Bonus Chapter #2
James and Damon burst out laughing, and Elise shoots them a sharp glare.
“And how’s that going?” Damon asks through his laughter.
Moreno glances at his watch. “Our alliance was threatened two minutes in.”
“Damn.” Damon claps him on the shoulder. “My money would’ve been on thirty seconds. I’m impressed.”
“Has anything actually been established?” James asks, surveying the table.
“Sounds like Moreno is getting full custody of me and joint custody of Elise,” Damon answers.
Moreno shoots me a passive glance. “Damon’s all yours.”
Damon flips him off.
Elise stands, planting her hands on her hips. “I’m not convinced any of you were productive before I came along. You’re all such hardheaded assholes.”
Moreno’s eyes shift from Elise to me, and he shrugs. “I’m willing to discuss joint custody.”
Elise smacks his arm, Damon lets out a bellowing laugh, and James chuckles.
Even I sport a slight grin.
“How the hell did this turn on me?” she snaps, glaring at all four of us.
“I suggest letting us hardheaded assholes do things our own way,” I tell her, standing to kiss her cheek.
I drop my eyes to Moreno, and we both fix neutral expressions in place.
“I’ll allow Kade to work with Ford to recruit the candidate I choose—but that’s as involved as you’re going to be in this investigation. ”
His hard eyes hold mine just long enough to communicate that he doesn’t appreciate the terms, but eventually, he nods. “Fine, but we’re coming to Chicago in two weeks so that I can assess the progress myself.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Actually, that’s my request,” Elise says, nodding to Moreno. “He’ll make it sound like it’s for work, but I haven’t been back in months, and I’d like to come visit.”
“I’m always happy to have you come home.”
She gives me a knowing look. “I’m not coming without Joshua.”
Worth a shot.
I level Moreno with a warning. “If you come into my territory, you better be ready to follow my lead. You’re not coming into my base and throwing your weight around like you own the place.”
“I can’t imagine what that would be like,” he deadpans.
“Okay then,” Elise says, a smile replacing her annoyance. “We have a plan.”
“Almost.” Damon stands, placing a hand on Moreno’s shoulder. “As much as you’re going to miss me, I’m ready to move home.”
“Since when?” James asks, his lifted brow matching mine.
“Since being back last week made me realize I miss it. I’m ready to go back and work as a capo again.”
“You’re sure?” I ask, searching for any sign that he might not mean it.
Damon is a good capo when he’s sober and a major liability when he isn’t. It’s been two months since he’s touched alcohol—the longest stretch in recent memory—but I need to be sure he’s serious.
I can’t afford for him to be a distraction—not now, when traitors are still hiding within the family, and my transition as the family boss is still so fresh.
“I’m sure.”
“Living with us has been that bad?” Elise asks.
“There’s a lot less arguing at home,” he says with a shrug, earning him a glare from our sister.
“Two weeks,” I tell them. “I’ll pick the candidate, Damon will move home, and I’ll allow you to assess the progress.”
Elise beams. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
Moreno tugs her into his lap, and she falls with a yelp that morphs into a laugh as her arms wrap around his neck.
I can’t tell if I want to shoot the bastard or throw up.
I’m tempted to do both.
There’s something else—something I’m not willing to put words to—that simmers just beneath the surface at the sight of their affection. Something like an ache hits my chest, and I ignore the feeling like I always do.
Distractions may be fun for a time, but they don’t keep empires standing.
I do.
My phone ringing gives me the perfect excuse to leave. I check the caller ID—Mr. Amato, the boss of an allied family residing in my territory.
I answer the call as I walk to the pool house.
“Consoli,” I greet.
“Mr. Consoli, thank you for taking my call,” he starts. “I put out feelers for a cybersecurity expert, as you asked, and each of my associates came back with the same guy—he’s the best.”
“Who is he?”
“No one really knows. He’s never met clients in person.”
“That isn’t going to work,” I tell him, tossing my things from around the pool house into my bag. “I’ll need someone onsite.”
“Well, I wouldn’t write him off so quickly. Ask Ford about him—I’d be shocked if he hasn’t heard of him.”
“I’ll have Ford start looking immediately. What do we know about him? What’s his name?”
“Goes by Cam.”
I sit on the bed and wait for him to go on.
He doesn’t.
“Cam? That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Amato confirms.
“That’s not enough to go off of. How is Ford supposed to find him?”
“This guy isn’t keen on being found,” he says, and I can hear his wariness. “I’ll reach back out to my associates and see what I can figure out about making contact.”
“He sounds like more trouble than he’s worth,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose, but my headache isn’t going anywhere.
“He’s trouble, but if what I hear is correct, there’s no one better.”
“Let me know what your associates come back with,” I tell him, ending the call.
I’ve made a career—a life—out of staying ahead of every threat, and I don’t like unknowns.
Cam is one hell of an unknown, but I’m just desperate enough to accept that risk.
Read Logan and Kasey’s story in Keeping Kasey, book 3 in the Love and Blood series.
THE END