Page 138 of Savage Promises

My stomach heaves. I saw him and Rhys dip out of the memorial service after terse words with Griffin earlier. To go somewhere or deal with something Griffin didn’t want them to handle by how annoyed he seemed. No one bothered giving me an update. I thought it was the usualbusiness they have on the streets.

God, did Connor finally go too far?

“What happened to my brother?”I yell.

“Oh no,” Lennox whispers, her eyes glassy.

“He’s fine, Shane,” Trace interjects. “He’s alive.”

I swear I’m going to ring my cousins’ necks when I see them. “Okay. And?”

“I got a call from one of my informants that the DEA planned to take down Havok,” Rhys explains. “Found out where he’s dealing these days.”

Havok...

“The Albanian drug dealer?”

“Aye,” Rhys says.

I’m not sure why this has Rhys sounding like he’s the one who’s strung out on drugs.

“Noel Tahiri, the newkyrewon’t meet with us,” Rhys continues, reminding me. “We thought if we took out the DEA agent and saved his ass, he’d owe us one.”

“Smart play. Clean up his mess and make him beg us for a sit-down. Who came up with that idea?” I ask, impressed because it’s brilliant.

“Connor,” Rhys laughs. “You sound surprised.”

“He’s been moretransactionallately. Deleting people.” I clear my throat. “WhereisConnor? Did he take the agent out? Is he dead?”

“Heis a she. And no,” Rhys reports cautiously. “One of Tahiri’s guys shot at her first. It got fucking messy, Shane. Lots of gunfire. She took off. I also didn’t want to kill a woman to be honest. She chased Havok, but he got away. Then Noel disappeared. He was in the club while Havok did the deal in the stockroom.”

Fuck. Talk about a missed opportunity down the drain.

I kiss Lennox’s hand and give her a nod. She stands up and heads back to the bathroom. I stand up, too, andkick off my shoes, wanting to take that shower with my wife. “Okay. Thanks for the heads up.”

Especially for an operation they never bothered to tell me about in the first place. That’s when it hits me, therehasto be more. The real reason my enforcer and lead assassin are on the phone.

“Wait, is that it?”

There’s silence for a few moments filling me with dread all over again.

“No,” Trace says. “There’s...something else. Something you should know.”

I stand to my full height. “Spit it out.”

“The DEA agent running point on that raid?” Rhys says. “I saw that blonde leaving Connor’s apartment. In the middle of the night. Looking...well fucked.”

My stomach twists. Blonde. A face flashes behind my eyes. Poorly dressed, eyes wild, in my trailer, looking for a dealer named... Havok. Fuck, she was undercover.I knew it.

Then shit starts to unfold in my head.

“You think Connor backed off taking her out on purpose?” I ask tightly.

“It happened so fast,” Rhys answers. “I can’t be sure.”

So much calculates in my head. The damage control. The fixing this mess needs.

“Did Connor recognize her?”

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