out of the marina’s lot before he slides into the driver’s seat of The Tank. “What do you want to do about him?”
He nudges his head to the left. Agent Grayson Rogers doesn’t even attempt to shield his face with the shadows of the night. He wants me to know he’s watching, and I’m more than happy for him to do exactly that.
“Nothing. He isn’t after me… this time.” Rocco chuckles at the slow deliverance of my last two words. Grayson has been hot on my tail for years. I only got him off when I proved I wasn’t the one who sold Katie Bryne to Kirill Bobrov. He still hangs around every now and then, but not enough for me to respond to it. We played nice when we needed to. When we didn’t, our work ‘relationship’ ended.
“Have you heard anything from Smith?”
Rocco didn’t join Rico and me in blowing off steam on the three officers who tossed Isabelle around like she was a ragdoll. He’s usually all about punishing men who use their size and strength against women but keeping tabs on Roxanne’s disappearance was more important to him. It’s mine too. I just needed to put steps into place to ensure I’m covered when I go in hard and brutal to get her and Fien out.
My last two hours with Rico were well spent. Although the Castros were once umbrellaed under an entity strangled by rules I’ve been forced to follow since birth, their ‘protection’ became null and void a few years back. Rico didn’t go into details on what transpired, but the Popovs no longer work with the Castros. They’re a completely separate entity, meaning the rules no longer apply. I can take down the king of their realm without the slightest fear of retaliation.
It’s a glorious day to be a gangster.
Some of the air in my swollen chest deflates when Rocco shakes his head. “Not since you grabbed your bat out of the trunk. He’s working on triangulating the location the video clip was sent from, but he said he had some bureaucratic tape to get through first.”
“Isaac?” My jaw is so tight, my one word sounds like an entire sentence since it was strained through my clenched teeth.
Rocco fires up the engine before he once again shakes his head. “Not even Isaac has jurisdiction in this town, and from what I’ve heard, he’s one of Henry’s favorites.”
“Henry Gottle is blocking Smith’s inquiries?”
“Mm-hmm,” Rocco murmurs in response to the shock in my tone. “He’s making Smith real fuckin’ twitchy.”
He isn’t the only one feeling tense. “Rico just disclosed the Castros aren’t umbrellaed under the Popov entity anymore, so is Henry throwing up barriers because he took them under his wing?” When Rocco shrugs, truly unsure, I try another angle. “Smith…”
Like always, he chimes in with a hum.
“What else was on Agent Moses’s computer when you hacked in?”
His voice is groggy when he replies, “You mean other than porn?”
Rocco laughs. My response to Smith’s gall is nowhere near as polite. For a man who just spent two hours teaching insolent men what happens when you fuck with family, my growl is almost bloodthirsty.
After catching his breath with a quick gulp, Smith discloses, “There were some files about a money-laundering syndicate on the West Coast, a couple of borderline kiddie-porn write-ups, and an old home-invasion case from two decades ago. Why? What are you looking for?”
“A link between the Gottles and the Castros,” I answer without pause.
Smith’s fingers give his keyboard a workout before he sighs. “Up until a couple of years ago, there wasn’t a link.”
“But there is now?” I ask, my interests piqued.
Air whizzes from his nose, indicating I’m very much on the money. “It isn’t close to the relationship Isaac has with Henry, but there are definite benefits being shared.”
That’s unusual. You’ve got to give Henry something big to be in his favor. He now runs the city my family built from the ground up, yet we’re still not shared more than common courtesies for the past decade.
“Dig deeper into the files. There’s something we’re missing.”
“On it,” Smith replies before he disconnects our connection with a clank.
Rocco gives me a couple of minutes to shake off my confusion before asking, “Back to the compound?”
I shake my head without pause for thought. “Head to Roxanne’s ranch. I want to grab a couple of her things for when she’s back. She’ll feel more comfortable being surrounded by her belongings.”
I didn’t mean to say my last sentence,