Page 76 of Once A Crime Lord

He paused with his hand on the door. “Because I know what kind of man you are.”

Huskin frowned.

“I know why Lyla trusts you.” The knowledge still felt like someone was carving up his insides, but he understood why she fought for Huskin’s life. He was a good person, and there were too few in the world. “You’re an honorable man. You’d never do anything to hurt her.”

Huskin said nothing. His pain filled the room. Gavin opened the door so he could take a breath of fresh air. He knew what Huskin was going through. They were in love with the same woman, and they’d both lost her at some point. Unluckily for Huskin, he wasn’t an honorable man. He would fight and kill to keep Lyla by his side. This time, he didn’t have to.

“Move to Boston to be with your mother,” he ordered and then softened the blow by adding, “I lost my dad. I know what it feels like. You should be there when it happens.”

Huskin took a deep breath and nodded.

“I’ll have Z contact you,” he said and closed the door.

He walked out of the building and approached his private car. A guard got out of the passenger seat.

“Cleanup, sir?”

“No,” he said as he got into the back seat.

“No?”

Gavin met his startled gaze. “No cleanup.”

The guard inclined his head. “Yes, sir.”

As the car left Huskin’s apartment behind, he called Z.

“Sir?” Z asked wearily.

“A man named Jonathan Huskin has developed a sophisticated surveillance system I want you to look at.”

Z sounded a bit more awake as he answered, “Sure.”

“Let me know what you think of his program and assess his skills. If he’s good, you may have a partner.”

“I’ll get right on it, sir.”

He made a few phone calls before they reached the runway. He boarded the jet, accepted a glass of water, and popped aspirin as his men took their seats. His phone began to ring. He glanced at the unavailable number on the screen and answered, “Pyre.”

“Where’s my mother?”

He hadn’t talked to Eli Stark in years, but he still recognized his voice. It took less than a day for Stark to realize his mother was MIA.

“So, you finally decided to return my call,” Gavin said.

“You called me?”

“I did the talking while you played possum last night. I told you that you fucked up.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t talked to you in years. I’m a free agent.”

“Cut the crap, Stark. Santana’s brother ratted you out. I know you were feeding Santana information.”

His men fell silent once they heard Stark’s name. They all knew Gavin wanted his head.

“I don’t know jack shit about this,” Stark said.

“This isn’t the first time your name’s come up.”

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