Page 2 of Ruthless Redemption

“She’s a feisty one, that’s for sure. Which in my opinion is not a bad trait for an old lady. Although that one does seem to like trouble.”

Houston blinked and stared at JD, a man who basically amounted to his second father. At least until he’d cut everyone from his life in favor of the Marine Corps. Now he was back in his life and wasn’t making any sense. Had he just suggested that he make Izzy his old lady? After making him agree to giving her up to the club?

When he finally got his brain to function again he blurted the first thing he thought. “What did you say?”

“Boy, you know I’m not into repeating myself. If you didn’t hear it the first time tough shit.”

“Anyone ever tell you you’re insane, old man? Or is this what old age does to you? Either way you should make up your mind.”

“Like you did? You’re the idiot who agreed to give her up.”

“To save her life. Wait. What the hell? Those were your demands, not mine, and you forced them on me.”

JD smirked, his eyes rolling a bit. “It’s what the club needed at the time. Things change. Get over it. Now you need to shut up and listen because shit is about to change on us again. We need your head in the game so whatever is happening between you two is going to have to wait. Frank Mazzeo is on the move and my sources seem to think something big is about to happen.”

Fuck. He didn’t like the sound of that. What was Izzy’s father up to now? They needed some time to set up an operation.

“Like what?” Axel asked. “Is he coming after her?”

JD shook his head. “No, that’s the weird part. He should have heard by now that she is here. The high rollers who were in the joint last night had to have informed him of Izzy’s presence.”

Houston’s jaw hardened. “You set her up?”

JD’s gaze turned hard and his mouth formed a grim line. “Careful, boy. Don’t start making accusations when you don’t have all the facts. I didn’t know she was going to be there last night. That shit’s on her. If it turns out that her rebellious streak works in our favor then who am I to complain?”

He was beginning to feel a little like JD was talking in circles because nothing was making sense. “Okay, so if Frank isn’t coming after her, where is he going and how does it connect him to the missing girl?”

“Looks like he’s headed to Vegas for some big title fight and I’m not one hundred percent sure yet. But when Izzy came to us and spilled everything she knew about her father’s organization, it got me thinking. Particularly her words that Frank would only ever let us believe what he wanted us to believe. It’s clear we’ve been underestimating him the whole time.”

Houston nodded. He’d been thinking along this line as well. His meager time with Frank’s organization had been nothing but a repeated attempt at breaking through a stone wall. Many intriguing tidbits about their different potential operations were conveniently dropped in his lap in one way or another, but when he tried to dig into it nothing ever panned out.

“You think he’s playing us? Purposely misleading us with Izzy?”Axel question, the ice in his tone obvious.

JD shrugged. “It makes about as much sense as anything else at the moment. We’ve basically been running around in circles with our fucking dicks swinging in the wind.”

“So what do you think he’s doing? And how do those girls we found figure into this?” Houston was ready for JD to get to the point.

“Marco is definitely running a trafficking operation.”

Houston’s blood pressure skyrocketed at JD’s mention of Izzy’s fiancé and the memory of all that the bastard had done to her.

JD continued, “I’ve heard from my sources that house we hit was only one of many. And somehow I doubt human trafficking is the only job he has in operation out of Seattle. We’ve got enough on that front to end him once we catch up with him. Frank has to meet up with him sometime and should lead us straight to him. But it’s Mazzeo’s connection to all of this that is always unclear.”

“He fucking gave Izzy to that bastard.” His blood boiled at the idea of Marco getting away the night of her rescue. If there was even a chance he could catch up with him he had to take it.

“I still believe she was simply payment for services rendered because Frank is heartless like that, but thanks to some information Izzy was able to share about her father’s financial holdings, Tel has been picking up some interesting information on all of that as he follows the money trail. I mean let’s face it, his skills with a computer are beyond fucking genius. That boy is wasted on us, that’s for sure, but I’m damn glad he’s on our side anyway.”

This was true. He’d seen a little of Intel’s skills first hand and he’d been struck with how talented the man was.

“So what are you saying? It was all a ploy?”

“I’m not convinced Frank or Marco give a shit about her one way or another. Otherwise why is she still here without a fight? Frank has to know we have her. That fucker has spies everywhere and he likes to keep tabs on us since we’ve been known to interfere in his shit before.”

All of this information was beginning to make his head hurt. So much had happened in the decade of his absence.

The club making enemies with the top west coast mob boss still blew him away. If he’d been asked about this connection months ago, he would have incorrectly guessed they were in bed together, not at each other’s throats.

Something new occurred to him then. “You leaked her location. And when that needed corroboration, you made sure she was seen by giving her a job in a place just public enough you knew the word would eventually get back to Frank. You were testing him.” The realization of how the club had used both of them in all this hit him hard in the gut.

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