“Fucking hell man. The prints are seriously at the casino?”
I nodded.
He blew out a breath.
“Yes, The Chameleon said so. He said that was where Giovanni needed to keep them until they were ready for them. He mentioned leaders.”
“God, this just keeps getting better and better. So they’re there, but where?”
“Gotta figure that out fast man.”
“As fast as possible. Xander we can’t allow The Ra to get the prints.”
That was definitely a surety although it wasn’t just the fucking prints I was worried about.
“No we can’t.” I bit the inside of my lip. “I’ve been thinking about where they could be and I’m not so sure they’re where we think they might be. I think there are more rooms or vaults that aren’t exactly visible in the Castle.” That was what I’d surmised earlier. “Maybe we really need to kick this back, old school. How about we access the building plans.”
“Good idea.” He pulled in a deep breath and inclined his head to the side. “Xander… I was just thinking about the rat. It’s clear there’s a fucking rat in the works and it’s not gonna be a random person. I think it’s one of the knights. It’s gotta be one of them feeding the intel to the Ra. But …shouldn’t the knights know that Giovanni’s got the prints at the casino?” He quirked a brow. “We assumed they did, now it feels like they might not.”
Jesus…it was times like this when I was grateful for Wes. Times like these when there were so many fucked up variables I couldn’t see for shit.
I sat up straighter. “Oh my God… Wes, I don’t think they know. Giovanni didn’t tell them. What if it’s that?”
This was getting more interesting. Giovanni hadn’t told the knights about the prints so the rat couldn’t feed the intel back to The Ra.
“I don’t think he has. I’m sure someone will figure it out though.”
“Yeah. Only a matter of time.”
“Things get messy when people get desperate.”
That was just the thing I wanted to avoid.
“Xander, the prints are the priority but we also need to check things out. It would be foolish not to. How about I focus on that and you continue to look for the prints.”
“Yes, that way we can split our tasks up.” It was more efficient to do it that way.
“I’ll start by checking out people I can find with links to The Ra.” He nodded. “I think the key is to figure out what they’ll do next.”
Yeah that was exactly the problem.
What would they do next, but also who was involved. What if it was Balthazar?
If it was him indeed… if we got confirmation about his involvement then that was where my focus would switch.
We may not know who Giovanni was working for but getting Balthazar would eliminate one hell of a threat.
I wouldn’t pretend that my ulterior motives in getting the guy weren’t eating away at me, and I wouldn’t pretend that I wasn’t worried about Jia.
When desperation took over people played dirty. It just made me wonder why they hadn’t dished the dirt yet. The dirt being the usual route the average bad guy took. Take her as ransom and demand Giovanni give them the prints. That was Balthazar’s style, although I’d never known him to negotiate.
So, maybe it wasn’t him…
I wanted to voice my worries about Jia but held off. I wasn’t ready to talk about Jia yet and the feelings I’d developed for her. Feelings and fears.
She could get taken. She could. It was a possibility and a variable I had to factor in.
It wasn’t like it might not happen? It could absolutely happen.
None of their attempts so far had gotten them what they wanted.
There’d been two attacks. First attack took out four knights when they thought the prints were at Giovanni’s warehouse. Next attack was at the casino when they came for The Chameleon.
All failed attempts that would push them to desperation if I couldn’t get the prints and stop the problem in its tracks.
So what should I do?
My heart wanted me to get my ass to her place and watch over her twenty four seven.
After all, I wouldn’t have trusted anybody to protect my girl better than me.
But that was just the thing… she wasn’t mine.
She wasn’t mine to worry over like that, even though she felt like mine.
That was the difference between her and anybody who’d come after Claire. That something that drew me to her made her feel like she belonged to me.
Crazy for the little time I’d known her…
I stood up and walked over to the window.
The city lights were just about taking over daylight, piercing through the night so they could stand out in vibrancy. Bringing temptation into Sin City.
All together the lights looked alluring, enticing, and sometimes like a mess. A scramble of emotion. Not quite one nor the other.
Just like me.
Whether it was Balthazar or not, Jia was in danger.
She was the innocent in the mix and the innocents always got involved whether they wanted to or not.
It would only be a matter of time.
Time… my old friend. I couldn’t allow something to happen to her knowing I might have the power to stop it.
How would I pull it off though and still do my job?
Chapter Twenty-One
Jia
“You look nicer than usual,” Anya noted with a curt little nod of her head.
Her hair had grown back substantially from the blunt-edged bob she’d cut it in only a month ago so the ends brushed over her shoulders.
“Thank you. I think.” I gave her a pointed stare.
She came here to meet for coffee.
It was late afternoon and we were sitting on the upper deck restaurant. My idea. I’d noticed the other day that Xander came here for lunch.
We hadn’t spoken properly since last week and apart from the glimpses I’d caught of him, that was it. No real contact.
“Looking for someone in particular?” she asked when I looked over her shoulder. “You know it’s really rude when your best friend visits you at work because she’s super worried, but you’re too busy looking out for a certain guy.”
I frowned, but then I felt bad. She was right, and right to worry. And I was being rude. It was true.
“I’m sorry.”
She giggled. “On this occasion I’m going to say it’s fine, although it’s not. It’s not and I’m upset because you haven’t told me squat about this guy, other than that there’s a guy. A man who you’ve had on your brain and not shared with me.”
I think if Anya knew all that had happened over the last two weeks she would have stopped talking to me for so many reasons. I might not have shared squat about Xander, but I didn’t share squat about anything. Not even the shooting. That, like most things that happened in those back rooms, had been kept under wraps.
Pa had people who took care of stuff. A cleanup crew to get rid of… evidence.
Bodies.
I hadn’t exactly seen anything. I just knew and I’d heard enough. Granted I’d seen enough too at the recruitment session. Four men had died and they were just carried off to God knows where afterward...