Page 107 of A Breath of Life
“What does intelligence know about this… organization?”
“Not enough. They’re slippery and smart. The way they operate is deliberately messy. I spent a year trying to follow tens of thousands of threads of stolen money that weknewwere connected to them, but their system is complex. They skim barely noticeable amounts from innumerable sources, wash it through hundreds of accounts so that by the time it comes out the other side, it’s untraceable.”
“I don’t care about theft. They kill people, Costa.”
“We have no record of that, but it’s not surprising. When you have secrets this profound, you protect them at all costs. It’s only a matter of time before people like this escalate.”
“Does intelligence know anything about an underground casino?”
“Not that I’m aware of. I don’t work in intelligence. I help out with cases from time to time, but if they were aware of a location like what you’re suggesting, they would have moved in ages ago. They’ve tagged a few key players and have systems in place to monitor them, but these guys are good at slipping under the radar.”
I stared at my phone, the knot in my gut pulling tighter. I hit Diem’s number again with no different result. His surly voice filled the air between us.“I’m busy. Leave a message.”Short, snappy, and appropriately Diem. I ached. The last time we spoke, it was in anger.
“Are they going to kill him?”
My cousin didn’t answer.
I lifted my attention from the phone.
Costa’s troubled gaze remained on the spread of food, the gears of his mind spinning and calculating as his brows slowly inched closer together. It was a long time before he spoke. “Given what you’ve told me, it depends. How badly do they want Clarence? Will Diem cooperate? Is their leader feeling especially generous or forgiving?” Costa shook his head and lifted his gaze to mine. “I don’t know, Tal. This isn’t good. I could make some calls. Get people on it.”
I could hear thebutin his proposal and finished his thought. “But if they found out we brought in authorities, they would end it much faster and go underground.”
“Yes.”
Bile burned the back of my throat. I tried to swallow it down. I couldn’t speak to Ace’s state of mind after we’d purposefully deceived him, nor did I know what it would take for him to give up his searchfor Clarence, but I did know Diem. They had threatened his nana’s life. He would either comply with their every demand or destroy the fucking world if they hurt her.
Had they already?
If I’d gotten away, Ace had only one target.
I shouldn’t have run. I should have sacrificed myself to protect Diem’s nana. What kind of shitty boyfriend was I?
“Our best bet is to find this Clarence guy,” Costa said, breaking into my musing. “I have a lot more resources than you guys. It might help.”
I huffed. “Even if we locate him, I don’t know how to contact Ace or whoever needs to know.”
“You don’t have to know how. Clarence will take care of that.”
“Are we really going to hand this guy over to some mob to be killed?”
My cousin smiled for the first time since picking me up. “You really think I’m a monster still, don’t you? No, Tallus, but we’ll worry about that when we find him. Let’s go to my office and see what we can come up with.” Costa waved down a server and motioned that he wanted to settle the bill.
My phone rang before the bill arrived, and I broke into a cold sweat. Costa and I peered down at the display.
28
Diem
Iexpected to be knocked unconscious the second I was shoved into the backseat of the vehicle, but I wasn’t. The Bishop sat on the far side and greeted me with a displeased shake of his head as the man with the gun followed me in and slammed the door.
Bookended and with no means of escape, I stared from the Bishop to the gunman, seeing him for the first time.
“Hands in front,” he ordered, waving the pistol in my face. The windows were darkly tinted, and a resounding clunk announced the activation of a locking system. “Now,” the man growled, leveling the gun at my head.
“You aren’t going to shoot me in the car.”
He pressed the muzzle to my forehead hard enough to leave a mark. “You want to test that theory?”
