“They were so cute.Allof them just waddled right up to me, so, naturally,Ibent down to get close to them, microphone in hand, and one of them bit the foam topper off with its beak and then dove into the water—not only sneaking off with the top of my microphone, but also splashing me in the process.Allthe others decided to get in on the fun and dove in the water as well.Ileft the aquarium that day with a broken microphone, soaking-wet pants from the knee down, and a terrible nickname thanks to my photographer.”
“Oh no, you can’t stop there,”Ibutted in. “Ineed to know the nickname.”
“No way,” she argued back. “Notgonna happen.”
“Hmmm,”Isaid, tapping my chin as thoughIwas thinking out loud. “Secondstation would have beenCincinnati.Withmy great private investigative skills, this should be pretty easy to dig up.I’msureTaliaandDanwould get a kick out of it.”
She gasped. “Youwouldn’t!”
“I’ll make you a deal,”Itold her asIput my index and middle finger together and held them up. “Scout’shonor,Iwill not tell a soul your nickname if you tell me in the car right now.ButifIfind out on my own,Imay not be able to make that same guarantee.”
“You’re such a liar—you were never aBoyScout,” she accused me.
I grinned at her while watching her glare at me briefly beforeIturned my eyes back to the road.Ofcourse she was right, butIwouldn’t give her the satisfaction of admitting that.
She sighed dramatically. “Ugh.Fine.Myphotographer,Blayne, told everyone what happened and dubbed itOperationMicSwipe.Mynickname was…crime-sicle.”
I heard her groan at the same time a laugh burst out of me.Okay, nowthatwas funny.
* * *
We walked into my house just minutes afterItold her we would have company.Sheseemed less than thrilled but also curious as to what they had to say, especially at this time of night.
Four men stood in my living room when we walked in—Wade,Jack,Vince, and his dad,Frank.
“I took your dog out when we arrived,Anna, so he should be good to go,”Jackannounced.
I appreciated his foresight becauseIwanted to get this conversation started so we could end it quickly as well.
“Oh.Thankyou,”Acesaid from beside me.
Vince made the introduction between his dad andAcewhileIgrabbed a couple of beers for the room and a singleDr.PepperforAce.Iwas trying to step up my game sinceRuthiehad pointed out my less-than-stellar hospitality skills.
“Alright, talk.Whatdid you find?”Iasked the room asIsat down in the living room with everyone else.
Ace was sitting in a chair withPercyin her lap.Vince,Frank, andJackwere on the couch, andWadewas standing up against the back wall.Takingthe only seat left,Isank into the recliner oppositeAcejust asVincestarted talking.
“Dad andIhave been working our bounty hunter connections since we heard about the hit put out on both of you.Mainlywe’ve been trying to find out ifPaganohimself is actually here in town or if he’s paying his lackeys to take care of the mission for him.”
I had thought the same, soIwas glad they were inquiring about both.
“Had a man call me tonight—an informantI’veknown for years—to let me know that he sawPaganohimself at a poker night here inAtlanta,”Franksaid. “Only, it wasn’t thePaganowe assumed.Itwasn’tJoey, but his brother,Matteo.”
What did he just say?
“He was there telling people his brother was out of prison now and he was here to tie up some loose ends so they could move on with their business without worry.”
“Well, this complicates things a bit more,”Imumbled.
“How so?”Aceasked, scanning the room before talking again. “Everysingle one of your faces looks like this is worse.Why?”
“Not thatIwanted a hit out on us, butI’drather haveJoeyat the helm thanMatteo,”Iexplained. “Joeyis the family fuckup.There’sa reason he went to prison but no one else from his family did.Theothers are too smart.Toocalculated.”
Ace still looked just as confused as she had beforeI’dspoken.
“There’s more chance for error if someone dumb is behind this—likeJoey,”Wadechimed in. “Whichgives us a better chance to intercept or prevent him from accomplishing his goal of taking you both out.”
Ace nodded in understanding.
