Page 13 of Ruined

"We can start by hacking his bank account and draining all the funds," I said.

Until now, we'd been keeping track of them, watching for money to be withdrawn. Hoping the transactions would give away his location. So far, he hadn't touched any of his accounts. Not the ones we knew about anyway.

He may not even notice us empty his accounts, but it would be fucking satisfying.

"Can I have a Maserati?" Gianni asked. "I mean, Kurt's money should go to something useful."

"His money should go to Mina," Reuben said. "She can decide if you should have a Maserati."

Gianni punched the air and grinned. "That wasn't a no."

Reuben smirked at him.

Gianni, as always, was unapologetic.

"Have the twins hack his accounts," Reuben said to me. Parker was studying cybersecurity to prevent anyone from hacking us, but that skill was useful in reverse. "Make sure they don't drain the money into their own accounts."

That was definitely something they'd do, given half a chance.

I glanced over at Gianni.

He looked back at me. "What?"

"I'm waiting for you to wonder out loud if the twins would buy you a Maserati." I leaned against the wall, crossed my arms and cocked an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled. "They probably would, but if that money is meant for Mina, and they tried to take it, I'd have to smash their kneecaps. Then we'd have to transfer the money to her and, voilà, we're back to me asking her for a Maserati."

"I see you've thought it all the way through," I said.

"I always do." He grinned. "To be honest, I thought you would have too."

I rolled my eyes at him, then turned back to Reuben. "If that gets no response from him, we may need to think bigger."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting…"

"If Kurt knows Mina is alive and well, and with us, that's going to elicit some kind of response," I said.

"Prick," Gianni snapped. "We're not using her as bait."

Reuben bristled too, but waited for me to continue.

"I'm not suggesting we use her as bait. Sooner or later people are going to need to know she's alive and what he did to her. We could let everyone know. Eventually, word would get back to him. People who are loyal to him might turn on him. This might be exactly what we need to draw him out."

"Mina isn't ready to—" Gianni started.

"It doesn't fucking matter what she's ready for," I said. "The fact is, this might be the only way to get to him. I'm not suggesting she walk around the streets waving a red fucking flag. I'm just saying we can let people know she's here and let the rumour mill do the rest."

"You're a red fucking flag," Gianni muttered.

I choked back a laugh. "Pot, meet kettle."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He rounded on me.

"I mean, you're not exactly a middle-class, suburban working guy, are you? We break the law for a living. We kill people. Threaten, bribe and coerce. What's that if not a red flag?"

"Sounds like a green flag to me." He jutted his chin out in defiance. "Women, and men, are attracted to powerful people like us. You need to read one of Mina's mafia romance books. I'm telling you, we're fucking hot. Some more than others." He pretended to fluff the back of his hair.

"Yeah, some are." I resisted the urge to look at Reuben. If he was in a book, he'd be the character readers were drooling over. Him and Mina.

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