Page 30 of Creatures in the Night

“I have Morocco looking into Artem Rostova’s family tree for more, but until we can get a picture of Klive Simpson, we’re limited to nothing but supposition,” Nero continued.

“It has to be personal, lads,” I echoed. “Klive Simpson came here with only twenty men at his disposal. Unless his brain is damaged, he had to know that he’d be outnumbered.” I leaned back in my chair. “My guess is that his men are disposable distractions in whatever game he’s playing, and he couldn’t care less about them, including Manziel. Honestly, Kotov, if I were you, I’d be looking at any new recruits you might have gotten in the past year or so. Without a real name or picture, Klive Simpson could be anyone, and where better to hide than in your enemy’s bed? That’s the last place anyone would look for you.”

“By your count, then there’s only four of them left, not including Klive, correct?” Avgust asked.

“As far as we know,” Declan answered.

“If you catch any more, then I’d like them delivered for questioning,” Avgust stated. “I’m not comfortable with the connection, though loose it may be.”

“They’re all yours,” Nero replied evenly. “I have enough fucking headaches.”

“Same here,” Declan agreed.

Avgust grinned, and without the tattoos crawling up his neck or the deadness in his eyes, then you’d never guess that he was an unfeeling killing machine. Like people kept saying, evil didn’t look like the monster that it was, and anyone looking at the six of us would think that we were just a bunch of businessmen at a boardroom meeting. Of course, without the guns, tattoos, and hate palpitating all over the place, but still.

“Yeah, I heard that married life can be a bit tricky,” Avgust remarked like a dick.

“It keeps me on my toes,” Declan grinned back. “You should try it, Kotov.”

Something dark flashed in Avgust’s hazel eyes before he said, “I think I’ll pass.”

“You might want to rethink that,” Nero said as he stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. “My children will need someone to play with when they’re older.”

At that not-so-subtle reminder that our legacies needed to be handed down to our children in order to survive, Avgust said, “I don’t need a wife to have children.”

“No, you don’t,” Nero replied. “However, it helps whenever power is up for grabs.”

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to send you both invitations to the wedding when it happens,” Maksim quipped like an asshole.

As Nero was taking his leave, I knew that it was killing Declan not to send his regards to Kasen Sartori, but we both knew that it wouldn’t do well to look chummy with the Italians. Plus, if Declan didn’t want Nero to overstep with Keavy, then Declan was going to have to back off. After all, no one needed to know that Keavy O’Brien was just as deadly as her husband.

When we all exited the building, everyone made their way to their respective vehicles, and once we were all safely nestled in our beds, I said, “I don’t like it. If we let Kotov handle it on his own, it’ll feel too much like we owe him.”

“I agree,” Declan replied easily. “However, we can’t move on anything until we find out more, and I seriously doubt that we’re going to find out more than what Morocco Carrisi was able to.”

“What a clusterfuck,” I muttered, my head dropping back on the seat, missing my wife.

“No shit.”

Chapter 20

Shea~

I couldn’t decide if I didn’t trust my new guard because I wasn’t used to having one or if it was because he’d been the one to offer his help with supplying Noah with an alibi if my husband ever decided that he needed a blonde to satisfy his needs after all.

At any rate, having a guard took a lot of getting used to, no matter the reason. Though I was lucky enough that I could work my shift without him breathing down my neck, it still felt weird to have a ‘driver’. When Noah had assigned Craig to me, he had also informed me that my car would be stored in the garage, the keys safely secured inside the glove compartment since I would no longer be using it. If I wasn’t with Noah, then I was going to be with Craig, no exceptions. Luckily, it was the second day of my two-day rotation, so I had Tuesday and Wednesday without Craig unless I needed something.

When I stepped out into the brisk evening air, I didn’t see the car, but I did see Craig waiting outside for me. While I thought it a little odd, I knew nothing about the rules to having a chauffeur, so the car could have a flat for all I knew.

“Mrs. Murphy, this way,” Craig instructed as soon as I was close enough.

“Where’s the car?”

“Around the back,” he answered. “It’s not safe to be predictable, so there will be times when the car is out front, out back, or a block away. There will also be times when I’ll ask you to leave the building through another exit.”

I gave him a nod of understanding. “That makes sense.”

“The same strategy will apply for when you go shopping, visit your parents, etc.,” he went on. “Your routine will no longer be a predictable one, for good reason.”

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