a platinum blonde babe at his side, and shades on both of them that cost at least fifteen hundred bucks.
Cash couldn’t believe I just ran into him on the street after taking Bryce out for Pho and wings at this awesome-ass Vietnamese place. Daddy Warbucks barely struggled as I slammed him against the hood of his car and made a licensed arrest right there, then waited for the cops to show.
But Bryce saw everything. I think he spent the next week yammering my ear off. He still talks about it to this day.
Another reason I left the security game. It wasn’t the type of business where I could do ‘take your kid to work day.’
After the arrest, I swore I’d never suck him into this crap again. It’s too dangerous.
Yet, here I am, going on a goddamn stakeout with him in the back seat and Valerie in the front.
Have I lost my mind?
No, Cash talked me into this. Goaded me into it by telling me how bored I’d been lately. Lost my mind the second he showed up on my doorstep holding a pretty dove with a broken wing.
Fuck. So much for boredom now. It vanished the very second we carried Valerie into my bed.
“Is this like...a stealth job, Dad?” Bryce asks.
“Close enough,” I answer. “Now turn on your game, boy.”
“Okay, okay!”
I resist the urge to shake my head. I do trust him to keep quiet, even though I’m ninety percent sure he’ll only have one bud hanging loose.
But none of us are going into this alone.
There’s no real danger.
I’d sent a couple texts to my people on the crack team I’d pulled together. They’ll have our backs before there’s even a whiff of trouble. Any Cornaro boys who show up with Ray will flee like the pissant coward roaches they are at the prospect of being seen in broad daylight.
“Hey, Flint?” Valerie says quietly. “I’m still sorry, you know. For dragging you into this, let alone Bryce.” She sighs. “I’m even sorrier that I still don’t know what this even is.”
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ve got it. We’ll sort it out, and Bryce is a smart kid. He won’t be in any danger, and neither will you. Wouldn’t have brought anyone along for the ride if there was any risk.”
Val smiles then. All soft, sure, heart-shaped pink lips and eyes like mellow gold. She reaches up and flicks a loose strand of that silky dark hair back behind her ear, and suddenly I think I’ve found the real danger here. It was always hiding in plain sight.
A man could fall in love with that shit.
When a woman’s this beautiful and lost and fragile, a flick of her hair can bring a dude to his knees far swifter than any barking gun.
Her eyes glow a little brighter. “But Flint, what if—”
“No,” I tell her. “Don’t you worry about what ifs.” Before she can argue, I ask, “You brought your new phone, didn’t you?”
She nods and holds it up.
“Good.” At least one thing’s sure to go right then.
“Why?”
“Because as soon as we’re in position, you’ll give Ray a ring again.”
“Huh? Why would I—”
“So we can tell if he’s working alone or if he brought someone else with. We need to know who we’re dealing with, how tight he is with Cornaro or even his own security crew.”
She flinches as it all sinks in, then nods.
Can’t blame her. I sense her frustration. Her fears.
It’s a special hell, not knowing the specifics, but just enough to put the fear of everything unholy about her own brother into her head.
“What does Ray drive? Do you remember?” I ask, pulling into a parking lot.
The coffee shop is at the end of a long line of outdoor retail shops and street vendors, the typical crowded shopping zone in these parts. I park in the back row, far enough away to see the full seating area plus the lot across the side street, where others might try lurking to watch. I have a hunch.
“I’m not sure,” she answers, hissing softly as she shakes her head. “God, I just don’t remember his stupid car.”
“It’s cool,” I assure her, just as a silver Maserati GT convertible whips into the lot next to the coffee place.
I know it’s him before I even get a solid look at the man in the roaring status symbol. He drives like the spoiled, flashy punk he is. Big surprise.
Ray Gerard punches his car into a spot in the front row and scans the outdoor seats.