Page 56 of The Fight for Forever
Karas is silent for several seconds. “There’s a plan. It’s in motion. I’ll make a call and give you an update when I get it. But for now, business as usual. You work. You train. You go home to Ms. Priest. Forget about Moses.”
I stare skyward, from his lips to God’s ears. “You make it sound like it’s easy.”
Something clinks over the phone line, and it sounds like Karas is pouring himself a drink.
“It is. Focus on what’s important. Don’t get distracted. Have a good night, Legend. I’ll be in touch.”
The call ends, and I’m left sitting at Scarlett’s kitchen table without any more answers than I had before I dialed his number.
Do I trust Karas? His father is Dominic Casso, who was the head of the Casso crime family for the last twenty or so years.Do I have the choice to do anythingbuttrust him?
I think of my other options.
Eduardo, Q’s PI buddy, refused to look into Moses. I don’t have another PI who’s even crazier, so that leaves me and Q doing the legwork. But it’s my problem, not Q’s, and he’s got enough on his plate right now with running the club without much help from me because of all the hours I’m putting in at the gym.
So that leaves me. Hunting Moses. On my own. While trying to train, keeping Scarlett safe, and making sure I spend time with Bump. On top of all that, I don’t have a damn clue where to start.
I lower my phone to the table as Scarlett walks into the room.
“Everything okay?” she asks with a crease forming between her eyebrows. “You look—”
“Like I’m wrestling with a problem I don’t know how to solve?”
“Yeah,” she whispers. “What can I do to help?”
I glance over her shoulder toward the living room, listening for sounds of Bump.
“He’s all settled into his pillow-and-blanket fort with Roux. I gave him a flashlight and a notebook, and I think he’s planning his career as a rock star.”
That brings a weak smile to my face, but I don’t reply immediately.
Scarlett pulls out the chair adjacent to mine, sits down, and covers my hand with hers. “You can tell me anything. I assume this is about the cell phone and the call.”
My jaw rocks as I contemplate what to share. I want to be honest, but I don’t want to frighten her when Karas assured me everything is fine.
“Yeah. I just called Karas to find out what the hell is going on. He said he’ll look into it and give me an update.” I drop my chin and shake my head. “I hate waiting and wondering. There’s too much at stake.”
I wait a few beats before I raise my head, because I can’t imagine the look on her face is going to be excited. When I do meet her gaze, those gray eyes are contemplative.
“What can I do? Do we need to hire someone else to find him? Because I can pay for that, Gabriel. There’s literally nothing I wouldn’t give to make this man go away so we can go back to living our lives without looking over our shoulders every day.”
Her offer is generous, just like Scarlett always is, but her concern is like a blow to my chest, knocking the air from my lungs. I hate that my bullshit has spilled over to affect her life. It’s the one thing I never wanted to happen.
“I can go after Moses myself,” I say quietly.
Scarlett’s spine goes stick straight. “What?”
“That’s the only other play I’ve got right now if I don’t think Karas can pull it off.”
Her jaw tenses, and she stares at me as she takes several long, slow breaths without speaking.
“You don’t like that idea.”
“Should I?”
I shake my head and stare at the centerpiece that she’s perfectly arranged in the middle of the table. “No. Because I don’t know what’ll happen. Fuck, I really wanted to believe that Karas had this under control.”
Scarlett reaches out to cover my hand with hers. “Did he say theydidn’thave it under control?”
