Page 133 of Smoke Screen
“I know,” Phin said. “It’s nuts. If my brothers are still there, they can stall until we get there and we’ll talk to Thompson about this new information.”
Before hitting the road—he’dneed every working brain cell for this conversation—Phin hit the button on the steering wheel, directing the Bluetooth to call Zeke.
“Hey,” Zeke said, his voice booming in the quiet car. “Y’all all right?”
Just peachy.Phin lowered the volume. With the yelling that would ensue, they’d hear Zeke from five miles away. “We’re good. You still at the Center?”
“Yeah. Thompson ran long with the mayor this morning. We showed him the video. To say he’s stunned is an understatement.”
“I’m sure. Is Louis Three there?”
“No. Thompson went back to his office to call Louis Junior. He doesn’t wanna talk to Three without the kid’s father there.”
“Makes sense. So, Thompson’s not there with you?”
“No. Just me, Cruz and Rohan cooling our jets.”
Excellent. “Good. We have adevelopment.” Before his brother could answer, Phin charged ahead. “I got a call from Rory. One of Eckert’s buddies wants to make a deal on the collection. Vera had him move everything last night. Now he wants out and wants Louis’s eleven mil to get him there. Maddy and I just met with him and—”
“Hold it. You did what?”
“Before you yell, y’all can’t be in two places at once and the guy was gonna bolt. He’s already told me he’ll be gone by tomorrow. Zeke, we could have the entire collection back by tonight.”
“Well, she-it,” Cruz said. “Little brother’s been busy.”
Damned straight.
“Shut it,” Zeke told him. “Phin, we don’t know who the hell this guy is. And after yesterday, after you said you’d stay inside, you took this meeting alone? Wait, no. Not alone. You tookMaddy. Someone fucking kill me. Please.”
As if Phin was an idiot who hadn’t considered it could’ve been a setup? “Dude, I took care of it. The location was secure.”
“Where was this location?”
This from Rohan, probably administering CPR to Zeke.
If Cruz thought the idea of Phin going rogue for a meeting was fun, he’d love this one. Phin sat a little taller, closed his eyes for a second.
Mr. Smooth. That was him. The guy who’d wined and dined and sweet-talked his way through hundreds of events.
He opened his eyes. “I called Reid. He let us use the training center.”
Silence descended like a falling guillotine.
Was that Phin’s head that just rolled?
“You really are trying to kill me,” Zeke finally said. “I mean,Reid?”
“Yes.Reid. Think about it. His security rivals ours. We blindfolded the guy, took him to a windowless office, and made the deal. Fellas, we might do a recovery later today.”
“What deal? What are youtalkingabout?”
Big brother might be losing it here. Might be? Phin had known that the Reid thing would drive him bonkers. He’d done it anyway. And had no regrets. As much as his brothers hated it, everyone was safe.
“Zeke, I know you’re pissed, but you need to set that aside for two minutes and listen. The guy we met says it was a contracted job for the Veras. Rumor amongst the Vera crews is that Louis Three hired them.”
Cruz let out one of his signature whistles. “That makes for a tough Sunday dinner.”
Beside Phin, Maddy snorted and he shot her a look.
