47. Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter forty-seven
Peter
We’d barely finished eating when Lianne called Lukas, and he disappeared into his office.
Quinn let out a sigh as he disappeared down the hallway. “This is happening more, and I don't know how to feel about it.”
I tipped my head to the side slightly and nodded. “The drama is ramping up, for sure. I don’t think it’s over yet, not by a long shot.”
“That's what I'm afraid of.”
Lukas walked back into the kitchen and locked in on me.
“Li wants me on a call for a meeting. Poppy, Avery, and Connor are heading out, she has a bad gut feeling, and wants me there for moral support. I want you in my office for it, too.” He glanced from me to Adair.
“I’m going to have to ask you to stay out here with Quinn for now. ”
She nodded. “I will happily head downstairs and read. Trust me when I say I understand the levels of security in a mafia family.”
Lukas half-smirked and nodded. “Thanks, Tori. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but—”
“You’re just following rules.”
“Yeah.” He stepped forward, looking slightly uneasy. “Don’t feel you have to hide in the basement.”
Adair looked around and shook her head. “I’ll stay downstairs until either you two are done or she’s back. It… I think I’ll feel more comfortable down there.”
“Since it’s closer to the safe room?”
She nodded at Lukas’s question. “Something like that.”
I stood up, resting my hand on Adair’s back. “I need to run downstairs and get my laptop, anyway.”
She followed me into my room, sitting on the bed as I pulled my stuff together.
“I’ll be down as soon as I can. I’ll also have my phone if you don’t want to come upstairs.” A sigh came out as I looked out my bedroom door. “Quinn will be down here until she leaves for work. I--”
“I’ll be fine, Peter.” Adair reached out and grabbed my hand. “I promise.”
“Okay.” Rationally, I knew she was right, but I hated leaving her alone all the same. By the time I made it upstairs, Lukas was already in his office on a video call on his laptop.
Almost every panel on the wall in the war room in Chicago was on and showing something different. One monitored the GPS trackers on the trucks Avery and Connor were driving, a couple had the CCTV feed from the office, and one had Lukas’s face on it.
Lynette walked into the room, jaw tense, and shaking her head.
“Everything okay, Mom?”
She looked at Lianne and shook her head. “No. I received a tip right before Alex called me. Both conversations were about a threat on their home, business, as well as on Alex themself. Talia and Dante are on their way to pick them up and bring them here.”
Ryan sat up a little straighter. “Is Alex okay?”
Lynette nodded. “Physically? Yes, but they are shaken up. Understandably so.”
Lianne cleared her throat, and we all looked at her. She was holding down the mute button on the small microphone sitting on the table in front of her. “How about we not let Avery hear about how her partner is in danger right now?”
“Good idea.”
After Lynette pointed to her phone and nodded, Lianne released her hold on the button and returned her attention to the screens in front of her. We’d just heard Avery give Poppy a pep talk when Lianne’s cell phone rang.
“Fuck.”
Gage's attention immediately snapped to Lianne. “What?”
“Why is he calling?” She tapped her screen and held the phone to her ear. “Backnoff, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Wesley Backnoff? The Don Supreme's second in command? I looked up at Lukas, whose stunned expression matched mine.
“I’m sorry, what? Hold on, I’m putting you on speakerphone so Mom, Gage, and Ryan can hear, too.” Lianne tapped the screen again. “Okay, Backnoff, you’re on in the war room.”
“I just got a text from Sparrow. He saw Liam, two of his guys, and a woman walk into the office. He’s keeping Malcom Henderson in Helen’s office. Where is your crew?”
Why is the Don Supreme’s crew at this building with ours?
She glanced up at the screen in time to see Avery and Poppy walk into the building. “Just walking in. Gage—”
“Already on it.” He was frantically typing on his phone.
Suddenly, two of the screens went dark, and Lianne looked to her left. “Ryan, where did the inside feed go?”
He frantically typed on his laptop. “I was trying to access something, and it jammed. I don’t know why it went black.”
“Backnoff, I was trying really hard not to start shit in Dallas territory.”
“Don Agosti, you didn’t start this, but the Don Supreme won’t retaliate or take offense if you have to finish this.”
She nodded, and relief washed over her face. “Thank you.”
Suddenly, there was a loud thud as if a door slammed shut, immediately followed by Avery shouting and then several louder thuds. My best guess was that they had been separated, and she was trying her hardest to get through that door.
Lianne stood with a start, moving so abruptly that her chair tipped over and fell to the ground behind her. “Shit. Avery, who is in there?”
I could hear my heart beating in the silence that followed.
Everything was quiet. Too quiet. Lukas’s eyes met mine, and I saw the anxiousness of not being in the thick of it.
The frustration of not being able to go barreling into that building to help.
The next several minutes were intense as Ryan furiously typed away on his computer.
Things got worse when he figured out one of Liam’s guys was the one who jammed all the communication lines in and out of the building.
It was then the phone in the war room rang, and Nash sat up with a start. “That’s the burner number the pictures were texted from.”
“Of course it is.” After taking a deep breath, Lianne answered the call. “Hello.”
“An Agosti never forgets, dear sister of mine. You, of all people, should know that.”
Lukas balled his hands into fists at the sound of his brother’s voice and glared at the screen as his sister responded.
“Of course I do. You’re the one who drilled it into my head. How can I help you, Liam?”
“Give me what I want.”
She rolled her eyes at her brother’s demanding statement. “You’re going to have to specify. Your wish list is a bit excessive at the moment.”
Lukas smirked and nodded before looking up at me and rolling his eyes.
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, Lianne.”
“And arrogance doesn’t suit you. So, once again, how can I help you, Liam?” She looked at Nash and Gage, pointed to both of them, and then pointed to the door, mouthing the word go.
After they ran out of the room, my phone buzzed, and I took my attention from what was happening in the war room.
Momma A:
Shield:
Momma A:
Shield:
Momma A:
Momma A:
Shit.
Shield:
Momma A:
I missed the rest of Liam’s conversation with Lianne, but with the livid expression on Lukas’s face, it clearly hadn’t been a good call.
We all sat, stood, and paced in uncomfortable silence for nearly an hour, waiting for an update from the team.
Ryan was furiously working on his laptop, typing and muttering angrily under his breath.
I assumed he was working on reestablishing any kind of communication with the building.
Lynette was in and out of the room. Jess even made an appearance with some food.
Lianne’s phone rang, breaking the tense quiet, and she collapsed in relief into her chair after answering the call.
“Oh, thank god… He what? Fucking coward… Wait, who was there?... Okay. Damn… Yeah, we’ll prep Doc…
Get home safely.” After she hung up the phone, she sat up straight again.
“Well, Liam got away, Nash got shot in the shoulder, and Rosemary St. James is dead.”
“Holy shit.” Lukas rubbed his hand over his face before clicking on something on his computer and looking up at me. “Go check on them and let them know the Chicago end of the threat is temporarily over, and please tell Quinn she needs to stay home today.”
I nodded and immediately headed out of the office to relay the messages.