His jaw twitched. “What I want to know is how you know the name, Preston?”
Both Micha and Logan looked at me, but my old man spoke.
“She’s his girlfriend,” he proclaimed proudly. “Very nice girl.”
Nice wasn’t the word I’d use.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Mason held up his hands. “Preston has a girlfriend? And she’s still alive?”
Micha tipped his head in a nod. “I thought he ate her at one point.”
“My son is on that list!” Parker bellowed out of the blue. “So, if you all could take this shit seriously, I’d appreciate it.”
I could’ve kissed my brother for the change of subject. Finally, the room fell silent. It wasn’t all fun and games anymore, not when a child was involved.
Silas and Micha exchanged a look.
“I asked Nikolai to take them as well,” I said, answering their silent question. Finn and Junior were both on that list, too.
The Bratva boss already had his men grab Lana and the babies from Boston. There was no way he would risk his one and only heir, but there was only so much he could do. Lou would never let the Russians invade his town. Plus, they’d be safer on his home turf. The criminal underworld had its own rules, and Miami belonged to Nikolai.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I argued, I couldn’t stop the divide from happening. My generation wanted to do what I suggested and call in people experienced with shit like this. But the older generation was used to handling things themselves and didn’t want to involve anyone else. As far as they were concerned, we were at the top of the food chain. I never thought the day would come when I’d miss my grandfather. Micha and Mason ran them out of town.
Lou did have a few valid points. Silas’s grandfather would be fine. Politicians weren’t easy targets to take out. That didn’t mean his family was out of danger, which was a significant point of contention between Martin and me.
The end result of the meeting was not what I wanted, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Louis and Martin were too stubborn to listen. They wouldn’t have a choice when things went south. I’d just have to wait until then.
We all left at the same time, but Lou dropped back and followed me.
“I need to talk to you.”
I was sure he did.
“I don’t think I’m the one you should be talking to.” I nodded toward the front of the crowd where Micha and Logan were walking.
“So you know?”
“I assume you’re talking about the pills you gave your wife to drive her crazy?” I stopped a few feet away from my BMW. “Or is it about one of the other things Marnie has in that file?”
“Look, Preston.” His chest rose with a heavy breath. “Things are going on that no one knows about.”
“I don’t care, Lou. But Micha will, and if someone else tells him, he’ll never forgive you.”
“I know.” He sighed. “He’s my son. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“You once said the same thing about Mason, and look how that turned out.”
His eyes drifted from one son to the other.
Boom!
The ground rocked. My first thought was that the hurricane had arrived early until I saw the pillar of fire coming from what was once Martin Creswell’s car. The only thing left of Silas’s parents were the bloody pieces scattered on the ground.
A car bomb.
Shit was happening quicker than I expected. Someone just earned themselves a payday.
I leaned closer to Lou and said, “Shall I call that back up now.”
