“Just now. On your phone.”

“Oh,” she says, cheeks slightly pink. “Just adding some new songs on Spotify. Gotta make a victory playlist for after the election.”

She’s lying. She was typing a message, I’m sure of it.

I should grab her phone, demand to see what she was doing.

It has a password though, and Aida is stubborn as fuck. She won’t give it to me. It’ll turn into a battle.

Better to wait. I’ll steal her password, then go through her phone uninterrupted, without tipping her off.

So I force my face to be calm and inexpressive, and I say, “Okay. We should eat something before we head out.”

“What do you want to eat?” she asks, relieved that I dropped the subject.

“I don’t care,” I say.

21

Aida

Cal interrupted me in the middle of something I’d rather not show him—not yet, at least. But now he’s acting weird. We’re downstairs, eating two of the meals the chef left in the fridge. Cal is chewing his meat like he can’t even taste it, looking moodily out the kitchen window to the pool outside.

“What’s going on?” I ask him, taking a bite of braised short rib and grilled carrot. This is about as decadent as it gets in casa Griffin, so I’m trying to enjoy my meal. But that’s hard to do with Callum sitting stone-faced right next to me.

“Nothing,” he says shortly.

“What are you all wound up about? Poking a stick in the hornet’s nest?”

I’m aware that someone named “the Butcher” isn’t the best target to antagonize. Still, I’m excited at the prospect of hunting down Zajac. I’ve been playing the good girl for weeks now. It’s time to get in a little trouble.

“Yes,” Callum says testily. “I’m concerned about teeing up against an unhinged gangster. Especially two days before the election.”

“Maybe we should hold off, then,” I tell him. “Wait until after to slap back at him.”

“If we don’t find him tonight, then that’s what I’ll do,” Callum says. “But I’d rather deal with it sooner than later.”

Callum’s phone buzzes with a message. He glances at it, saying, “Your brothers are here.”

A minute later they pull up in front of the house, parking and getting out of Dante’s Escalade warily. They haven’t been here since Nessa’s party. I can tell they feel awkward coming in through the kitchen door.

“Nice house,” Dante says politely, as if he hasn’t seen it before.

“Yeah, very nice,” Nero says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking all around the gleaming, modern kitchen. His eye catches on the one thing out of place. He bends over for a closer look, saying, “Is that a—”

“Yes,” I interrupt him. “And we don’t need to talk about it.”

Imogen already read me the riot act about the bullet hole in her cabinet door. I think she was angrier than when I tried to poison her son. This house is her actual favorite child. It would have gotten ugly if Callum hadn’t covered for me, telling her it was an accident.

She didn’t look convinced.

“How am I even going to get someone to fix it?” she demanded, eyes blazing. “How am I going to explain to some carpenter that he needs to dig a bullet out before he can fill in the hole?”

“You could act totally surprised,” I said helpfully.

Callum shot me a look, telling me to shut up, immediately.

“I could get the bullet out first,” he said.

“No!” Imogen snapped, “Don’t touch it. You two have done enough.”

It still hasn’t been fixed, and it’s another sore subject that I don’t need Nero bringing up right before we’re supposed to head out.

But then Sore Subject Number Three comes strolling into the kitchen.

“Car’s out front,” Jack says, holding up the keys.

“Don’t tell me he’s coming,” I say to Callum.

“Yes. He is,” Callum replies.

“We don’t need—”

He interrupts me. “We’re not going in short-handed. Your brothers brought someone too.”

“Gabriel’s in the car,” Dante confirms.

Gabriel is our cousin, and one of my brothers’ enforcers. He looks like a big gruff teddy bear, but he can be a killer when he has to be.

“Fine,” I say, with only a hint of annoyance. “And what’s the plan?”

“Well,” Callum says, exchanging a look with my brothers, “There are two options. One, we try to follow this lead about the girl Zajac’s been fucking.”

“But we don’t have her address,” Nero says, obviously not a fan of this option. “And we don’t know how often he sees her.”

“Or,” Callum continues, as if he hadn’t been interrupted, “we could hit one of his businesses. Smash his shit up, maybe take something, then wait for him to call us.”

“We’re leaning toward his casino, because it’s remote and cash-heavy,” Dante says.

“Why not both?” I say. “Are you talking about Francie Ross? She works at Pole, right?”

“Do you know her?” Callum asks quickly.

“No. But I know a girl who knows her,” I say. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, earlier.”

Callum gives me a look, half annoyed and half curious.

“Does your friend know where Francie lives?”

“Maybe,” I say. “We should ask her.”

“Why bother!” Nero snaps. “Who cares about finding Zajac. We need to hit him back for what he did to our job site. We don’t need to look him in the eye to kick him in the balls.”

Dante looks like he could go either way. “The casino seems like more of a sure bet,” he says.

“Well . . .” Callum glances over at me. “Let’s do both. You guys can hit the casino, while Aida and I talk to her friend.”

“You think three people is enough?” Dante says to Nero.

“Of course,” Nero says, tossing his head.

“Take Jack, too,” Callum says.

“Then it’ll just be you and Aida . . .” Dante says.

“We don’t need an army,” I say. “We’re just talking to a waitress.”

Dante frowns, and reaches inside his jacket. He passes me a Glock, loaded.

“Is that wise?” Jack says, eyeing the gun as Dante puts it in my hand.

“Don’t worry,” I say sweetly. “I won’t leave it lying around like an idiot.”

Jack looks like he wants to retort, but he drops it, since Callum is standing right there.

“Everybody else got what they need?” Dante asks.

We all nod.

“Let’s head out, then.”

Dante and Nero get back in the Escalade. I wave to Gabriel through the window. He grins and gives me a little salute. Jack climbs in the backseat next to him, introducing himself with a grunt and a curt nod.

I’m extremely pleased not to have to spend any more time cooped up in a car with him, and even more pleased that Cal and I are running down my lead. Well, sort of his too—but I thought of it first.