Chapter 24
“Those motherfuckers from APS are involved! Plus, we find out goddamn Infinity Security has joined forces with them, thanks to Kilgore and his ‘Rob Vonn’ bullshit! He rips off some broad, then sells her dead mother’s body to a body trafficker, so now they’re after him?
The fuck? That traitor has screwed us up the ass in more ways than one! ”
“Traitor? Maybe, but the hell either APS or Infinity deserves to get off scot-free for what they’ve done to him.
The more I think about it, the more I’m positive they are the ones who killed Rob but are keeping it quiet.
Right now, though, we need to work fast before our entire con falls to pieces.
Rob’s dead, there’s nothing we can do to bring him back, but there’s still plenty we can salvage.
After that? Both those organizations need to pay the price for ruining our partnership and killing Rob. They need to be obliterated.”
“What’s your plan?”
“First things first, Thom. The product and equipment from those microbreweries have to be lifted immediately. Now that Kilgore is no longer around to steal our resources, it should be a simple matter to get some crews together in the next day or so. You and Jack can take care of that piece this afternoon. Meanwhile, I’ll start calling the targeted microbreweries right now to tell them one of our partners unfortunately had a very tragic accident.
We have to wrap up our business with them by the end of the day so we can go home. ”
“Then what? How do we get our revenge on those fuckers?”
“That’s the easy part, Jack. As soon as you two have finished doing what you need to do today, I can pull the trigger and solve the rest of the problems. Because if the minute the hired muscle is done lifting the goods, they’re offered a bounty of $10,000 apiece for each APS or Infinity head they bring to us?
Every single one of those do-gooder bitches will be dead before we know it. ”
?ω?ω?ω?
Blake stretched out her long legs. She was sitting on the sofa in Bryn’s office, Riley and Drew also in attendance, as she was sharing her thoughts about Reflex.
“You know we don’t hide stuff from each other,” she had said quietly to Bryn at the end of their morning management meeting so that no one else would overhear, “but I have some things I want to run by you, your twin, and Drew before we tell everyone else.”
Now, she said, “As of end of day yesterday, things have started happening at light speed.
Reflex is currently underwater. When India called Gene Wheeler and he shared his suspicions about them, she advised him to close Cask & Canvas for a few days, using the excuse of an equipment malfunction, which he promptly did.
The locks were also changed on the microbrewery, so no one but him could access the business, although Brooke has an extra key temporarily for backup.
Brooke had basically told Norris to fuck all the way off, that she was exercising her right to cancel the graphic art contract because of their violations, right before she had called Gene and talked to him, setting this whole thing in motion.
“Drew let me know that Cyb3rmoon is still being cagey as fuck, but my cuz is on it,” Blake nodded at Drew.
“However, what’s really chafing my ass at the moment is that none of the three remaining Reflex partners are acting as though Kilgore’s death made one goddamn bit of difference to them.
I mean, hello? You think that would affect them in some way, no matter how small. ”
Bryn snorted. “I doubt these bastards would give a shit if it was their own mother who bit it. Vince, incidentally, told me Kilgore died from a single gunshot wound to the head. He said it looked execution-style at first, but after the coroner analyzed the wound more in depth, Vince started having doubts since nothing about the kill had the hallmarks of a professional hit. There was a shell casing left at the scene. The shot was taken at close range, not from a distance. No attempt was made to sanitize the area where Kilgore went down. None of which a professional hitman or sniper would do or neglect to do.”
“Cyb3rmoon was sniffing around Kilgore, but now that he’s dead, she doesn’t appear to be interested in any of the Reflex players anymore,” Drew mused, her fingers steepled in front of her.
“That tells me that if she was involved in this embezzlement and money laundering bullshit, it was because Kilgore was a stepping stone to something even bigger.
What could that be, you ask? Fuck if I know, but my crew and I agree we need to find out for sure to guarantee there is no threat to APS or to any of our clients.
“Besides,” a dangerous smile touched Drew’s mouth, “my new acquaintance seems to have earned herself a session over my lap from her game-playing. I’ll find her.”
