Page 20 of Scarlet Angel

“Ah. That. Yes. Safely delivered.”

His thumb rubs across the curve of the black plastic dildo.

The second he realizes what he’s doing, he drops it into his trouser pocket.

“That’s a high-end model. Vibrations controlled by a mobile.”

“Duly noted.” He rocks back on his heels. “When we spoke, you mentioned the need to move quickly because of a burned identity. Any more on that?”

“Unfortunately, no. Traced the message to a burner. The curious bit is the mystery man knew a number only allocated to a specific few.”

“If it was someone you knew, why would they use a code name?”

“They wouldn’t. I think someone within the group was hacked.”

I read his skepticism.

“My friends aren’t all as savvy as I’d like them to be.”

“So you’ve no idea who contacted you?”

“None.”

“Are you concerned?”

Annoyed is more like it. “If you’ve done your part, no.”

If the whistleblower believes Leo’s dead, all’s good. At least, there’s no grave concern. I still need to identify the leak. If it was a syndicate member, they wouldn’t be playing this game. They would’ve told the group and insisted Leo die.

“You’re not worried your communications are compromised?”

“Not mine.” I own three different tech companies and specialize in online security. “One of the other blokes, sure. I’m working on it. I’ll be careful.”

“Our systems… we’ve been monitoring for any mention of a Prophet.”

When I asked the whistleblower for an identity, the prick responded with “A Prophet.” Egotistical fuckwad.

“Same. I’ll keep you updated on our results.”

“Will you?”

He’s right to be skeptical. “If it serves me, I’ll share.”

“I was told you play it straight.” He shoves his hands into his pockets, but the one with the dildo quickly withdraws. “Anything else? Any deals in the works?”

“Are there any deals I’m willing to implode? That’s your question, right? That’s what I gave you on the joy contraption. The ladies call it a pocket rocket. It won’t disappoint.”

“We appreciate your working with us,” he reiterates, sounding like quite the statesman.

I’m not working with them, I’m using them.

“Change of topic. My team tracked a hack into one of my shell companies.”

“The two hundred million theft. I heard about it. You found the culprits?”

“Aye. Lupi Grigi.”

His eyes widen. “They went after you?”

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