Page 24 of Ice

Fox sighed, drawing my focus over to his desk. “He either intends to frame her or…”

“I’ll kill him!” I roared, shooting to my feet. Knowing someone wanted my angel dead built a fury inside me that had my vision going red, my blood boiling, and my hands itching for a weapon. I wasn’t just going to kill that motherfucker. First, I was gonna make him bleed and scream for mercy.

“Sit the fuck down,” Fox ordered, cutting through the fog of rage surrounding me.

I was tempted to ignore his directive, but I respected my prez and had agreed to follow him when I patched, so I lowered myself to the couch again. My hands rested on my knees, clenching and unclenching as I tried to remain calm.

“I sent Whiskey, Viper, and Wrecker to watch over her when I asked you to come here,” Fox assured me. Though it didn’t make me feel much better. I wanted Marnie in my eyesight at all times.

“Wasn’t sure how much you wanted her to know and figured it would be best if you made the decision before you saw her again.”

“Been looking for a loophole in the paperwork since we found it,” Stone interjected. “Haven't found one yet, but nobody is perfect. He’ll have made a mistake somewhere.”

“I’m working on connecting his aliases,” Deviant said as he reached out for his computer and set it on his lap. “Sam Frankel technically no longer exists, so Stone’s working on those angles, too.”

“Basically, you’re telling me to sit and wait,” I concluded, my body practically vibrating with the need to expend some of the energy building from the anger inside me.

“Nah,” Maverick said with a smirk. “Here’s where the possible killing comes in.”

I raised an eyebrow, but held back from saying anything, not wanting to delay his explanation.

“Mav,” Fox sighed.

The VP looked at him with a hard expression. “If it were Dahlia?”

Fox’s whole body tensed, and something lethal sparked in his eyes. “Point taken. Still say it’s a bad idea, but I won’t stand in your way.” Then he smirked at Mav and drawled, “But you’re making the call.”

Maverick sighed, then nodded before turning his gaze back to me. “Give Stone and Deviant a day to come up with something. If they do, we’ll make sure Franks pays for his shit once he’s in a cell.”

Not my first choice, but certainly the one with the least risk of being taken away from my angel. “And if they don’t find a solution?”

“Rumor is that Franks took money from the Mafia to start his business and is behind on his payments.”

“The DeLucas?” I asked, finding that hard to believe.

Nic DeLuca was the head of the New York Mafia, and though he mostly didn’t interfere in their business, he still held a lot of power over pretty much every “family” in the United States. He’d also been friends with Fox for decades and a client of ours since Fox became our prez.

Other than being a criminal and ruthless killer, he had honor and integrity—something he had in common with the Iron Rogues. So I couldn’t see him getting into bed with scum like Franks.

“It’s just a rumor,” Mav clarified. “But most people think it’s true. So I doubt even the cops would be surprised if—”

“You want to make it look like a mob hit,” I deduced.

Mav nodded, an evil grin splitting his face. “Long as DeLuca’s on board.”

My brow shot up, suddenly understanding Fox’s comment about Mav making the call.

“Making a deal with Nic DeLuca?” Deviant commented with a whistle. “You got some balls, man.”

“What makes you think he’ll agree to do this for you?” I asked. “Prez, sure. But if he isn’t willing to get involved…”

“Anna,” Mav said simply, referring to Nic’s wife.

Suddenly, I understood his confidence. Just like Fox caved when Maverick brought up his old lady, Nic would understand my need to protect my woman.

“And we’ll owe him a favor,” Maverick added.

I could see how that would be appealing to the Mafia boss.

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