might climb out the window when you told her off for being smart enough to want to find out why Skars targeted her. I guess I can stop wondering why you’re still single.”
His lips twitched. “That bad, huh?”
“That bad. What kind of reaction do you think you’ll get when she shows up Monday and sees you sitting behind the desk?”
He didn’t know. Would she walk out on him? Tell him off first? “It doesn’t matter at this point. She’ll do things my way until this shit with Stefano is settled.” Because he absolutely refused to have her in danger again. First in New York and now tonight. That was two too many slips.
When they reached the abandoned ammunitions warehouse one would never find on any Seattle tourist maps, Alek’s rented Range Rover materialized in the beam from the headlights as they crossed the empty lot to park next to it. Quan killed the ignition, and Gabriel was just reaching for the door handle when his phone buzzed.
He answered with a sharp, “Yeah.”
“I have heard your name more in the last week than I have in years, my friend.”
The last voice Gabriel had expected to hear carried a familiar arrogance that could only belong to one man.
Lucian Fane.
The powerful Romanian was a force to be reckoned with in the organized crime world. And not just in New York where he was based, but worldwide. He’d come up around the same time as Gabriel, but unlike Gabriel, Lucian thrived on the business he was in. Unforgivably harsh with those who crossed him or interfered in his business, Lucian was the most feared in the industry. More so even than Vasily, which, if one was comparing, put Stefano down around the equivalent of a schoolyard bully.
But a bully that carried an AR-15.
“Lucian. It’s good to hear from you. How’re things?”
“Busy. But I felt it necessary to take time out of my full schedule to make this courtesy call.”
Fuck. That couldn’t be good. “I’m assuming this is in regard to Stefano.”
“Of course. I have learned he is making plans. Unpleasant ones that center around the new woman in your life.” Ice on crystal clinked in the background as Gabriel’s groin stirred at hearing Eva described as his. “You should know I am available if you are in need of assistance. Personally, I think this situation between the two of you has gone on long enough. It is time it was settled. Be aware I am paying attention.”
Gabriel’s brows came down when dead air sounded to signify the call had ended.
He and Lucian had always been friendly, bouncing information back and forth over dinners, tipping each other off when hearing something the other would be interested in. And not only because they’d come up together, but because they were connected through family. Lucian’s younger brother was TarMor’s executive VP.
Almost a decade ago, Markus Fane, who’d been legit from day one, had come to TarMor fresh from Yale, and he’d had a hand in making the project management firm what it was today. Its growth and success also allowed Gabriel and Alek a modicum of respectability…where the IRS was concerned anyway.
He and Quan were silent as they entered the building and descended a set of metal stairs into a dusty, shadow-filled basement where they made their way across a cavernous room. Alek was sitting on a metal chair across from Stefano’s guy, who was shackled to another metal chair by a pair of cuffs and looking slightly bruised.
Alek got to his feet, the scrape of the steel legs echoing all around them. “Name is Terrence Skars. Stefano sent him, but only to deliver a message.”
Again with that fuckin’ message. Gabriel was curious to know exactly what it was, but he wouldn’t bother asking. Wouldn’t set himself up for the “fuck you” that would make him lose his temper.
“He wasn’t supposed to touch his target,” Alek added.
A belligerent look settled on Skars’s swollen face. “Yeah. Like you haven’t tapped that.”
Gabriel stiffened. Seemed the guy wanted to die.
But he held off and followed their routine that hadn’t changed in so many years. Secure and hold until Maks called with the requested info. If the guy was clean—theft, man-on-man assault—he was sent off with a warning he’d never forget. But if their unfortunate captive had done time for fucking with kids or raping or beating a defenseless woman, Gabriel and his boys became judge, jury, and executioner. No way would any of them send garbage like that back to