“I’m well aware of that,” I groused.
“So you want us to hold him captive for her?”
I hitched a shoulder. “I can put out feelers. Maybe if she knows we’ve got him, she’ll come home.”
“She isn’t a lost cat who’ll come sniffing around for kibble, O’Donnelly! Jesus!” Temper triggered the Taser again when Reinier started flopping around harder than before.
When he released a shrill cry, I spat, “Watch it! The guard will come in.”
She sniffed. “If I do this, if I help you keep him alive rather than just kill the bastard, you won’t like it. Star won’t either.”
I glowered at her. “If you ‘do’ what?”
“Get him away from this place.”
“We have to leave him here and she’ll—”
Temper shook her head. “I’m burned now. If I don’t handle this situation, I’m toast.”
I hissed under my breath. “Your improv sucks.”
“Yeah, that’s why I plan everything down to the detail.” She scowled. “Usually.”
“Stick to your day job in the future, huh?” I sniped, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Who would you call for help? I can’t involve my family in this. They don’t even know I have a sideline with the government—”
“You don’t bring in kids to deal with this kind of shit,” she pshawed.
“Kids?” I snarled. “My brothers—”
“You own New York. Maybe half the East Coast, buddy. I’m talking about thebigboys.”
“The Camorra?” I countered in confusion.
“The Union.”
“The who?”
She ignored me. Tucking the gun back in her pocket, she withdrew her cell phone. I watched, finding faint amusement in her naivety as she tipped the screen away so I couldn’t see her input the code.
“548804,” I stated.
Temper glared at me but stopped angling her phone down. She dialed a number from memory then, to the phone, and not to me, drawled, “In our Brothers we trust.”
10
TEXT CHAT
PAST
Star:What do you know of Prince Edward of Midlothian?
Conor:Is this a random question, or does it have a point? I’m trying to hack into that bank account you sent me yesterday.
Star:Can’t you multitask?
Conor:For a standard bank account, it has a lot of protection. Especially considering it’s not based in Switzerland.
Star:Ah, the Swiss. I love their intricate blending of abiding and ignoring laws to do whatever the fuck they want for whoever’s willing to pay a high enough price.
