Liam strode forward with an intent expression. "I hate to get everyone's hopes up because I really didn't save the best for last. I had us start at what I thought was the most promising location and went from there. This last address is a private home but the image I found on Google Earth showed not only the front walkway but the entire house was bordered with bunchberries. I couldn't find an owner, for that I'd need more time than we had today. Its title traces to a shell company owned by a larger shell and it just went on from there. One of my brothers is really good at tracking things online. He’ll find it once I pass the information on."
Vasily perked up at the sound of that. He briskly rubbed his hands together. "Shell companies, huh? Now see, that's something that I might find interesting. Just because it has the lowest amount of bunchberries don't mean nothin'. If it's lining the walk and surrounding the house, that would explain them smelling like it. I bet that shit seeps right into their pores. Good job, Liam. This is probably a stupid question, but is one of your brothers staking the place out like they did at the other places?"
"Aye. Patrick has been watching the place all afternoon. It's been over an hour since he checked in, but he's been sending regular text updates all day." Liam double-checked his phone as if looking for a new text, then shook his head and shoved it back in his pocket.
Joey looked like he didn't care for the sound of that. His eyes narrowed as he nodded toward the pocket where Liam had shoved his phone. "Is that like him? Not for nothing, but it's not a good sign if he missed a regular check-in."
"Patty's only ten minutes late, we usually give it fifteen before we get worried, in case whoever’s on watch had to pee or got distracted by the target and missed the time." Despite his explanation, Liam looked worried now, too.
Vasily's eyes narrowed as he tilted his head in the direction we needed to go. "Let's get moving, I'll feel better once we lay eyes on Patrick and see what's what up ahead."
Despite the sprawling neighborhood and the darker streets now that the sun had gone down, I felt twitchy walking through this fancy suburb in such a large group. Especially when it was fairly obvious that we weren't out selling magazines or trying to help people find Jesus. The leather jackets, abundance of gold chains, and sunglasses after dark would be one giveaway, but the guns visibly held by more than one hand made it pretty clear what we were.
Vasily caught my eye. "You okay over there? You look like you're waiting for sirens and flashing lights."
I shrugged. "Just feeling out of place. Shell companies and missed check-ins aside, what kind of criminal enterprise are we expecting to find in one of these fancy-ass houses? And what kind of people are we hoping to find if they chose to live in fucking Deerfield, of all places."
Misha's easy laugh rumbled right behind me. "Shit, that's funny. Can you imagine the faces on the other families if we have to tell them the perpetrator behind all this drama was living it up in Deerfield? Now I actually hope this is the right place."
“From what I’ve heard, Montoya’s got a place not much different than this.” Boris scanned our surroundings. “Maybe we should talk to Pops. See about setting up a country estate or some shit. Somewhere we can retreat to, let our bears out and relax.”
“It would be good for the kids,” Joey said excitedly.
Vasily held up a hand and formed a fist, signaling everyone to be quiet. He paused, then motioned for Liam to come closer, keeping his voice to a whisper as he spoke. "That next house is our spot, I can smell the bunchberries from here. Now's the time to call to your brother."
Liam glanced around then walked toward a cluster of trees, giving a soft whistle that reminded me of birdsong. He waited for a ten count, then whistled again. With every passing second, the small redhead grew more agitated. He looked around, drumming his fingers against the side of his leg before trying one more time. When that one didn't work, Liam turned around and shook his head. "He should've answered by now. I know he was in these trees because he texted a picture of the house from this perspective a couple hours ago."
My brothers and I shared a long look. Vasily took a deep breath and tipped his head toward the trees. "Open your senses, boys. Our first objective is to find Patrick, then we'll check out the house. George, you and Leo go with Boris and search the trees. The rest of us will wait. There's no sense in us tripping over each other or leaving too many scent trails if I need to call in the trackers."
We all startled at the sound of a familiar voice. "There's no need."
Vasily groaned when his naked mate came strolling out of the tree line. River shrugged and didn't waste anyone's time by pretending to apologize. "Nacho and Dante found him half an hour ago. Someone knocked him out and he's just now coming to. I was about to ask him what happened when I heard you guys walk up and someone started whistling."
Liam rushed forward. "That was me, it's our code. Is my brother okay?"
River stepped aside and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "He's good. Dante got him to shift, and that seemed to help. He's just on the other side of that tree there. Go see for yourself."
While Liam ran off to check on his brother, Vasily crooked a finger toward River. "Come here, sweet cheeks. I appreciate your help but now I'd really like to know what you and—I'm assuming the Hernandez brothers—are doing on the scene. Especially when you told me your plans for today were to keep an eye on Tanner and the new baby."
River sprinted over and nipped at Vasily's finger. "Knock that shit off, you know it takes more than one finger to make me come."
Misha bumped his shoulder against Joey's. "I don't know about that, it seemed to work just fine from where I'm standing. What do you think, Joey? Did you see Vasily use more than one finger there?"
Without taking his eyes off River, Vasily held up a hand and flipped Misha off. "Here's a finger for you, dickhead. Now shut up and let me talk to my mate. He's got some explaining to do."
"Really? Huh. I don't think I do, actually." River punctuated his words with an exaggerated yawn, as if he were bored. "Calm down, big guy. Those were my plans for today, but now it's nighttime. Pops is keeping an eye on our newest little papa and baby pair. Antonio—who, if you'll recall, is actually my boss—was intrigued by the chain of ownership in this particular location. He called and here I am. How about we settle this later in bed and, for now, deal with the matter at hand? I haven't checked out the house, I left that for you guys. Nobody's come or gone since we arrived."
Vasily looked up at the sky, shaking his head before turning back and gripping the back of River's neck. He jerked his mate forward for a hard, crushing kiss before resting his forehead against River's. "I don't even know what to say to you right now, sweet cheeks."
River took a step back, stretching a hand up to pat my brother's cheek. "I mean, most people would begin with thank you. So… you're welcome?"
I snorted a laugh and slapped Vasily's shoulder. "Dude. You're so fucked. I hope you get on your knees every day and thank whoever's listening for bringing River into your sorry-ass life."