Page 4 of His Puppet

They glance at each other then each give me a dumb look that makes me want to gut them.

“We had her trapped, boss. There’s no way—”

“Enough.” I wave my hand to dismiss the excuses before letting out a steadying breath and massaging my temples. When I let my hand fall, I stare at my men and let every bit of my disdain show. For them and for the thief.

“Did you manage to ID her?”

They look at each other again, and hope blooms in Tommy’s eyes. He pulls a cell phone from his back pocket and holds it up for me to see. “She left her phone behind. She’s gotten several messages from an ‘Ellison’ asking where she is and if she’s okay.

I take the phone from him and glance at the messages before clearing the notifications and taking a look at the lock screen. Her friend’s concern is useless to me. But the picture on her screen isn’t. It’s of a pretty brunette and an Asian man. They’re leaning back on a couch and holding up beers in a ‘cheers’ pose.

“This is her, right?” I ask, turning the screen toward Hester.

He nods. “Yeah. I mean, we didn’t get the best look from the back, but Daren says that’s her.”

She’s young. Early twenties probably. She has a nice smile, but it’s her eyes that make her dangerous. They dance with a wickedness that could fill a man’s dick with so much blood it drains his heart, all while she steals his wallet. I’d find it sexy if the wallet wasn’t mine.

I toss the phone on my desk. “How did she know what Daren was doing?”

Hester shakes his head. “I don’t think she did, boss. She ditched the bag without taking anything.”

“And you’re sure about that?” My eyes drift to the fanny pack on my desk. Every baggy of heroin has been accounted for, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t open one and take a little. Or worse, add something. It wouldn’t be the first time the competition laced our product.

“Yes sir. There’s no way she would’ve had a chance to open it while running as fast as she did.”

“We’re pretty sure it was a coincidence,” Tommy adds. “I mean, the whole ruse is for Daren to look like a lost soccer dad. She must’ve seen it as an opportunity and jumped on it.”

“If you had caught her, we’d know for sure.”

Hester hangs his head, but Tommy stands taller. “We’ll find her, boss. You have my word.”

“Her name’s Polly Pickpocket.”

Hester and Tommy turn toward the voice in the doorway, and I look over my shoulder at Victor. He’s a soldier for the familia, and not one who works for me. He has a nose for these kinds of things.

I glare at the back of Tommy’s head, and he turns toward me with a nervous shrug.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Victor steps into the room, his lips lifting into a menacing grin. “Your boys here filled me in. They thought I could be of service.”

“You went tohimbefore coming tome?”

Hester shrinks again, and if we were standing by a bridge instead of in my office, I would throw him over it.

Tommy shifts and clears his throat. “We didn’t want to bother you with this, sir. We thought we could get it taken care of quickly enough that we wouldn’t have to.”

“And so you wouldn’t have to let me in on your rookie mistake.”

Neither respond to that, and it’s just as well because I’m finished with them.

“Get out,” I snap.

They both turn and trudge from my office with their heads hanging while Victor steps to the side so they can pass him.

He saunters up to my desk and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Sorry,” he says, completely unapologetically. “If I had known they hadn’t informed you, I would have gotten your okay before offering my assistance.”

“Should I be expecting Lorenzo’s call?” I ask.

Lorenzo is underboss and the man Victor does most of his work for. Victor’s talents are … well, useful. But Lorenzo seems to be the only person who can stomach Victor’s very clear disregard for human life. He enjoys what he does far too much.

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