Page 73 of Fiercely Protective

“What are you going to do with the little one?”

I took another large gulp of bourbon from my glass. “I already discussed with Brenda the arrangements to make the estate ready. It should only take a day or two. I will take her there until I have finished with everything.”

He nodded, but I could tell that he wanted to say more. “Go ahead, say it. We have never held back with each other.”

“I had no plans on holding back. Has it occurred to you that Petros could be the pawn in this game, that he is merely a puppet whose strings are being pulled by someone else?”

I narrowed my eyes as I took in his words. “Do you have someone in mind or is it just a hunch?”

He took a few steps forward before sinking back into the chair in front of my desk. “Think about it. A young fool with an ass load of ambition. His father dies before he could be trained to take the reins. Could there be someone else whispering in his ear, telling him that he is stronger and mightier than he is, hoping that he will be humiliated or taken out by either you or Nickolai, setting the stage for a takeover of his inherited right to rule the family?”

I heaved a sigh as my hand moved over the day-old stubble on my face. “Sevan. He was the one to seek us out and was so supportive of our taking Petros out.”

“Yeah, and we paid the old bastard well for the information he brought us. It may be just my inherent distrust ofpeople, but I would bet money that once Petros is out, Sevan and his sons move in to seize control.”

I threw the glass I had been holding against the wall. I didn’t like being played for a fool and if what Blaze was thinking was true, that was exactly what Sevan had attempted to do. “Dig deeper and find out what you can. If Sevan is behind any of this, it’s not just Petros who must be stopped. I will burn down everything, taking it all.”

“I will see what I can discover, but at risk of furthering your sour mood, the men stationed outside the flea-ridden hotel that Tony Galante was staying in reported that he still has yet to reappear.”

“Fuck!”

“He will eventually come out of hiding. Unless he saw that we were on to him and decided to give up to save his own skin. He can’t be that stupid to think he can target Bri and you will let him live.”

I walked over to stand along the windows. The sky was gray, another day of no sunshine. “He hasn’t given up. He is the type of man whose pride won’t allow it. Eventually, he will appear again and when he does, I will be there. But now I need you to focus on Petros. There are too many factors that are unknown with the Armenians.”

Blaze nodded. “I will have information for you tonight at the club.”

“That quick?”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t insult me. Did you expect less? Just don’t question my methods.”

He closed the door behind him loudly. I took advantage of the few minutes of quiet to clear my mind. It had not been that long ago that I had been bored and wishing for some sort of excitement to break the monotony. Since finding Bri, the thirst for danger and blood was not nearly as strong.

The solitude didn’t last long. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out not in the mood for conversation, and I wondered if Alessio had already garnered information about the attack in Vegas.

“Tell me you have information about Tony Galante.”

“As a matter of fact, I do. It was the reason for my call this morning. I invited Frankie Ballantine to lunch. You owe me one for that. The man eats like swine. I could barely stomach sitting at the table with him.”

“Other than his grotesque eating habits, what else can you tell me?”

“Frankie said that he hasn’t seen or heard from Tony in a few months.”

I wanted to throw my phone across the room. “That’s rather helpful.”

Alessio chuckled on the other end of the line. “Don’t be a dick, Rogue, because I can be an even bigger one. Now, where was I? Frankie said that Tony had always been a bad seed. The last time Tony was in New York, he attacked and beat the shit out of his mother. Frankie threatened to kill him then, but he respected his wife’s wishes not to do so. After hearing about the trouble Tony has started with you, he said that he would actively seek to find him and get him out of Chicago. He doesn’t want problems with any of us and would make certain that Tony gaveus no more trouble. I believe he will follow through with his promise.”

“It would still be nice to know where the bastard was. And I hope you know that I will find and kill Tony when I get the chance. I will not let what he did to Bri go unpunished.”

“Yes, I know that, but it allows you to do it on your own time. Frankie did say that Tony had a few friends in Chicago that he could be staying with. I know that doesn’t narrow down your search, but it does let us know that he could have people working with him. And if that is the case, he could be even more dangerous. My plane lands in Chicago tomorrow. No need to thank me, I owed you one.”

He hung up before I could object, but honestly, with everything I had going on, it would be nice to have extra reinforcements. Plus, since I would be spending more time dealing with other matters, I would have less time to spend with Bri. With Eden in town, she would not be alone, and I could count on Alessio’s security to protect her while I was taking care of eliminating the threats around us. I picked up my glass and took another sip of bourbon before moving to the wall safe hidden behind a large oval mirror on the opposite wall.

I took the mirror down and typed in the combination. What I was searching for was exactly where I had placed it ten years ago. A yellowed tattered business card from a restaurant that had been closed down for at least fifteen years, but it was what was on the back that was important. I stared down at the faded numbers, numbers I had sworn never to call, but now, with Bri’s safety on the line and the nagging feeling that there was more to Petros’ attacks and planned takeover than what was on the surface, I knew it was something I needed to do. I blew out a long breath and drank the remainder of the bourbon in myglass before dialing the numbers and making the call. A part of me wondered if the number was still good. Who the hell still had a landline now? But it only rang twice before a gruff voice with a thick Irish accent answered.

“It’s about time ye called, lad. Your da would be pleased.”

I could feel the tension in my jaw as I clenched my teeth tighter. “I didn’t call to talk about him.”

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