Page 233 of Handsome Devil
Yeah; I could hear Jesse in the background.
I supposed he’d gotten my text.
“Are you talking to her?” I heard Jesse say.
“Yeah,” Jude said, kind of muffled. “I was.”
“This isDevi,” Jesse said. “She mentions the mafia, and I don’t even want Katie in the room.”
“I don’t need you in the room, either, Jesse,” Jude said. “Step out. We’ll talk later.”
“This is fucked-up, Jude.” Jesse’s voice rose. “You know I never stick my nose into the Kings’ business. It’s your club, not mine. But frankly, if your club brother is involved in some shit that’s scaring Devi, and she’s reaching out to you for help, I’d expect you to care. Aren’t we brothers, too?”
“You know we’re brothers,” Jude said evenly.
“And I know this is complicated for you. But Devi being in any kind of danger is not okay with me.”
“Jesse, just step the fuck out.”
Jesse started to say something, loudly—
Silence. For a moment I thought the call had dropped.
Nope. They muted me or something.
Then Jude was back with a sigh. “Sorry about that. He’s a little upset.”
Yeah. I knew the feeling.
But I really loved Jesse right now.
“Jude, my husband getting threatened isn’t okay withme,” I told him. “I’m his wife. You have a job to do, to protect your brothers. I understand that. But this is my job.”
There was another silent pause. Then Jude said, “You’ve got this recording?”
“Yes. I have the USB stick. I can hand it over. I’ll trust you with it. I made copies.”
“Alright. I’ll see what I can do. Just give it to Blazer.”
I almost wept with relief. “Thank you.”
“Davenport have any security on you?”
“Yes. I have a bodyguard. But he’s not with me.”
“Then you need to call him and Blazer will take you to him. Stay with him. Twenty-four-seven, sweetheart. No excuses. Your man can afford it.”
“Right. I know.”
“Blazer’s gonna give you a burner phone you can use temporarily. Use it if you need to call me again, or if you need to talk to your husband. Tell him to get one, too.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be in touch. Hand me back to Blazer now.”
I gave the phone back to Blazer. He put it to his ear, muttered “Yup” a couple times, then hung up.
I took out the flash drive and handed it to him.
