Nico
Iwokeupinaplush bed and slowly opened my eyes. Glancing around, I took in the opulent surroundings of my cousin’s guestroom. My phone buzzed on the nightstand, and I reached for it blindly as I rolled over in the large bed.
Marcos:
Jack found something. Meet us at Kara’s house at 9. Grab something to share for breakfast.
Nico:
10-4
I sat up in bed once I realized it was 8:05 and I still had to shower. I took a quick shower, washing rapidly, then put on the same clothes I’d worn the night before.
In the dining room, I found my cousin Leo sitting at the table with a large spread of food in front of him and an iPad propped up right beside him. “Morning.” Leo nodded.
“Morning. Marcos texted; Jack found something. Said to meet him at Kara’s.” I cut right to the chase.
Leo looked up from his iPad to meet my gaze. “That’s great. You gonna sit and eat?”
“No time. I’ve got to stop and pick up something to share for breakfast on the way. I’m assuming that came from Kara.”
Leo smirked and stood up, setting his napkin on his chair as a sign that he would be returning. Ever the gentleman, even in his own home. I followed Leo into the kitchen. “Gustavo, can you put together a tray of those chocolate croissants for Nico? He’s going to brunch.”
The chef—a portly man with a jolly face—turned away from the stove to face them. “Of course, Mr. Seratelli!” Gustavo shut off the burner and moved the pan off the heat before he walked over to the opposite counter.
I watched as the chef boxed up a dozen chocolate croissants in one of those fancy pastry boxes you’d get from a bakery. Of course, Leo’s personal Chef had them lying around the house. “Thank you, I appreciate it.” I nodded at Gustavo as he handed over the box.
“Not a problem! Happy to help.” Gustavo smiled broadly before turning back to the stove to continue whatever he was cooking previously, dismissing us.
I took the hint and left the kitchen, heading back into the dining room. Leo followed me and walked over to his plate of food. “Thanks for this.” I held up the box of croissants.
“Not a problem, cousin. Keep me updated on what Adams found. And if you’re going to move in on Hillcrest, let me know. We’ll back you up.”
Gratitude and relief rolled over me. I was constantly being surprised by the lengths my family was willing to go to help me. The tips alone that had poured in the last week alone had been amazing, even if they were useless in the grand scheme of things. The fact that people in the community were willing to help Leo Seratelli because he said he was looking for someone, was astonishing.
The man had authority, there was no denying that. Authority and ruthlessness.
The ride over to Kara’s house from Leonardo’s was about twenty minutes. I pulled into the long driveway just before Marcos and Jason. Jason still couldn’t ride his motorcycle yet, due to his healing injuries, but he was getting closer every day. He only slightly limped as he walked now.
I greeted my brothers with a nod as we all walked in the back door of Johnny Taylor’s house, each man carrying a bag of what looked like bagels from the local shop. We all took off our boots in the mudroom, knowing how upset Kara got when we wore our shoes in the house.
We were met by the three Ravager Knight men, plus Kara, and someone who I assumed was Jack Adams, Kevin’s brother and the resident tech guy. He looked just like Kevin, but slightlyscrawnier if that was a thing. His face was narrower, sharper cheekbones, his shoulders didn’t have as much muscled packed on like his brother. Jack also had a touch of gray around the temples of his black hair, showing he was probably older than Kevin as well.
Kara walked into the kitchen, barefoot and in cut-off shorts and a tank top. Her precious baby Lilah was held in the crook of her arm cooing softly, and Kara quickly handed her over to Derrick. “Morning,” she greeted them with a forced smile. They knew this wasn’t a social call, but Kara was ever the hostess as she grabbed the box from me and started laying out food on the breakfast island. Bagels and cream cheese, chocolate croissants, bacon and sausage, and scrambled eggs. There were even jugs of juices laid out.
It was an amazing spread for a last minute get together and I was impressed, but Kara had that effect on most people. Even on the weekend, dressed in cut-off shorts and a Harley Davidson tank top, Kara looked beautiful. Her blond hair was pulled back into an artfully messy bun and there was a light sheen of makeup dusted over her cheeks.
“Thank you, Kara. This looks fantastic.” I pressed a kiss to the side of her cheek.
Marcos looked on edge—shit we were all on edge—but he looked like he didn’t want to play nice and have brunch. I knew he was probably crawling for answers but couldn’t snap right out and ask for them because it was Johnny’s house, and Johnny wouldn’t tolerate bullshit.
“Jack, what did you find?” Kara asked, cutting to the chase as she began to make a plate.
Thank God for small mercies and for Kara, I thought.
Jack chuckled as he grabbed a plate. “The link was the best thing. I was able to track his IP address and then jump through the hoops. He was too well hidden before. Hacking the FBIhasn’t exactly been hard—but it’s cumbersome. There’s no good way to search for anything regarding Hillcrest that might have been covered up, but I did find the case for when the Mayor of Creekton was killed ten years ago. It led me to the agents that were working that case. Particularly, Agent Rick Bolton, out of Chicago.”
“Why the fuck is an agent out of Chicago dealing with shit down here?”
