Page 68 of Little Bird (Advantage Play 3)

A cold Kingston nods but doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he gets to the point of his phone call. “D, do we know any enemies in The District? Leo tracked Dominic’s conversation with whoever his contact is. It led us there.”

“But that’s Fed territory.”

“It is…,” Kingston confirms.

A longer pause is drawn out before Diece mutters, “We only know one Fed.”

Kingston’s mouth forms a long, thin line as he breathes, “Yeah.”

“Why would Jack double-cross us? Why would he be looking for Q in the first place?”

“I don’t know,” Kingston answers, shaking his head. “But I also don’t know who else would be interested in the Romanos or any of the girls who were initially taken by Burlone who happen to work in The District. Do you?”

“Shit.”

“Who’s Jack?” I interrupt, needing to catch up when I’m aware I’m missing a very large piece of the puzzle.

Kingston eyes me warily before explaining, “Jack is the Fed who gave us the fabricated documents that framed Burlone as a snitch. He’s also the guy you contacted with the location of Burlone’s body.”

“So, he double-crossed us?”

“Either that or he works with someone who is double-crossing him,” Stefan chimes in with his two cents.

Kingston waves him off. “Regardless, I think it’s time we bring him in for a little chat.”

“And if he doesn’t feel like talking?” Dominic is one thing, but messing with a Fed is an entirely different matter.

With an arrogant smirk from Kingston, followed by a dark chuckle from Diece through the speaker, Kingston divulges, “That won’t be a problem. Bring him in, Dex. Leo, will you get you his address. And D?”

“Yeah?”

“I wasn’t kidding about having a little chat with Q too. Understand?”

There’s a heavy silence that follows, and I’m positive D is debating how he can respectfully disobey his boss’s orders before he releases a resigned sigh. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Good,” Kingston acknowledges. “Let’s get to—”

A loud banging noise cuts Kingston off. Tilting my head to the side, I try to place the sound before realizing someone’s at the front door. And they sound pissed. Or desperate.

Leo’s fingers fly across his keyboard as he comes to the same conclusion. He pulls up a live feed onto one of the largest screens in the room that showcases the front porch of the Romano estate.

With his gaze glued to the image, Kingston breathes, “What the—”

“Who is that?” My attention shifts from Kingston to the stranger at the front door. Blonde hair. Built like a surfer with a stick up his ass. And a dark blue jacket with the letters FBI strewn across the back.

“What’s going on?” D’s voice vibrates through the speaker. Clearly, he’s not amused that he’s being left out of the loop. And neither am I.

“Who the hell is that?” I reiterate, growing frustrated.

Tearing his gaze away from the screen, Kingston looks me straight in the eye. “That’s Jack Connelly.”

Chapter Forty-Two

Jack

My heart is pounding a million miles a minute as I pound my fist against Kingston fucking Romano’s door another time.

“Open up,” I mumble under my breath. “Dammit, Kingston! Open up!”

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