I pull at my lips. “It makes little sense. If someone was watching the night I killed Luke McKenzie, why didn’t they pass that tape off to Ruben immediately?”
Theo shrugs. “Who knows? I’m struggling to piece this all together.”
“It’s a fucking shitshow,” Galen agrees.
“One you added to,” I remind him, but my chastisement lacks bite because he knows what he’s done and snapping at him continuously won’t help anyone. While I’m still pissed over his betrayal, reminding him every five minutes only hurts me too. I’m trying to put it behind me, but it’s difficult.
“I know.” His face and his voice are resigned.
“What are we going to do about The Bulls? They won’t stop until I’m dead.”
“It’s kill or be killed,” Saint agrees. “Which is why we’re taking them down.” He explains that Sinner is on board.
“How is it going down?” I ask.
“Boy wonder has tracked down all the key players within the organization, and we’ll eliminate them in a targeted attack,” Saint says.
“I’m still finalizing the details,” Theo says, “but we’ll hit each of them at the same time, wiping the leadership out in one fell swoop.”
“Will that be enough? Won’t the other members seek revenge?”
“They’ll be too busy scrambling to maintain their business,” Saint says, grinning. “Because we already have men infiltrating their ranks, and we’ll start picking off towns and taking ownership.”
“They’ll be too busy fighting to save their income to care,” Galen says.
“Is it really that easy to take over their turf?”
“It is,” Saint says. “I don’t know what Ruben is thinking. He knows he owns his turf because we’ve let him have it. We’ve coexisted peacefully for years because there was a mutual understanding.”
“And now, he’s coming after Lo over a piece of shit like McKenzie,” Caz shakes his head, lighting a cigarette.
I jump up, grabbing it and stomping it out with my foot. “You’re smoking way too much. You’re going cold turkey.”
“Now, princess. You—”
I shut him up with a dark look. “You might not care about your lungs, but I do, and we’re not done discussing this.” He pins me with a moody pout, but underneath it, I think he secretly likes that I care. “So, when the new leadership realizes you’re taking control of their territory, you’ll do a deal to stop them from retaliating in exchange for the return of their turf, and the threat goes away,” I surmise.
Saint tweaks my nose. “Top marks, princess.”
I swat his hand away. “That’s a good plan. When do we execute?”
“Hopefully, next week. We want our ducks in a row first. Ensure we’ve covered all bases,” Saint says.
“Of course. That’s smart.” I tap my fingers off my chin.
“What?” Saint asks.
“There’s something we’re missing.” My gaze dances between him and Theo. “What if Sinner isn’t the only one to realize women can play a role?”
“You think Taylor is involved officially?” Theo asks.
“She’s got to be. She relayed the info to Corr, and that must have come from within the ranks. And if she was sniffing around The Arrows back in April, maybe, there was a reason for that too.”
“I think you’re right,” Saint says, looking at Theo. “Which is why we need that intel on Taylor ASAP.”
“You’ll have it,” Theo assures him.
“Your deal with Darrow,” Saint adds, gripping my chin. “Is there anything more to it?”
I shake my head. “I sold him on having a spy in the ranks to save my ass”—I purposely stare at Galen, and he averts his eyes—“and because it makes sense to feed him some intel. We can use this to our advantage. Get The Arrows to fuck with Sinner and distract him.”
“And the rat can take all the blame,” Theo adds.
“Exactly.” I bob my head.
“There is something else.”
I’ve debated this too, but I’ve got to put my trust in them. Galen is still on my shit list, but I believe the others are on my side. That they won’t hurt me, and I’ve got to include them. I remove my locket from under my shirt. “This is a tracking device and an audio recording device. I got the whole conversation with the board on tape.”
Saint narrows his eyes at me, and I poke him in the ribs. “Do not give me that look.”
“That asshole gave you it, didn’t he?”
I nod. “Yes, and before you rip me a new one, I didn’t tell you because you would’ve destroyed it and I knew it would come in handy.”
“Who has that recording, Lo?” Theo asks, and his troubled expression alarms me.
“It saves to the chip, and a copy uploads to the cloud. Diesel has access.”
“Fuck!” Theo jumps up, pacing.
Saint sits up straighter, exchanging a look with Galen. “What don’t we know?”
Theo stares at me, and I realize he’d intended on speaking to me alone, but events have overtaken things. I’m momentarily speechless, because I can’t believe he would keep something from the guys, putting me above them. I don’t know what to make of it, and I’m not about to decipher it now. “You know who he is.” It’s the only explanation for his reaction.
Theo nods.
I stand, walking to him. I place my hand on his arm. “Tell me.”
“I had my suspicions when I saw the bullet from your gun. He gave that to you, right?”
I nod, and it’s admitting I lied because I told them I got it from my dad’s study after he died.
“The bullet had distinguishing markings on it, and I knew I’d come across that image on the darknet before. I’ve been trawling through shit trying to relocate it, and I finally did.”
Tension is so thick the air is borderline claustrophobic.
“Who do the bullets belong to?” I ask.
“A mercenary group who operates on the fringes of society, hiding in the shadows. They’re called VERO. For years, stories of their existence were like an urban legend because they left no trace. Until a couple years back and some bullet casings, like the one you had, were discovered at the scene of this massive explosion in Germany. Since then, I’ve read shit on the darknet. I’m not sure exactly what is truth and what is fiction, but it’s said they are a global operation, composed of ex-CIA, ex-FBI, and ex-Homeland Security. Highly skilled individuals who lacked the discipline to remain in the employment of the US government.”
“Who do they work for? Who owns it?” Saint asks.
“This is where it gets scary,” he admits, and chills creep up my spine. “If the intel I’ve gathered is correct, they hide behind a shell corporation, so it looks like a legit multimillion-dollar global private security firm. But it’s just a front. This organization carries out deadly and dangerous missions, the type no one wants anyone to know about. We are talking major shit here. And if it got out, it would be a global scandal. Enough to cause mass hysteria and mass damage.”