Page 78 of Havoc

Me: Hold on, sweetness. I’m coming.

When I looked up, Storm saw the panic on my face. “What was that about, Havoc?”

“Riley’s in trouble. Slater’s got one of her friends. He’s leveraged her into meeting with him at some restaurant.” I told Breaker, “Head downtown. That’s where she is.”

Storm’s lips turned up into a tiny grin. “We need to get there right away.” Glancing at our hostage, he added, “If we’re lucky, we get a twofer today.”

It took me less than a minute to understand what he was suggesting. “Yeah, that would be great. I get first dibs on beating intel out of him, though.”

Celt spoke up. “That’s something that sounds like a lot more fun than it is. Trust me on that.”

Storm stated firmly, “It’s occasionally a necessary evil. Reserved for times when there is no other way.”

Celt asked curiously, “What’s the situation?”

I explained what little I knew. “Slater’s got Riley’s friend. He wants a meet in a public place just to talk.”

Storm asked, his voice tinged with disbelief, “Please tell me she’s not going?”

“No can do, Prez. She’s already left to meet him at Seafood by the Sea. I ate there when I was on a job last year. It’s downtown.”

Storm asked Breaker, “How long till we get there?”

“Less than ten minutes, but we’ve got a bigger problem.”

I growled, “The last fucking thing in this world we need is another fuckin’ problem.”

Storm leaned forward and asked, “What’s this bigger problem, Breaker?”

“This restaurant is not a public place. It closed down eight months ago. She’s walkin’ into a trap. It’s just gonna be her, him, and whatever henchman he brought.”

A long string of curse words tore from my throat.

Then our hostage snorted a laugh. “Slater doesn’t have henchmen. He’s a total reject, an outcast. He does his old man’s dirty errands for chump change.”

All our heads turned to look at the guy giving good intel. Storm asked, “What did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t, and you were so busy making demands that you didn’t ask. Anyways, my name is Devin Hodge.”

“That was very fucking helpful information, Devin Hodge,” Storm stated almost warmly. “What else can you tell us about Aaron and his father?”

“His old man was pissed with him because he recently got his ass kicked by some biker. That wouldn’t have been one of you, would it?”

“Guilty as charged. How about you come off some intel that helps us put that fucker behind bars.”

Devin froze for a long moment before choosing his words carefully. “You already have everything you need to put the old man away for the rest of his miserable life.”

“Tell us what you know about Slater,” Storm asked.

“His father describes him as the son with the genius IQ and as the only one of his sons that can’t manage to execute a mission to save his life. Truth be told, I think he’s mentally ill. He’s working shitty grifts with bar owners, drug traffickers, and everything he earns goes right up his nose. The math doesn’t seem to math with him, like at all. His father caught him twice backstabbing him with dangerous business associates. The guy’s a menace, always reaching for low-hanging fruit, if you know what I mean.”

“Why is he so obsessed with Riley Dalton?”

His expression faltered and he murmured, “You probably don’t want to know the answer to that question. Trust me on that.”

“Spit it out, Devin. Don’t make me beat it out of you,” I threatened him.

“Let me guess, you were the schoolyard bully growing up. Am I right?”

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