Page 100 of Silver Linings

“No one is taking our daughter from us.”

“Why us?” Lily asked. “Is there some reason this crime family would target Gunner over anyone else on the team? I mean, he wasn’t even in Texas when everything happened with Emma. Wouldn’t it make more sense if someone else on the team was being threatened? But no one has been, right?”

“Actually…'' Everyone's eyes snapped to Mae who looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘actually’? Mae, if you say you’ve been hiding the fact that someone is threatening you from us, I am going to lose my shit.” Stone stood, stalking towards her.

“Uh, what the hell is with that reaction, Doc? Mae is my sister. I think if anyone is going to be stalking towards her like a pissed off bulldog, it should be me.” Hawk’s eyes bounced between Stone and Mae.

“I just…” Stone looked from Mae to Hawk and then turned back towards his seat. “I just don’t want anything happening to anyone on our team.”

Mae’s pale face had flushed red and Gunner noticed Lily’s small smile as she took a sip of water. What the fuck was that about?

“Not threats. Just weird calls on my cell. When I answer, someone is just sitting on the other end of the line breathing really heavily. I didn’t think anything of it, because maybe it’s just a wrong number or something. But I got another call around the same time Lily and Gunner were shopping.”

“What happened?” Stone growled, apparently not giving a fuck about the way Hawk looked like he was going to punch him.

“It was the same weird breathing. I was about to hang up and block the new number they were calling from, but before I could, he said ‘If I can’t have them, I’m coming for you’ and ended the call.”

Thirty-One

“We’re out, Max.”

Gunner wanted to laugh at the way the FBI Agent looked at them. Fuck, he got it. Their partnership with the FBI over the last few years had been beneficial on both sides. But that was no longer the case, and he wasn’t willing to put his family in danger just so some federal fucking agency could have one last win with his team.

“Look, I understand your concerns, but we are just weeks out from moving on the Santoro organization. What happened the other night was very out of character for them. I’ve got FBI forensics looking into the incendiary device to see if they can match it to a known builder, but so far, they have nothing.”

“And what about what happened to your team in Dallas? They’re changing their game, Max, and you’re blind if you think they’ll just go down without turning things into a bloodbath.”

“We’ve gotten word that Antonio Santoro is coming to Dallas. It’s not under the radar. The family’s legal import business is expanding too, and he’s listed on a shareholders event invite for next week.”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever you and your team have to do, we hope it’s successful. But they came to us. They threatened Gunner and his wife. Their baby. They have some weirdo threatening Mae. We won’t be involved anymore,” Stone said.

“As much as I want to say that’s okay and just cut you loose, you guys will be in breach of your contract with the FBI if I can’t get it cleared through the higher-ups.”

“That’s fine with us,” Nash shrugged his shoulders.

“It means Sebastian will have to pay millions of dollars for dissolving the contract before your agreed upon end date.”

“Max, I don’t fucking care.” Sebastian stood and walked to the end of the table, sliding paperwork at the FBI Agent. “I’ve had my lawyers look at the contract and they’ve pointed out several clauses we believe we can invoke. The most important thing is that my friends and our families are safe.”

Max nodded. “I’ll take this information back to my office and notify everyone. Fuck.” He raked his hand through his hair and sighed. “I could have really used you guys on this upcoming raid, but I understand. I really fucking do.”

“Alright, what else do we need to discuss?”

“I have that info you asked me to look into, Reap,” Gage said. “We can talk about it here, or we can take it to your office.”

“Here’s fine.”

“I’m going to get going, unless you need me to stay?” Max stood.

“We’re good. Thanks for everything, Max. We hope to hear from you soon.”

Sebastian shook Max’s hand while the rest of the guys gave him a nod as he left.

“Alright, Gage. What did you find?” Gunner asked.

“The death certificate is pretty straightforward.” Gage slid a single piece of paper over to Gunner. “James Paul Callahan died a little over a week ago, after being in a single car accident. The coroner signed off on his death certificate that same day, but I’m sure that had to do with the influence of his parents in the community.”

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