Page 37 of Callum

My attention swivels back to Ginetta, raising my own knowing brow at her. “Care to share?”

“She’s lying.” A muscle ticks in Ginetta’s jaw. She knows she’s caught, and there’s no way out of the hole she’s dug for herself. “Give her back to us so that she can be handled by the GiGi’s.”

“Here’s the thing, Ginetta. I don’t give a single fuck about what you’re doing inside your organization” I step over Rita’s body on my way toward Ginetta, completely ignoring Harlowe standing immediately to my right. “I’m well aware that you’ve been toeing the line for the last few years, but I am willing to let it slide so long as you answer. my. question. Why did you send them into my home?”

“I didn’t,” Ginetta barks the words at me, anger pouring off her in waves. “The RMF are the ones looking for Red, not us.”

“Ah, I was wondering when you’d bring them into this.” Grant’s voice is low, the threat evident in each word. “How long have you been in their pocket, Ginny?”

Ginetta bristles at the condescending nickname, both hands balling into fists at her sides. “I’m not in anyone’s pocket, Mac. They tried pressing me to help them find her, but I turned them down.”

I’m about sick of this back and forth and do my best to relay my annoyance to Grant. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem impressed by Ginetta’s bullshit, either. “Callum? Take this, will you?”

I only have a breath to brace for Lista’s body slamming against my side as Grant all but catapults her into my arms. Stepping forward, Grant pulls his gun but leaves it pointed at the ground.

“I will give you exactly two minutes to tell me everything about your involvement with the RMF. If I don’t like the information you provide me, I will sacrifice one of your little henchmen,” he waves the gun between Kyler and Harlowe’s feet. “So you better start with the most important information first.”

The pain is evident in Ginetta’s eyes as she tries to decide if she will play Grant’s game, knowing he will kill them all if she defies him. “I sent Red to the Romans.”

“You mean you forced her to fuck Dodge Roman to get information.” I snarl the words at her, and Ginetta has the good sense to look apologetically in my direction. Grant shoots me a warning look over his shoulder before turning back to Ginetta when she speaks again.

“Yes, I did. She came to me asking for…a favor.” I don’t like the way she pauses in the middle of her sentence. Was it the baby? Is that the favor Rosalind needed from Ginetta? Was she asking for a place to send the child, or did she need some other kind of help?

I want to demand the answers, but I know this isn’t the time. Ginetta Ricci is a liar in the best of times. You can’t trust anything she says when her back is against the wall.

“I told her she had to pay me first. She owed me, and the price was Trapping. She spent three years in Roman territory with those idiots none the wiser. Then something tipped him off, and Dodge started feeding her information to try and trick us into showing our hand. He must have gotten tired of waiting because he tried to kill Red before any of their bullshit info pointed the finger at us.”

Ginetta stops to take a deep breath, steeling her spine for the next part. “Red escaped, and Dodge called me to his Table. He told me that Red had been Trapping him, and he knew it was me. I,” she flinches but powers on. “I told him that she wasn’t Trapping for us. I knew he would go after whoever was responsible, and the GiGi’s aren’t big enough to take on the Romans.”

“But the MacAlisters are,” Grant finishes her sentence, his head tipping to one side. I can’t tell if he believes that motive, but he waves a hand for Ginetta to continue her story.

“Exactly. I don’t think he believed me at the time, though.”

“What changed his mind?” Grant asks the question as if he is genuinely curious about the answer.

“We marked Red as a traitor and kicked her out. Then she went running straight into Callum’s arms.”

My eyes snap to Grant’s for a split second, but the information passes between us easily enough. Rosalind didn’t run into my arms; she went to Lachlan. And it took her three full days to get to him. No one could have tracked her from Lally’s Strip Club to my house, but even if they had, they wouldn’t need to send two untrained prostitutes to my door.

They would have only sent Rita and Lista on a “fact-finding mission” if Ginetta needed to know beyond a doubt that Rosalind was in my home before she sent in the real guns. Which means she has no idea if Rosalind is there, and Dodge Roman doesn’t either.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.” Ginetta chirps back, cocking her hip and crossing both arms over her chest.

“Perfect,” Grant turns back toward me, nodding once. “Do it.”

Thank fuck.

Unlocking my arms, I allow Lista to fall from my hold. She stumbles to catch herself as she trips over the tree roots beneath our feet. My gun is out before she finds her footing, and the sound of a shot cracks through the air at the same moment that her body drops to the ground.

Harlowe’s screams fill the clearing before the blood even begins to pool around Lista’s body, and I look up just in time to see her take two steps forward. Squeezing the trigger a second time, I watch the side of Harlowe’s knee explode outward, muscle tearing as the bullet lodges itself into bone.

“Unfortunately for me,” I shout over the sound of Harlowe’s sobs as she crumples to the ground near Grant’s feet. I keep the gun aimed at her but move my eyes to Ginetta’s face. “I owe Harlowe a bit of a debt. You see, she’s the one who fucked up and let my Rosalind out of your little deathtrap.”

Ginetta’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t look at Harlowe. Out of my periphery, I see Grant kneel next to the bleeding woman to point his gun directly between her eyes. I don’t hear what he says, but Harlowe’s sobs become quiet whimpers.

“You’re going to go to Dodge Roman and tell him that Rosalind White is mine. She belongs to me, and if he has a problem with that, he can cross the line between Balkirk and Forest Falls to take her from me himself. Until then, he can keep hiding in his little tower like the coward that he is.” I stare Ginetta down, making sure each word sinks into her brain. “If the GiGi’s come for her again, I will burn your entire organization to the ground.”

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