Page 41 of The Devil's Reward
TWENTY-TWO
MOLE
It always pays to have a backup plan.
I head up to my room and walk inside. My phone buzzed in my pocket during Church, and I was itching to answer. I know who it is, and I need to warn him of what’s coming.
I lock the door behind me and quickly press the button on the jammer in my pocket. I pull out the burner and curse when I read the message.
Dmitri: You have twenty-four hours to bring me Sage Armstrong and get rid of Izzy Mills. See that it’s done or I’ll do it for you, and I’ll handle the destruction of you and your club myself.
Fuck. Fucking hell this is not what I need right now. I hurriedly text back a reply.
Me: Give me forty-eight hours and I’ll make sure it’s done. But the club is mine to deal with. That was our agreement.
I know I’m pushing him, but I can’t let him take away the satisfaction of destroying this club myself. This means I need to push my plan into high gear.
Dmitri answers back quickly.
Dmitri: You think to negotiate with me?
There’s no mistaking his anger.
Me: The club just announced they’ll be checking into some of the old places where the former President used to house his shit. One of them is where you are currently storing yours. They’ll be checking it out in the morning.
I wait impatiently for his answer. Surely that information is enough to buy me time, or at least not have him or his men kill me on sight. Finally, he answers.
Dmitri: I’ll take care of it. Forty-eight hours, and not a second more. And if you fail, you will fall right along with your club.
Me: Understood.
I know that’s the end of the conversation, so I give him the location of the building that they’ll be searching. Then I pull the SIM card, smash the phone, and add it to the growing pile I need to dispose of.
I look around my room and see a few items out of place, which tells me that the bitch and her dogs were in here. I grin. Nothing pleases me more than knowing I lead them on a wild goose chase. They’re no closer to finding me than before.
Still, I have to put my preparations into action, and that means making sure I have backup ready just in case things go south. I pull out another phone, slide in a different SIM card, and dial the number I memorized.
“You have information for me?” the heavily accented voice on the other end asks.
“I do,” I say quietly, with a slim smile.
“Tell me,” the voice orders.
TWENTY-THREE
SHADOW
Motherfuckers.
Viper and I park the bikes about half a mile away from our destination, and we head in on foot. No one but Bullet knows where we are, and that’s exactly how we want it. Less chance that our mole will give a warning that we’re here. We need to catch Dmitri’s men in the act, and this is our best shot. Neither of us speak as we make our way through the trees and brush. I looked at the aerial maps, along with the topography data I pulled, and I know exactly where we’re the least likely to be detected.
Not to mention, it also will provide us with the best escape route.
It takes us close to twenty minutes to navigate to our location without making noise, and to make sure there aren’t any men hiding in the forest. No doubt they figure they’re safe, but the closer we get, the more we can hear people moving around. I glance over at Viper, and even in the darkness, I can just make out the movement of his head in acknowledgment.
Just like we thought, there are people out here. Now the question is whether they’re Dmitri’s men, or someone else’s. My gut is telling me it’s the former.
When we’re close to the low knoll that we plan on hiding behind, we split up and I lower to my belly, crawling as I go. Years of training immediately kick in and I don’t make a sound, careful to keep low to the ground so as not to alert anyone to my presence. Thankfully there isn’t any high grass that will signal my approach, so I make it to the crest of the knoll with little problem, stopping once I reach it and listening carefully.
