near Ghost, an M4 assault rifle resting in his arms. “Wrath wanted me to pass on some information.”
Ghost turned his head to look at the lanky, muscular man. He knew little about Cowboy except Grayson and Wrath were impressed with his record. He’d given up command of his own team to move across country and join the Brethren. Ghost knew there had to be a story behind it, but wouldn’t be prying today.
“Why didn’t he call me?”
Cowboy shrugged, his expression unchanged, gaze continuing to scan his surroundings. “He wants you and the other men to know Zeus and Einstein are threatening the Brethren with retaliation over the arrests of their men at the motel. They’ve been charged with murder.”
Ghost smirked at Zeus’s reaction to the outcome of the op. No one had to die, but the Disciples’ president jumped the gun, and his men didn’t follow the plan. The outcome fell on them.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah. He says Zeus is coming after his family.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ghost stood, gripping his phone. “You good here, Cowboy?”
He shot the Brethren’s VP an incredulous look, with enough humor to indicate the veteran SEAL took no offense. “I’ve got this.”
Heading to the kitchen, he called Wrath, glad to hear his voice on the first ring. “What the hell? You couldn’t have called with that bit of news?”
“Which bit of news?”
“Not the one about the Disciples being pissed about members being charged with murder.”
“Hold on.” Wrath spoke to someone in the background before returning to Ghost. “Zeus called early this morning, threatening war over what happened at the motel. I explained our side, asked him if he wanted to risk more men on a screw-up that was their fault. He backed down, then hit me with his decision to come after his family.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah, but not surprising. Zeus has made it a point not to be informed where Teri and his kids are. Now that he knows they’re living in Liberty Lake, he wants them back.”
“Not going to happen, Wrath. Teri has no interest in going back to him, and the kids are ambivalent. Regardless of his reason, they think he was an asshole for walking away the way he did. I can’t argue with them.”
“Me either, Ghost. I doubt he’ll try to pull something with the Mob still showing an interest. He’ll wait until the threat is over and they’re settled back in their home.”
“You willing to place a bet on that, Prez?”
“Not hardly, but that’s what he indicated.”
Ghost massaged the back of his neck. “How do you want us to play this?”
“Nothing’s changed. Protecting the Snowdens from the Mob is our first priority. We do have some good news.”
“I’m ready.”
“Grayson’s people were able to identify a passenger on an American Airlines flight out of Chicago, landing in Phoenix two days ago.”
“Another hitman?”
“Not quite. He used a fake passport, but didn’t change his appearance except for adding a mustache. Based on the facial recognition program, Grayson says there’s a high probability it’s Salvatore Ricca.”
“What the hell? The underboss?” Ghost barked both questions into the phone.
“Arrogant. His own men would’ve been more careful.”
“Any idea why he’d come out himself instead of sending another of his soldiers?”
“Just one.” Wrath let the words hang between them.
“Shit. He’s going to exact revenge himself. The guy’s got to be in his fifties.”
“Fifty-two. He was one of the best hit men in the Mob before moving up in the organization. My guess is he’s kept up his skills. We can’t underestimate him, Ghost.”
“Not planning to. The sedan has to be him.”
“Agreed. With the ID from Grayson, Raider was able to match jawline, hair, and ears to the unclear image on his footage. We don’t know anything about the driver. My gut tells me if Ricca is going after the Snowdens himself, he brought along someone he could trust. Grayson narrowed it down to three people. The best guess is Giorgio Amato, a second cousin. They’re close. Like brothers. From all accounts, Amato’s legit, even served as a Marine.”
Ghost stood in the kitchen doorway, meeting Gunner’s questioning gaze. “Assuming it’s Amato, how does that help?”
“It doesn’t. Except the man’s a computer genius and weapons specialist. Smart with lethal training, although he’s never been tied to any deaths stateside.”
“So we have Ricca in town seeking revenge for the death of his son, along with a close associate. The appearance of the sedan indicates he knows where we are holding the Snowdens, which means he somehow has a tracker on one of them. Their cars