Luca isn’t pulling the strings on this and I need to know who is.”
He nods once as he moves to the edge of the couch. “Want some backup?”
“That’d be great.”
“Hold up,” Izzy says, standing up and turning toward me as she crosses her arms over her chest, her belly getting in the way. “I want to come, too.”
I shake my head, my lips pressing into a thin line. “Absolutely not.”
“Excuse me?”
“Mama,” I scold, flashing her a look. “He’s trying to kill you. There is no fucking way in hell I’m going to bring you right to his doorstep.”
She opens her mouth to object and I shake my head again, pinning her with a glare.
“No. You can be as mad at me as you want but I don’t give a shit. You’re staying here, where it’s safe,” I growl and she meets my glare, clearly ready to challenge me. There is no way in hell I’m going to back down on this though. Izzy’s independence is one of the most important things to her but this is just stupid. “For fuck’s sake, Izzy, the last time you were face-to-face with this fucker, he was shooting at you.”
The color drains from her face and her entire body sags as she uncrosses her arms, letting them hang at her sides as she nods.
“Yeah… okay.”
