Page 42 of Prodigal

His friend sighed. “G, it’s been a week. Either go to him or move the fuck on.”

Gideon refused to give him a response. He wasn’t going to André. That wasn’t happening. As far as moving on… He sat behind his desk and stared up at the other man. “What do we know about who shot Ennis?” he asked, changing the subject. “Anything on the shooters?”

Samir shrugged. “Still nothing.”

“Goddamn it.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. He had his people searching all over for any information they could find about what happened the night Ennis was ambushed and who could be behind it, but so far they’d come up with nothing. The shooters had eluded his guys and disappeared like smoke. It was frustrating and unbelievable that his vast resources hadn’t unearthed not one clue.

“G, The Council keeps calling. They want to set up a meeting to discuss…things.”

They probably wanted to find out what Gideon knew and if he was behind the shooting. He already knew they weren’t behind it, but they didn’t know shit about him. He wasn’t agreeing to a meeting. He wanted them to stew for a while, to wonder about him. “Ignore them. I’ll call a meeting when I’m ready.” Which would be when he had more information.

“And the situation with Ree.”

He sighed. Ree was a tenacious woman, digging into places she shouldn’t. The guys Gideon had on her had reported twice in the past week that she’d been back and forth to the prison where her father was once held. She was searching for answers that Gideon couldn’t allow her to find. “Have Marco deal with Ree.”

One of Samir’s eyebrows shot up. “You sure?”

Now that was the question. Gideon had a soft spot for Ree and he didn’t want her hurt, but there’d been enough fucking changes happening around him and to his plans. Ree wasnotgoing to be another. He granted Samir a curt nod. “Get me Marco.”

Samir muttered into his earpiece and minutes later, Marco strode into the office. “What’s up?”

“I need you to take care of Ree.”

Marco didn’t react.

“I don’t want her dead or physically hurt,” Gideon told him. With Marco, you had to be specific. “But I want her out of the wayandprotected. Do whatever you need to.”

Marco dipped his chin in understanding. “Got it.” He left just as quickly as he came.

With that taken care of, Gideon turned back to Samir. “I need to?—”

Samir’s phone went off and he glanced at it, then at Gideon. “It’s the doctor.”

Gideon shot to his feet as Samir answered. They’d been waiting for word on Ennis, who’d been unconscious for so fucking long.

“He’s awake?” Samir asked into the phone. His eyes met Gideon’s. “We’re on our way.” He ended the call and then told Gideon, “He’s awake and demanding to see you.”

Well, that was a surprise. How did he know Gideon was responsible for saving him? He’d been unconscious the moment they’d pulled him from the wreck. “Let’s go.” Ennis had all the answers to the questions floating around in Gideon’s head and he didn’t like it. Didn’t like not knowing shit. It put him at a disadvantage, and that was unacceptable.

Gideon and Samir made their way down to the med unit and were met at the entrance by one of the doctors they kept on staff.

“Sir.” She nodded at Gideon, giving Samir a side glance. Nearly all of the medical personnel were scared shitless of Samir, who loved nothing better. “He’s been examined.”

“And?”

“I am encouraged by the progress he’s made so far.”

“And he’s coherent, asking for me, right?”

“Yes, sir. But you need to keep it short. He needs to rest.”

“I want everyone out,” he told her. He and Samir waited outside as everyone filed out. Then they entered the unit. His father had the foresight to have the facility built whenhe was first diagnosed, staffing the place with top-of-the-line medical professionals—from nurses to surgeons and everyone in between who were all loyal to the Winters—and equipment. Gideon was damn grateful for it.

With Samir at his side, they entered the area that had been partitioned off for Ennis. He lay on the bed, still hooked up to a bunch of machines, but his eyes were open as he stared at the ceiling. They’d had to perform surgery to remove fragments of bullets from his body and it’d been pretty touch and go for a while.

“Canto.” Gideon stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed.

Ennis’s eyes flickered first to Samir and then to Gideon.

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