Page 80 of Burned in Stone
Cash snickers and finishes buckling his jeans just as I unlock the door and let Bones in. He immediately clocks the flush on my face and the state of disarray in the room, and shakes his head with a long-suffering sigh.
“Classy, kids,” he mutters, but his eyes are almost fond. “Wipe the drool off each other and get to the war room, Stone’s got something.”
27
MERCY
When we step into the great room, it’s even more packed than earlier. Stone stands in full MC regalia, arms folded, expression pure granite. He nods at us.
“Take a seat.”
We slide into the closest empty chairs.
Stone waits until the shuffle of bodies goes quiet, then leans in. His eyes sweep the room and land on me, hold there a beat, and then he starts in that slow, measured way that always means the news is bad.
“We’ve got confirmation.” His voice is gravel, low and deadly. “Summit’s behind the fire. They tried to take out Duck’s garage, but got sloppy. Duck caught one of them, and he’s currently duct-taped to a chair in the club’s warehouse. Second guy ran, but prospects are hunting.” A ripple of laughter. I see Duck at the back, arms folded, looking like he’d murder a man with a socket wrench and sleep just fine. Stone scans the room. “No one leaves the compound tonight except on my word. No deliveries, nogirls, not even for smokes. If you see a car slow-rolling the block, you bring it straight to me. As of now, we’re on full lockdown until every last one of these fuckers is accounted for. Are we clear?” A sea of nods and murmured agreement rolls through the room.
Then he fixes us with that don’t-fuck-around stare. “Cash. Mercy. You find anything on those camera feeds?”
Cash shakes his head, lips pressed thin. “No solid faces. They kept their hoods up and heads down for every camera in the bar and alley we’ve checked so far. But we haven’t gotten through all the feeds yet.”
Stone’s jaw twitches, disappointment uncoiling behind his composure. “Then keep at it. When you get something solid, bring it straight to me.”
He dismisses everyone and we get back to work. I pull up the footage from yet another camera from the night before the fire, starting from the fire and working backward. At first, it’s just more nothing. But then, a little before dawn the day before, a black SUV pulls into frame. Expensive. Tinted windows.
“That’s not typical for Devil’s,” I murmur.
Cash leans in closer to see. “That’s a Summit truck. Can you zoom in?”
I do. The back door opens, and a man in an expensive suit gets out. Even in the grainy footage, everything about him screams money and danger.
“Who the hell is that?”
“I don’t know, but—wait.” Cash jumps onto his laptop to find another camera angle, trying to get a better view of his face. Iread out the timestamp for him, and after a few moments, he turns the screen toward me. “There.”
The image clears enough to make out his features. Sharp jaw, silver at his temples, cold eyes.
The chapel door opens, and in walks Josie.
“This is a fucking nightmare.” She’s carrying a fresh coffee and her laptop. She sets it all down with a sigh. “That guy Duck caught isn’t talking. Nitro’s been working him over. But—” She jerks forward, her eyes locking on the screen. “Oh my god.” She pulls out her phone, starts typing frantically. “That’s Vincent Caruso.”
“Who?” I ask.
“He’s on the FBI’s most wanted list.” Josie’s fingers fly over her phone screen. “Money laundering, racketeering, suspected ties to three different organized crime families. The feds have been trying to nail him for years.” She looks up at us, face grim. “What the hell is he doing outside Devil’s Bar?”
“We don’t know yet,” I say.
“Hit play.”
We do. Five minutes later, another car pulls up. This one I recognize immediately, and my stomach drops.
“That’s Gabriel’s car.”
Cash’s hand finds mine under the table, squeezes. On screen, Gabriel gets out. He’s not in uniform—jeans and a leather jacket, trying to look casual. But I can see the tension in his shoulders, the way he keeps glancing around.
He walks straight to Caruso.
“Can we get audio?” Josie asks, already pulling up her laptop.
