2. Dax #2
“Who has a phone?” I asked. “It’s a good thing I’m a master at memorizing numbers because the rate I’m losing or breaking phones is record-breaking.”
Eagle pulled a burner phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Betta told us to use this if we needed her or Tommaso. She slipped it to me last night before shit hit the fan.”
“I knew that woman had potential,” I boasted as I found two numbers had been inputted. Taking a wild guess, I picked the one with a ‘T’ and switched it to speaker phone.
It rang three times then was picked up, but there was a rustling sound like someone might be getting out of bed. “Yeah,” a groggy Tommaso answered.
“I’m so sorry, did I wake you, Mr. De León?” I teased.
“Cute,” he grumbled. “Did you have a reason for calling me, or have you had your fun so I can go back to bed?”
“Nope, sorry, boss man, you might be the newly crowned king of a cartel, but we have lots of work to do,” I said cheerfully. “My group has relocated, and we are about a half hour away now, but better to be safe than sorry.”
“I agree that was smart. You have just as many enemies as friends right now, all camped out in my city.” Tommaso sighed. “So now that you have me up, how can I help my dear friend and supporter?”
Looking up at the guys, I gestured for them to speak up if they had something to say.
“Do you have any idea how things were left last night with Betta and the rest of the Four?” Wes asked.
“They believe the whole thing was well worth the trouble. Many of Dax’s supporters told them to keep the money they bet since they took the risk of broadcasting the change of leadership here in New York.
Many have already been reaching out to me, offering their support as I settle things which was surprising on many levels.
Who knew when you convinced a person who’d never been political in our world to step up and make such a massive move, it would be taken seriously,” Tommaso shared.
“So that’s the long answer to saying Betta has proven herself tenfold to the Four, and if I want her to be my second, that might be trickier than I thought. ”
Something he said had stuck with me. “Back up a second… are you saying people are supporting you even more because I picked you to be the new leader?”
“Ah, caught that, did you?” Tommaso said with a chuckle.
“They were all asking how you found me, what made you pick me, and why now? I hope you don’t mind that I glossed over a few things and might have made other circumstances less embarrassing for myself.
There’s also a story about your best friend also advocating for me during a meeting with Francois in Bali? ”
“That’s not at all accurate,” Magnus announced as he stepped further into the room. “His son tried to make a move on Harper, and I killed him. That meeting was an apology of sorts, where he seemed to take a shine to my woman.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me? Francois seems to find himself in the most interesting situations by chance,” Tommaso muttered. “Now that I know the truth, I’ll make sure to correct the information. Either way, our alliance has done more for both of us than I think either of us planned.”
“So does that mean we don’t need to stick around and babysit you?” I asked.
“Dax, I’ve never been one who needs to be watched over, but I do feel it would be in both our interests to make a show of comradery.
I was planning on going to the main headquarters later today…
any interest in joining me? I’ll even promise to carry an extra clip of ammo when we do,” Tommaso offered.
“Hell yes, we want to do that,” Wes cut in before I could say anything. “If you don’t mind me using the access to root around in his hard drives, it might help us find more information on Marco. Diego was his right-hand man here in the States.”
“Not at all. Everything will have to change anyway, so what you see now will be old news in a matter of months,” Tommaso said. “I’ll be heading over there after lunch and checking in with my family. Be in touch, and feel free to give Betta the same lovely wake-up call I so thoroughly enjoyed.”
Wes shot up from where he’d been sitting, practically vibrating with excitement. “Do you know what this means, Dax?”
I blinked at him a few times as I cocked my head. “That you’re the world’s most giant nerd, and you get excited digging around in people’s hard drives like a teen in his sister’s underwear drawer?”
“What?” Wes looked at me with disgust. “No. Having access to everything Diego was doing will tell us more than I’d ever be able to find out on my own.”
“Don’t forget we also have his sister to chat with as well,” Cam interjected. “I have no idea how helpful she’ll be, but if we weed through the depressed monologues, I’m sure we’ll find a nugget or two of useful information.”
Wes started to pace, and I could tell his brain was working a million miles per minute. “Okay, well, how about I take a nap since we’re as safe as we’re going to be right now, and you wake me when it’s time to storm that castle?”
Void walked over from where he’d been leaning on the wall and climbed into the small bed behind me. “I think a nap sounds like a wonderful idea, little demon.”
Cam glared at Void, but he knew better than to challenge the man when he was staking his personal time with me. “I’ve got some calls to make and feelers to put out about things to see what my options are. Have a good nap,” he murmured before pulling me in for a kiss.
I melted into him, and he deepened it, fisting a handful of hair at the base of my neck, making me hum.
When he pulled back, I could see a pleased look on his face at how I responded to him.
“Don’t forget, beautiful, we have a date to go on before we leave New York.
There’s a special place I want to take you. ”
“Okay, I think once we see how things go today, it will give us a better sense of how much trouble I caused,” I answered. “But I’ll make sure we have time before we go.”
With another quick kiss, he got up from the bed and left the room, allowing Void to pull me onto his chest. “Sleep, little demon. Who knows what will happen later, but you need to be sharp.”
Snuggling into him and getting comfortable, I drifted off listening to his steady heartbeat and the murmurs of my other men in the room.
This was the lull before the storm.