Even with the seriousness of the conversation, Blake smirked.
“I’m sure you will, cuz. Let me know when it’s time to make book on your trap closing around her.
” Then she told them, “Needless to say, the remaining Reflex partners are now freaking the fuck out. Jack Norris and Thom Berger have been blowing up Brooke’s phone, leaving threatening messages.
Brooke blocked them after she had forwarded those voicemails to me.
“Gene and Sandy Wheeler also blocked Reflex because the partners had started harassing them as well. Riles has been in touch with the three other microbreweries who were targeted in their scam to bring them up to speed on what has been happening,” Riley nodded, confirming, “and they’ve cut all ties with Reflex. ”
“The thing is, they’re so fucking greedy, no one believes for a hot minute they’ll simply fold up their tent and go home,” added Riley, her muscled arms folded across her chest. “Kilgore is dead. The prevailing belief is that Jack Norris is the one who pulled the trigger because he’s a fucking hothead sociopath and Kilgore tried to stiff him.
Langston is apparently the only one Norris will listen to.
Thom Berger will also do whatever Clay tells him to do, so Langston is the one driving the bus right now.
Plus, Clay has enough smarts to figure out how they can still get their hands on that product and equipment. They aren’t about to walk away.”
“We’ll see them make a move within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours or so,” predicted Bryn, checking her phone.
“Most likely tomorrow night because they’ll want to hit and go as fast as they can.
Vince, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tampa Police are coordinating efforts to cover all four microbreweries.
Infinity, incidentally, is about ready to head back north since ‘Rob Vonn’ bit the dust…
although Indi says there’s still one more thing she wants to explore about potentially recovering Marion’s assets before she goes. ”
Blake shook her head. “My femme is going to miss her when she leaves.” Then she rolled her eyes.
“India is definitely good people, but I don’t think the two of them should be spending a whole lot of time together.
Even though Indi is quiet—unlike my Italian smartass—I suspect there’s a big potential for trouble there based on how we witnessed Ms. Party Girl play Reflex like a fiddle. ”
“Can’t disagree with you, broki.” The corners of Bryn’s dark brown eyes crinkled. “I think we all wish they lived closer. Infinity is only about four hours away, though, so it’s an easy road trip.”
When Blake’s phone signaled an incoming text message, she glanced at it, then grinned as she read it.
“Speaking of the perfect opportunity for mayhem to make an appearance,” she chuckled, “Brooke is freaking out because she thinks she left an additional piece of her art at Cask & Canvas during her last onsite meeting before everything went to hell. She wants to go and get it since the microbrewery is closed and no one is there, but Gene isn’t answering his phone so she can ask him if he would mind.
“And,” she burst out laughing as she read the message again, “she said if—and I quote—’those hairy apes from Reflex’ have put their filthy hands on her shit, there’s going to be a smackdown coming, and I need to make book.” Drew and the twins snickered.
“There’s your opportunity,” Riley told Blake.
“We’ll ask India to take Brooke to Cask & Canvas this evening so the two of them can hang out together one last time before Indi goes back to Tallahassee.
Indi will be glad to do it because Dani told me she’s just as fond of Brooke as Brooke is of her.
Since she’ll be on informal bodyguard duty, though, she won’t fuck around.
Brooke’s safety will be her priority. Your woman can do a final check to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything else, then they can get out of there.
In and out. No way Reflex can have their resources lined up to hit it tonight. ”
Bryn was already texting. “That’s what we’ll do then.
I’ll tell everyone to meet us in the Bunker, and we’ll get everyone on the same page as far as this Reflex shitshow is concerned.
Brooke and Indi can go to Cask & Canvas tonight, Riles and I will double-check to make sure local law enforcement personnel have their efforts coordinated, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea for Trill to take an even deeper dive into live and dead body brokering in our area.
” She gave Drew a meaningful look. “If your moonchild was using Kilgore as a stepping stone or, if in the very unlikely event it turns out she does have an affiliation with the U.S. intelligence community and they’re investigating a related case—if only peripherally—it would be nice to know why she is running dark. ”